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Blubber knife

Maker Yates

Date20th century

Object number00004298

NameKnife

MediumStainless steel, wood

DimensionsOverall: 180 x 200 x 30 mm, 0.25 kg

ClassificationsTools and equipment

Credit LineANMM Collection

Collections

Whaling

Terms

DescriptionThis steel cutting knife is designed to slice oil-producing blubber from whales. Oil was the primary reason for whale hunting and was an important fuel for lighting during the 18th and 19th centuries. Oil was also used in the manufacture of hundreds of products including soap and margarine.

The knife is designed to swivel and so be used at two angles.

HistoryAfter killing the whale the first processing task was to strip off the valuable oil-producing blubber which lay beneath the skin (flensing). Early deep sea whalers towed the whale to the side of the ship and stripped the blubber with large flensing knives. It was then hauled on board for processing and the carcass thrown overboard. Early bay whalers used a similar process, towing the whales to shore stations where they were flensed in the shallow waters prior to being processed on land.

No part of the whale was wasted in the modern whaling process. The dead whale was hauled up tail first onto the flensing deck by a massive cable. Teams of flensers started from the head and stripped the blubber and then hacked it into manageable blocks. Pressurised steam digesters separated the oil from the liquid product which was dried, ground into powder and sold as whale meal for animal feed.

SignificanceThis blubber knife is an excellent example of an important and common tool used in the whaling industry.