Are there aesthetic "rules"?

[Ron Raducanu]

"Rules"? We don't need no stinking rules.

BTW not all Bowies have a guard and in fact the neither did the original Bowie knife.

Now here is an 12" Aikuchi, no guard

I will make that one day. Oh, yes. I will!

 

[Alex Topfer]

I will make that one day. Oh, yes. I will!

And i'll make one with a less ugly tip!

Even if there are rules, it's also important to know when to break them. Jarring, dissonant notes are can be important part of a something, eg blue cheese, or a broken back seax.
My view is you should focus on developing a personal sense of style, and being able to articulate why you don't like a design. That will do more than thinking about rules, and there are enough people around that someone else will think your knives are cool

 

[Hengelo_77]

One thing on weapons used in the past and recreating them, in the dark ages people were 10/15% smaller then today.
So if you want to be real accurate, make it larger then the originals.
I remember looking at medieval suits of armour as a kid, being surprised how small they were. App 5'4" for a full grown warrior

 

[Hengelo_77]

Double sorry

 

[Jason Fry]

Center the ricasso on the handle, and/or match the ricasso height to the handle height.
Agree, a slight curve from tip to butt is a good feature.
I tend to use mathematical proportions. 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, etc. Plus the Golden Ratio. Almost everything I make has a reason for the size or thickness or whatever, even if the reason is a bad one lol.

 

[David Mary]

I draw shapes and cut them out of steel. Hyuck.

 

[Harley Boatman]

"Rules"? We don't need no stinking rules.

I couldn't agree more. This thread seems to have overflowed with "rules" you need to follow. Personally I see those rules as one individual's opinion on what a knife should be. I suppose there are GUIDELINES you should follow if you want your knives to be functional, thus the phrase form follows function. However, you as the maker can do whatever you want. Honestly, if your knife is totally useless but you enjoyed making it, then the knife is a success.


The knives you make are your art. How often do you see paintings (art) in museums worth countless amounts of money that look like...like a child painted them. Do what you like. If you make a knife and hate it, make the next one different. Just keep learning with each knife and enjoy it. I've had to come to the realization that it doesn't really matter what other people think about the knives I make. What matters is that the maker enjoys making.