This letter opener belonged to a unique man, Edwin Stewart, my grandfather-in-law. If you look carefully you will see that it has been sharpened on one side so that it will act like a knife. Why is that? Well, Ed spent his last few years in a seniors home where he found life to be quite 'restrictive'. Each mealtime he was seated at a table with his wife and a woman who could not speak english very well, I'll just call her Queen Bee. When eating fruits or vegetables, Ed used to push his silverware aside and pull out a 6 inch hunting knife, cut his food and place it gingerly in his mouth. Apparently, 'the Bee' did was frightened by this action, so the staff took the knife away from Ed. Ahhh, but he pulled out another, and another. Soon all his knives were safely tucked away in a locked drawer in the nursing station along with various other household tools that he had been using in his room; his soldering gun, which had set off the fire alarms, his hammer, several screwdrivers, a glue gun, and some plyers. Determined not to be treated like a child, he sharpened this letter opener and used it in place of his knives and screwdrivers. We found it hidden in his chest of drawers after he passed away. I will always admire his independent spirit!