Reading an old book and saw a hoof knife design from 1890 I'd never seen before

I was looking through a copy of 'The Principles and Practice of Horse-Shoeing' by William Hunting at the library. He shows a drawing of a 'reversible hoof knife' with a blade that could flip for left or right hand use. I had no idea they were making tools like that over a hundred years ago. Has anyone ever used one of those or seen a modern version?

3 comments

3 Comments

knight.xena3mo ago

Wow, they had reversible tools back then... guess they were already solving problems we didn't even know we had. That's the 1890s version of finding a phone charger that works for both you and your friend. I'd be scared to flip that blade around, though... seems like a quick way to lose a finger.

ivan823mo ago

Losing a finger was just part of the 1890s user experience...

umaprice1mo ago

yeah i actually got my hands on one of those at an antique tool auction a few years back. @knight.xena you're right to be cautious, the locking mechanism was just a little brass tab that barely held the blade in place. i tried using it once on a tough hoof and the thing popped loose on me, nearly cut my thumb open. honestly the flipping feature sounds cool but the modern fixed-blade ones are way safer, i just keep a left and right in my kit now.