The landmark of Sham Shui Po, the kitchen knife-shaped signboard of “Leung Tim Knife Factory” will be removed on January 11. Many citizens took advantage of the last day of the signboard to “check in” and take pictures, leaving this very distinctive signboard in their photos and memories.
The knife factory is located at No. 221 Cheung Sha Wan Road and opened as early as 1946. The factory’s giant kitchen knife-shaped signboard extends above the road, regarding ten meters long, with the words “Liang Tim Knife Factory Special Steel Knives” written on the signboard. Many citizens came to check in, took photos with the signboards, and took selfies; some foreigners brought cameras, saying that they wanted to catch up and take pictures on the last day of “chopper knife”.
Many people at the scene took pictures of the signboards and the storefront of the old store. Some customers mistakenly thought that the knife factory had closed down, and the shop assistant clarified that “they did not hold it, but just removed the signboard.” Some neighbors were reluctant to part with them, and worried that the large “Zhuangdaoyi Huoluo Oil” sign diagonally opposite would suffer the same fate, which was a pity.
A clerk at Leung Tim Knife Factory at the scene said that the signboard has been up since the 1960s and has been repaired every year, but the Buildings Department eventually asked for it to be removed. .” As for whether the signboard might be further strengthened to avoid the fate of being demolished, he only said, “No, they say it will be demolished.” However, he also revealed that the signboard has been received by someone and will not be discarded, but did not disclose further details.
Under the new regulations of the Buildings Department in recent years, many signboards reaching the landmark level need to be demolished. These include the “happiest neon sign” Yau Ma Tei Koon Nam Wah, the two-storey half-century-old neon sign of Yuen Long Datong Old Bakery, Tsim Heung Restaurant, a celebrity restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui, and a large-scale display of Chaofa white rice groceries hanging for nearly 70 years in Kowloon City. Signboards, etc., have been dismantled.
