Q 01/05

Who first used the English name Swiss Army knife after the Second World War, in place of Offiziersmesser?

A) American soldiers

B) British mountaineers

C) Canadian airmen

D) Australian sailors

Answer · why

A) American soldiers

American soldiers stationed in Europe took the knives home as souvenirs, and swapped the German name, which simply means officer's knife, for an Engli...

Q 02/05

Which frontiersman, later killed at the Alamo, made a big fighting knife famous in the Sandbar Fight?

A) Davy Crockett

B) William Travis

C) Jim Bowie

D) Sam Houston

Answer · why

C) Jim Bowie

Jim Bowie did not design the blade himself: his brother Rezin is credited with creating the pattern for him. Requests for copies poured in once the br...

Q 03/05

What does a smooth honing steel do to a kitchen knife's edge, despite its nickname of sharpening steel?

A) Grinds metal away

B) Straightens it

C) Hardens it

D) Adds a coating

Answer · why

B) Straightens it

A honing steel straightens it: the smooth rod removes no metal and only pushes a bent edge back into line. Cooks can steel a knife every day but sharp...

Q 04/05

Which French cardinal reputedly had table knives blunted to stop guests picking their teeth?

A) Mazarin

B) De Bérulle

C) Richelieu

D) Fleury

Answer · why

C) Richelieu

Richelieu is said to have set the fashion around 1637. In 1669 Louis XIV turned it into law, banning pointed knives in the hope that blunt tips would ...

Q 05/05

The curved kukri is the signature blade of which troops recruited into the British and Indian armies?

A) Sikhs

B) Rajputs

C) Pathans

D) Gurkhas

Answer · why

D) Gurkhas

Gurkhas carry the kukri as a weapon and an everyday chopping tool, and it is the national weapon of Nepal. Britain began recruiting them in 1815, whil...