Over the centuries, the knife has taken many other forms from the short and sharp dinner knife.

FORBES: No. 1 The Knife

Etiquette and manners still matter at work, but it's not as cut and dry as not licking your knife while enjoying a steak dinner.

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In 1669, in a bid to cut down on violence, King Louis XIV of France decreed all pointed knives on the street or the dinner table illegal, and ordered all knife points ground down.

FORBES: No. 1 The Knife

As Wilson tells the story, the Cardinal became so agitated one night, observing a dinner guest pick his teeth with the double-edged knife still in use, that he ordered blunt knives for his household.

NEWYORKER: A Fork of One��s Own

The party will feature thought-provoking bites by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs( Food52), Mihir Desai, Natalie Jerimijenko ( Cross(x) Species Adventure Club), Mike Lee ( Studiofeast), Ben Walmer ( Highlands Dinner Club), and Michael Cirino ( a razor, a shiny knife).

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You carried it for protection, getting there, and again at dinner, for spearing a chunk of meat from a passing platter after which you ripped it off your knife and, possibly bleeding from this awkward exercise, popped it into your mouth.

NEWYORKER: A Fork of One��s Own