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Development in Cutlery Design



Cutlery started existing from around 5000 years ago from the Palaeolithic ancestors. The knife was the first to be invented; made of sharp stones and a wooden handle. It was primarily invented to serve as a weapon when hunting for prey. Therefore, the knife was originally stated as a weapon rather than an eating utensil. Since it is the oldest utensil, development started recurring among the years after. From sharp stones, in the bronze age, when different materials were discovered they started using bronze and copper to make them. Now spoons were already invented and used by many countries to hold fluids that bare hands could not hold. More development was made and by the Egyptian and Roman times they started to characterise their utensils by engraving and casting animals or ancient myths. The fork was the last utensil invented, it was not used much since the knife was multifunctional due to its shape. Therefore, the fork became commonly in use about only a thousand years ago.



                                                       Castello Sforzesco, Milan , cutlery section 


The intention behind this design was to ergonomically help the user to eat solids and liquid. Before designing a cutlery set one needs to keep in mind that:

The utensils cannot be heavy, must have a good grip that the hand can handle, health and safety factors in materials and its users, the function, and its own purpose of the form and never the less the portion picking that one can take every bite.

Throughout the years another sector that was developed was in materials, replacing the copper and the bronze from the bronze age in the 21st-century designers are using stainless steel since it is a low conductor of heat.
photo
                                                      ‘Mu’ by Toyo Ito (18/10 stainless steel)



To enhance their design and make it more aesthetically pleasing, designers used other man-made materials like thermoplastic resin in different colours and transparency.
photo
‘All time’ by Guido Venturini (stainless steel and Thermoplastic resin)  


Other materials that were used to create the utensils apart from stainless steel, in the 20th century, Charles Rennie Mackintosh used silver plated nickel to make the ‘Fish Knife and Fork’ in 1990 as a gift to the University of Glasgow.



                                       ‘Fish Knife and Fork’- Charles Rennie Mackintosh, 1990


There are different designs for the utensils that accommodate different ages, cultures, and medicals conditions.

New inventions for Parkinson’s deceased patients was designed for patients not to spill food on them that might injure them. This not only helps the patient to sustain itself but also it gives the dependence on eating on their own.


Another advancement that cutlery made during the time was multipurpose utensils. Now a day we can find Sporks, Knorks, spife and sporf which they are hybrids of two utensils conjoined together to serve as two utensils as one ideal for camping.


Disposable cutlery is efficient to eat with when eating outdoor, but they are not environment-friendly since they are made from plastic which this take thousand if not million years to decay when thrown away. In India, they have this issue since they consume 120 billion disposable cutleries per year. Edible spoons were designed and created to minimise the consumption of plastic use. This method not only decrease the amount but if thrown away it decays much faster than plastic does and it also is environmentally friendly.



'Edible Cutlery' by Narayana Peesapaty


References  

'Object of Design' by Paola Antonelli [book] published in 2003, in New York
information found on pages 70 to 75 read on 27th May 2017, at 12.58pm

 'Eating Utensils History and Facts' by Unknown [info]
http://www.eatingutensils.net/ accessed on 27th May 2017 at 1.39pm

 'Mu’ by Toyo Ito[image]http://www.alessi.com/en/products/detail/agv28-all-time-cutlery-flatware-set
 accessed on 27th 2.15pm 

All time’ by Guido Venturini[image]http://www.alessi.com/en/products/detail/ti04-mu-cutlery-flatware-set
accessed on 27th May 2.30pm 

‘Smart’ Spoon Allows Parkinson's Sufferers to Feed Themselves' by Brian Allen,2014[info]  http://www.voanews.com/a/smart-spoon-allows-parkinsons-sufferers-to-feed-themselves/1830217.html accessed on 27th May 3.34pm 

'A Spoon You Can Eat Is a Tasty Alternative to Plastic Waste | Short Film Showcase' by National Geographic  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4Cc5zmy0eY&t=48 accessed on 27th May 2017 at 4.04pm 


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