Thor Bjørklund (1889–1975), Norway – Cheese slicer

Thor Bjørklund (October 30, 1889 – December 8, 1975) was a Norwegian inventor. He is best known as the inventor of a popular cheese slicer which developed into an important Norwegian export product.

Thor Bjørklund was apprenticed as cabinet maker. He also attended the Arts and Crafts School in Oslo. He was employed for some time as a master carpenter. He began to experiment with a carpenter’s plane in the hope that he could create something similar for use in the kitchen. He succeeded. To start with, he made cheese slicers from his workshop, and on 27 February 1925 he patented the object which is today found in most households in the Nordic countries.^[2]

In 1927 he started the firm today known as Thor Bjørklund & Sønner AS. The company still produce cheese slicers in Lillehammer. As of November 17, 2009, Thor Bjørklund & Sønner AS operates as a subsidiary of Gudbrandsdal Industrier AS.