Somewhere between the crackers and the coasters, most of us have heard it: never give someone a knife as a gift, or you will "cut" the friendship. It is one of those bits of folk wisdom that gets repeated at Christmas, at weddings, and in kitchen shops up and down the country, usually followed by someone digging around in their pocket for a penny to hand over "just in case." But where does this superstition actually come from, does buying knives for yourself carry the same curse, and should any of it stop you buying someone a genuinely brilliant, useful present? Grab a cup of tea. We are getting into it.
Where the "cutting ties" superstition actually comes from
The core belief is remarkably consistent wherever you find it: a knife given as a gift symbolically severs the bond between giver and receiver. Etiquette writers and cutlery historians trace versions of this idea across England, Scandinavia and continental Europe, and similar beliefs about sharp objects and separation appear in East Asian traditions too. One theory points back to ancient Rome, where a coin was reportedly requested in exchange for a blade so the exchange counted as a sale rather than a gift. Knife dealers from Sheffield, England's historic home of cutlery making, describe the same custom being handed down as ordinary family practice: you simply did not give a knife without getting something back, because a "free" blade was thought to invite a quarrel or a broken friendship.
It is worth being clear about what this actually is: folklore, not fact. Nobody is claiming a knife has any real power to end a relationship. What the superstition really reflects is an old, human discomfort with sharp objects changing hands, especially as wedding or housewarming gifts, where the stakes of "starting things off right" feel higher. That discomfort got wrapped into a memorable story, the story got passed down, and here we still are, generations later, still reaching for a coin before we hand over a nice new set of kitchen devil knives.
The traditional fix: give a coin, take a coin
The workaround is as simple as the superstition itself. Tuck a coin in with the knife, and ask the recipient to hand it straight back to you. In that small ritual exchange, the knife stops being a gift and becomes a "purchase" instead, and according to tradition, a purchase carries none of the risk that a gift supposedly does. Some households keep a single lucky penny for exactly this purpose, passed back and forth every time a blade changes hands in the family.
It is easy to see why the habit has stuck around even among people who would never claim to be superstitious. It costs nothing, it takes two seconds, and it gives the moment a bit of ceremony, a little in joke shared between giver and receiver. Etiquette writers today still recommend it for exactly that reason: even if you do not believe a word of the old story, it is a charming way to hand over a present. If you are wrapping up a Kitchen Devils Control Starter Set for someone this Christmas, this is the moment to tape a coin to the ribbon.
Is it bad luck to buy your own knives too?
This is one of the most searched questions on the subject, and the honest answer is reassuring: no genuine folklore source suggests that buying a knife for yourself is unlucky. The superstition, wherever you trace it, is specifically about the act of gifting, one person handing a blade to another as a present. Buying your own kitchen devil knife set does not involve that exchange at all. If anything, it is the opposite of the risky scenario, since you are already doing the "buying" that the coin trick exists to recreate, so there is nothing left to counteract.
So if you have been putting off treating your kitchen to a proper Kitchen Devils knife set because a corner of your brain worried it might tempt fate, you can relax. The old story was never really about self-purchase. It only ever applied to gifts, and even then, it was solved with nothing more than a shiny coin.
Other kitchen knife folklore worth knowing
The gifting superstition is the headline act, but it is not the only bit of knife folklore floating around British and European kitchens. A few others turn up again and again in cutlery history:
- Never pass a knife hand to hand. Tradition says to set it down on the worktop for the other person to pick up, rather than passing it directly. It is often explained as avoiding bad energy, though it is also, handily, just good kitchen safety.
- Crossed knives mean an argument is coming. Leave two knives crossed on a table and, according to old table etiquette, you are inviting a quarrel. The fix is simply to uncross them.
- Never stir a pot with a knife. An old rhyme warns you will "stir up strife" if you use a blade instead of a spoon.
- A dropped knife means a visitor is on the way. A gentler, more cheerful superstition than most, and a nice one to remember next time cutlery goes flying while unpacking the dishwasher.
None of these are things to lose sleep over. They are the kind of stories passed down at the kitchen table, half believed and half enjoyed for the ritual of it, which is really the whole appeal of folklore.
Gifting Kitchen Devils knives the lucky way
None of this folklore needs to put you off buying someone a knife as a present. A genuinely good kitchen knife is one of those gifts that gets used every single day, long after novelty presents have been forgotten in a drawer, and there is a simple, time honoured way to give one without a second thought.
Tape a coin to the box, tell them to hand it back to you, and you are covered by tradition either way. For an extra complete gesture, a boxed set does the job beautifully. The Kitchen Devils Control Starter Set is a lovely, ready to wrap option for someone setting up a first kitchen, while the Kitchen Devils Control Knife Block Set makes a properly generous housewarming or wedding gift, with a full set of essentials sitting in one smart block on the counter.
Prefer to build a more personal gift piece by piece? A paring knife is a brilliant small, thoughtful gift on its own, ideal for stocking fillers. For the person who bakes, a bread knife is one of those gifts reached for almost daily. And if you know someone who hosts a proper Sunday roast, a carving knife always goes down well. For an everyday hero that handles almost anything, the multi purpose knife is hard to beat as a simple, useful present.
A few quick questions
Do I really have to give a coin, or does any small item work?
Tradition specifically calls for a coin, symbolising a small "payment," but the spirit of the custom is what matters most. Some families use a penny, others a token amount slipped into a card. The point is simply that the recipient hands something back, turning the exchange into a friendly transaction rather than a straight gift.
I already gave someone a knife without a coin, is our friendship doomed?
Not remotely. This is folklore meant to be fun rather than a genuine warning, and there is no evidence anywhere that a coin free gift has ever actually ended a friendship. If you want the full traditional experience, you can always hand over a coin after the fact and ask for it back, just for the ritual of it.
Is it fine to put a knife set on a wedding gift list?
Plenty of couples happily register for knife sets today, and etiquette experts increasingly point out that a well made set is one of the most used gifts a new household receives. If either of you likes a nod to tradition, simply pop a coin in the box, or suggest guests do the same, and the superstition is neatly taken care of.
The last word
Superstitions like this endure because they are fun, not because anyone seriously believes a blade can sever a friendship. Treat it the way it was always meant to be treated: as a bit of charming ceremony to go alongside a genuinely thoughtful present. So do not let an old wives' tale talk you out of buying someone, or yourself, a set of knives that will actually get used. Just remember the coin, wrap it up properly, and let the cutting ties stay firmly in the realm of folklore, not your friendships.
