French Country · Encyclopedia · Wrought-Iron Tools
Figured chopper
Wrought-iron choppers used by butchers and in households, with handles shaped as figures or animals. The openwork between the animal's legs weakens the tool, but these now-rare pieces delight collectors.
French: hachoir · Wrought iron
At a glance
- Material: wrought iron
- Use: chopping meat and herbs
- Decoration: handles shaped as people or animals
- Trade-off: decoration over strength
What it is
A chopper has a broad blade and a handle set above or behind it. In these examples, the smith turned the handle into a figure or animal, cutting open the space between its legs.
The book notes that the openwork reduces the tool's strength, but the charm of the figures more than compensates.
Folk art in iron
Shaping everyday tools into animals and people was a way for smiths to show their skill and to personalise objects for a customer. Similar playfulness appears on keys, trammels and candle holders.
Collecting and displaying it
Figured choppers are rare and therefore reproduced. Look for real forging and a blade that has been sharpened over time, with wear where the hand gripped.
A small group of choppers hung on a kitchen wall makes a lively display.
Source: Les Trésors de France: vieux métiers et objets d'autrefois (Éditions Rustica, Détours en France collection, 1995), pp. 120–123, with general background on the object. The book was published in 1995, so workshops, people and figures are described as they were then. Regional names and dates are given as the book records them; a style or a region of origin does not by itself date an individual piece.