Rybička (knife)
Rybička (English: Little Fish[1]) is a small Czech pocket knife with the handle shaped as a fish.[2] It has been produced since the first decades of the 20th century.[3] The knife was particularly popular during the period of socialism in Czechoslovakia.[4] It was valued as a simple and small tool used for mushroom picking, a traditional Czech hobby.[1] It was very popular and sold in large numbers on the Czechoslovak market. As of 2014, it is produced by the company Mikov in Mikulášovice, Czech Republic.
History
[edit]The design of the Rybička knife apparently originates from the production of the cutlery workshop of Jan Maixner, however, it gained popularity only after Ignaz Rösler took over the company.[4] The oldest catalogue with the knife shaped as a fish is approximately 80 years old (as of 2014[update]), however, some sources suggest that the design is only about 60 years old (produced since 1947–1955).[5] During the second half of the 20th century, a part of the production moved to Slovakia, under the sister company Sandrik. The knives were identical, only the sign on the blade was different.[4]
During an exhibition of knives in Prague in 2005, Rybička received honorable mention as "the most famous knife of Czechoslovakia".[5]
The company also produces various collector's series and luxury variants of the knife.[4][6][7]
External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Horáková, Pavla (12 January 2007). ""Four seconds of fame" for Czech knife in Bond movie". Czech Radio. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ "Legendární rybička i za 168 tisíc, zlatá a s granátovým okem" (in Czech). Czech Television. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ Konečný, Vratislav (10 November 2011). "Nůž rybička se vyrábí už sto let" (in Czech). Novinky.cz. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d Sovová, Eva (25 July 2014). "Legendární rybička se má čile k světu. Dříve za babku, dnes investicí". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). iDNES. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ a b Kuchyňová, Zdeňka (18 August 2007). "Rybička - nejznámější nůž Československa" (in Czech). Czech Radio. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ Dlouhý, Martin (May 2013). "Nabroušená rybička" (in Czech). Koktejl. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ Němcová, Veronika (4 November 2009). "Tradiční rybička má novou podobu. A stojí tisíce". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). iDNES. Retrieved 25 July 2014.