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Gone out of fashion

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Toasting forks ... I remember toasting slices of bread on open fires and trying hard not to drop a slice in the ashes before handing it to mom for buttering.

Then we had a small gas fire without a guard and toasting with a fork became easier and more even.

Later we bought a gas cooker with a grill and and soon upgraded to an electric toaster and toasting forks just became part of my childhood memories. :)

 
Our toasting fork was a common brass one with, I think, a decorative ship on top and only 3 prongs. And of course toasters were a rare thing at one time and were unreliable. I had a great aunt who lived in Lozells who died in a house fire because of a faulty toaster. I think this must have been around the 1950s. The sad thing is, my dad was travelling on the bus and saw the fire at the house and knew it was his aunts house because her enormous sewing machine was in the window. Fortunately the safety measures now on electrical goods are better than back then.

Viv.
 
When I worked on building sites, we would make a toasting fork from a wall tie and piece of pipe. You could hold your cheeses and onion sandwich over the coke brazier. It would be done in ten seconds, and cremated if you left it for twenty.

The coke brazier and the thunder box were luxury, not.
 
Mort,

Similar to that, my father worked at making wooden packing cases for Perry Pens of Lancaster Street. Once the goods were sealed into the packing case, the whole case was bound with a copper-plated heavy steel oval-section steel wire. Finding that the handle on our toasting fork was too short for comfort in front of the coal fire, he similarly made a long handled toasting fork from this heavy steel wire, and that saw service for many years after his early death in 1952.

Maurice :cool:
 
Some specific knives are rarely seen on the dining table. Butter knives for example. I don’t think many people use them as much. A was surprised to learn that the first one was a butter knife, Birmingham marked silver one of 1899. My butter knife which I only recently acquired is shaped more like the second one without the decoration. It really is the best way to spread butter on toast if your regular knives are narrow like mine. Viv.
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DBF0291C-2BF0-42A7-B733-FE1EE04CE7F3.jpeg
 
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Vivienne14 said:
Some specific knives are rarely seen on the dining table. Butter knives for example. I don’t think many people use them as much. A was surprised to learn that the first one was a butter knife, Birmingham marked silver one of 1899. My butter knife which I only recently acquired is shaped more like the second one without the decoration. It really is the best way to spread butter on toast if your regular knives are narrow like mine. Viv.
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mom had some of them type knives and the handles would ignite if it touched the gas cooker flame giving off horrible campher smell. PLEASE DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME IT'S DANGEROUS
 
We have always had a butter knife since we were first married and I have to agree with you Viv it's a lot better using one to spread even if the butters a bit cold.butterknife.jpg

Our present butterknife, not antique or anything but does the job it's designed to.
 
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I dimly remember a knife with a blade set at an angle to the handle (lengthways). I cant remember the specific use, but I never used one because I am left handed. (Bad news back then).
Andrew.
 
Vivienne14 said:
What Birmingham products have gone/went out of fashion ? I actually like this one as it looks quite scientific. I bet kids of the 1880s loved to study it ! Was probably more humane (and alcoholic) than it’s replacement, the fly paper. Viv.

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We use a similar thing to deal with wasps. Probably made in a Far Eastern suburb of Birmingham, (begins with C, ends in A). A wide glass bottle with a narrow neck. A few ml of beer inside and the wasps die happy. We can even get wasp pheromone to add, to make it super attractive.
Andrew.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Some specific knives are rarely seen on the dining table. Butter knives for example. I don’t think many people use them as much. A was surprised to learn that the first one was a butter knife, Birmingham marked silver one of 1899. My butter knife which I only recently acquired is shaped more like the second one without the decoration. It really is the best way to spread butter on toast if your regular knives are narrow like mine. Viv.
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Toast must have Butter.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Our toasting fork was a common brass one with, I think, a decorative ship on top and only 3 prongs. And of course toasters were a rare thing at one time and were unreliable. I had a great aunt who lived in Lozells who died in a house fire because of a faulty toaster. I think this must have been around the 1950s. The sad thing is, my dad was travelling on the bus and saw the fire at the house and knew it was his aunts house because her enormous sewing machine was in the window. Fortunately the safety measures now on electrical goods are better than back then.

Viv.
Click to expand...
Did anyone ever have Dripping on toast. My grandmother used to say eat this it will stop you getting colds along with my tea with a shot of whisky in before I went to school.
 
oldMohawk said:
Toasting forks ... I remember toasting slices of bread on open fires and trying hard not to drop a slice in the ashes before handing it to mom for buttering.

Then we had a small gas fire without a guard and toasting with a fork became easier and more even.

Later we bought a gas cooker with a grill and and soon upgraded to an electric toaster and toasting forks just became part of my childhood memories. :)
Click to expand...
Toast in front of an open fire with real tub butter has never been bettered.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Our toasting fork was a common brass one with, I think, a decorative ship on top and only 3 prongs. And of course toasters were a rare thing at one time and were unreliable. I had a great aunt who lived in Lozells who died in a house fire because of a faulty toaster. I think this must have been around the 1950s. The sad thing is, my dad was travelling on the bus and saw the fire at the house and knew it was his aunts house because her enormous sewing machine was in the window. Fortunately the safety measures now on electrical goods are better than back then.

Viv.
Click to expand...
mine was a metal coat hanger bent and twisted to shape:grinning:
 
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