At the blacksmith's house, the knife is wooden — the expert's own home is the last to benefit from their expertise. The cobbler's children go barefoot, the doctor's family never gets a full consultation, the builder's house is always half-finished. One's professional skills are deployed everywhere except at home.
This proverb reflects a universal human irony that Sicilians crystallised with characteristic precision. The blacksmith — 'fabbro' — makes knives, tools, and metalwork for the whole village, but his own kitchen has a wooden knife, dull and useless. Why? Because the craftsman gives his best energy and time to paying customers; what is left over for home is often nothing. But the proverb also carries a commentary on priorities: the professional who serves the community before the family. In tight-knit Sicilian communities, where reputation was built on what you gave to others, there was social pressure to perform excellence publicly even at personal cost. It is used today with amused resignation — the IT specialist whose own computer is broken, the chef who never cooks at home, the lawyer who forgot to file his own taxes.
Sicilian dialect version of the pan-European 'cobbler's children go barefoot' proverb. 'Curteddu' = coltello, 'lignu' = legno. Particularly vivid in artisan communities of Palermo and Catania.
A carpenter whose own furniture is falling apart
Il tavolo di casa si regge con un mattone sotto. — A casa di fabbro u curteddu è di lignu. Lavoro tutto il giorno per gli altri e la mia casa aspetta.
The kitchen table is propped up with a brick. — At the blacksmith's house, the knife is wooden. I work all day for others and my own house waits.
A doctor who never gets a proper check-up
— Ma tu, come stai di salute? Hai fatto le analisi? — A casa di fabbro u curteddu è di lignu. Non vado dal medico da tre anni.
— But you, how is your health? Have you had your tests? — At the blacksmith's house, the knife is wooden. I have not been to the doctor in three years.
A hairdresser with untidy hair
La parrucchiera del paese ha sempre i capelli mezzi rotti. A casa di fabbro u curteddu è di lignu — non ha tempo per sé.
The village hairdresser always has half-broken hair. At the blacksmith's house, the knife is wooden — she has no time for herself.
A financial advisor who has no savings
Gestisco i soldi di mezza Palermo e io non ho un conto risparmio decente. A casa di fabbro u curteddu è di lignu.
I manage half of Palermo's money and I do not have a decent savings account. At the blacksmith's house, the knife is wooden.