Case knife (version 1)

This redirect is about the type of table knife. For other uses, see Case knife (version 1) (disambiguation).

"Case knife" is a name used throughout the American South to refer to a table knife, i.e. a knife intended for use at the dining table. The origin of this usage comes from a time when inns did not customarily provide eating utensils with meals. The table fork was relatively new, and was often sold in combination with a knife and, sometimes, a spoon. Thus the term refers to a knife that was sold in a case, as part of a set of utensils intended for use in dining. Case knife is also used to refer to a pocketknife made by W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co..