Shareef says he used to manufacture various iron tools all year long, but when Eid comes, knives and butcher blocks become the order of the day.
A buyer, Muhammad Asim, said there were many types of knives and butcher blocks in the market, but their quality was not as good as those locally-made knives and they are more expensive.
Butchers and shopkeepers associated with the meat trade prefer handmade knives and butcher blocks because they are strong and cheap.
Wood is plentiful in the kitchen: from basic wooden spoons, to Italian spaghetti spoons, lemon reamers, and chopsticks, to the more decorative Springerle molds and plaques, maplewood bowls with fluted sides, multiwood cutting boards, pastry boards, cheese boards, and butcher blocks.
Woodenware items, from utensils to butcher blocks, represent at lease 15 percent of store sales at real.life.basic, taking up that much in real estate as well.