# On a knife edge



## Olly Buckle (Nov 9, 2013)

Cleaning out the cutlery drawer I came 
Across the knife my father used to carve
Austerity roast in to thin slices.
For now abandoning Gustav Emile
I closed on bone handle, took up black steel. 
But the skill had not jumped generations
I could not raise an edge on the old blade,
Severed slabs; still Dad never sailed a boat.
Though he did ski in Austria as a 
Young man before the war, and broke a leg.
He and one other shared a private ward;
A German army, fascist, officer.
There are things that are truly inimical
Some are mental and some are physical


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## escorial (Nov 10, 2013)

had to look up inimical.....from carving at a table to fascist in bed....brilliant...should be a story...would love to read that.


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## Olly Buckle (Nov 10, 2013)

Always good to expand the vocabulary. The thing I was most unsure about was my knife. I bought it in a catering trade shop in Clapham North to replace mt Sabatier that was stolen. Sabatier was sold by the French government and the knife quality dropped, this is a German knife made by Gustave Emile Erne company, they told me they are refered to as 'Gustave Emiles' in the trade. The steel of the old knife is totally different, black, high in carbon but without the traces of other metals that make modern steel so good, it is hard to get a good edge and it doesn't last. Dad trained in Biology and agriculture before the war, he could use tools made with that old fashioned steel to raise an edge and hand cut sections thin enough for a microscope slide, I bet they use special tools for it now.

He spent a month or so in that private ward listening to the purile adoration of that Nazi thug for Herr Hitler and his 'Campf' before he could travel home. He was an outspoken man with strong ideals, I think it was one of the hardest ordeals of his life, keeping his mouth shut and staying out of trouble. The advances in science are amazing, a broken leg then meant six months in a cast and then eighteen months physio to get the muscle back. After my last motorcycle accident they put in a femural pin and I was walking on it in three days and out of hospital in seven, I went to see a physio for a week when I got out. Thank you for reading.


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## escorial (Nov 10, 2013)

It always amazes me how people can pack so much into short snippets when they write about there own experiences..this is a perfect example of a glimpse into someones history and so easy and enjoyable to read.


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## Gumby (Nov 10, 2013)

This brought back some early childhood memories for me, Olly. I used to love to sit and watch my dad sharpen his knife on the whetstone, for some reason it fascinated me and I found the movement of his hands almost hypnotic and soothing. Thanks for that.


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## shedpog329 (Nov 12, 2013)

you're a nut Olly, cant wait for your thanksgiving peice


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## Olly Buckle (Nov 12, 2013)

Thanks for the compliment, I'm sorry, we British don't do thanksgiving, I'll see what else I can come up with


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## dannyboy (Nov 12, 2013)

it is a lovely piece, reminded me of my grandfather sharpening his axe. Always a quiet, expectant moment.


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## Olly Buckle (Nov 12, 2013)

That made me giggle dannyboy, just what would your grandfather be expected to do with a freshly sharpened axe? Perhaps it was the first step toward the creation of a wooden boy 

Still smiling,and thank you.


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## shedpog329 (Nov 13, 2013)

Piece of meatt i mean if any but i guess not?


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## Pandora (Nov 13, 2013)

I enjoy hearing stories of old and the backdrop reply you gave Olly. Tracing my family tree brought a love of history late in life.
 I wished I had had that revelation much sooner, the importance of family stories told. 
I admire your technique in writing as well, the sentence breaks, inflection. You have a nice voice, comforting and clear.


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## Olly Buckle (Nov 13, 2013)

shedpog329 said:


> Piece of meatt i mean if any but i guess not?


No, meat free house this one, you were on your phone, no capitals, doubble letter and no punctuarion, I shall remember that post for use in some other context, it could even be a coarse double-enterdre. 
Thanks for reading, appreciated.

Pandora; It is very easy to coat such things with too much candy, I am glad you saw it as a pathway to your own reflections, that is a compliment, thank you.


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## Hopscotch (Nov 14, 2013)

I like the flow of the piece but i want more detail and emotion or should i just say emotion. The emotive subjects are either awaiting capitalisation or or or well thats it. I got this from your reply in which you went into greater detail. Enjoyable read but very factual. How did you feel about this austertious meal? 

I like your later post speaking about ur abhoration of hitler!


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## Hopscotch (Nov 14, 2013)

Perhaps im missing the point??? Get it? The point!


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## Hopscotch (Nov 14, 2013)

Perhaps im missing the point??? Get it? The point!- oh i just realised im somehow in the poetry section - SORRY I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT.


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## akimade (Nov 15, 2013)

Wow, great use of words and you moved from carving meat to a fascist officer with sharp precision. Very symbolic to have made the jump so sharp and different. Looking forward to reading more of your work.


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## Olly Buckle (Nov 16, 2013)

It is a sort of a Sonnett, almost. There are fourteen lines, but sonnetts stick to iambic pentameters and recognised rhyming schemes. I have stuck to ten syllable lines, but it is not even blank verse because they are not all iambs. The jump, however, is typical of the sonnett. See things one way, then another perspective, but related, then a couplet at the end to round things off. The real thing takes a bit of doing, I am working my way towards it


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## Pietro (Nov 16, 2013)

It is quite hard to put the subtle links in a random chain of thoughts into beautifully written verse. A similar sequence of ideas may pop in anyone's head upon handling any object that reminds one of a person, but writing down the sequence and making it sound relevant to the reader is a whole different story. Beautiful.


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## Olly Buckle (Nov 17, 2013)

Thank you for the appreciation, Pietro; and welcome to the forum to both you and akimade. I look forward to seeing your work here.


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