I. First generation: common cutting tools

• A flint “knife”: c. 4000 BC.
• An obsidian blade: c. 3000 BC, praised for
their sharpness.
• A Roman bronze razor: c. 50 BC.
• “French razor”: 18th century, a flat blade
that is different from a hollow-ground
shaving razor blade. This type of razor was
favored for surgical uses because of its superior
sturdiness and control.
• “Cut throat”: c. 1930, razor from which all
skin graft knives were developed.

• A small “bunion razor”: used also for other
minor surgical procedures, c. 1830.
• Two bistouries: in their original box, often
used for debridement and harvesting skin
graft.