"What do you mean you 'lost yours' ? Here, don't worry about it; take mine. I've got plenty."
--Stefonus the blacksmith
The Construction of The Blade
The original moon knife bares a sharp curved, or crescent, blade of stale, iron, or steel that bends around its handle(s it ranges in size anywhere from 5 to 30 centimeters in length, not accounting for the curve. The smaller sizes (5-14cm) of moon knives have a T-handle, or singular handle that goes across the soft of one's palm with the blade supported in a central protrusion of the handle itself. As such, the knife is meant to be gripped by the four forefingers and pointed away from the body. Other larger blades (15-30cm) have handles on the outer sides of the blade for greater support. Generally speaking, the moon knife has a ratio that for every 20 centimeters it weight 1 kilogram (20cm : 1 kg).
Utility of the Blade
Due to how easily the blade can be maneuvered, particularly for the smaller sizes, the blade has several uses both for cutting and slashing. The general populace uses this knife from tasks including cutting hair and grass, filleting and de-boning animals, cutting wet clay for bricks, to even weapons used in rebellion. The larger blades are unwieldy and often are poor tools to use for the aforementioned tasks. Instead, these blades often rest on counter tops in a holder and they can be rocked back and forth with great ease; chopping and slicing in a fluid motion, then, are the primary uses of the larger blades.
Variations of the Moon Knife
While originally referred to as the crescent knife, the blade has several iterations named after different words commonly used to identify moon cycles. As such, the waning knife is the came curved blade but curves away from the handle; this knife is small in size (3-5cm) is becoming a more popularized knife for harvesting delicate plants. The gibbous knife is shapes like like a diamond, but without the clear pointed edges, instead softened; these knifes are popular among tanners. Other knives, like the Halfmoon, or cosmetic interations like the Harvest Moon, exist but to a lesser degree, not yet popular among common folk
The Replacement of Older Tools
The moon knife is fairly portable in its smaller iterations, and though it lacks reach, is used more commonly than its competition, which includes, the sickle, "archaic" cutlery, and other short, bladed tools.
With the domination and versatility of the tool as well as its ability to be easily modified, one can see why it has grown in popularity.
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