It remains a mystery which of the knife makers in the Šluknov Hook region came up with the idea, more than a century ago, to craft the handle of a folding knife in the shape of a fish. However, old catalogs show that customers had already taken a liking to the “little fish” back then, and the knife’s popularity has endured to this day.
“The ‘little fish’ is still the most popular and best-known knife in our product line. And that’s not just true here—it’s very popular in the U.S., for example,” said Petr Balej, sales director at Mikov. “This is due, among other things, to the fact that for almost all of us, this knife is linked to memories of our youth and childhood.”
Of course, Mikov has not given up on its efforts to uncover the name of the designer of the original Rybička. “If a historian were to succeed in finding its designer, it would be a discovery we would truly appreciate,” added Balej.
Although there have been some changes over the course of the fish knife’s century-long history—for example, the sheet metal handles have been replaced with zinc ones, and the blade is now made of stainless steel—it is still the same fish knife as it was decades ago.
The company deliberately does not update the fish knife’s design, but for customers who want more than just an ordinary utility knife, it offers products made from higher-quality materials—a silver or gold fish knife. A unique item is the so-called “investment fish,” made of pure gold and set with Czech garnets.
In the past, some manufacturers have tried to capitalize on the “little fish” phenomenon by producing imitations. However, none of them match the quality of the original. A court ruling was even issued against the production of a fake “fish” bearing the manufacturer’s logo, sentencing the plagiarist to pay damages and publish an apology.
Mikov is a traditional Czech manufacturer of cutlery. In addition to the “Rybička,” it offers a wide range of hunting, outdoor, folding, and military knives. Its best-known products include the Fixir hunting knife, the UTON military knife, the Predator switchblade, and the List fixed-blade knife for everyday carry (EDC).