Hi All,
I recently purchased a Böker Applegate-Fairbairn Combat II knife and I was surprised to find that it is not very sharp out of the box. It's not like it's dull, the edge is well polished, but the angle seems to be a little wide. I wonder why they made it like that, the 440C steel should be tough enough for a narrower angle. I understand it is a combat knife therefore its main purpose is to stab, however according to Fairbairn: "It is essential that the blade have a sharp stabbing point and good cutting edges, because an artery torn through (as against a clean cut) tends to contract and stop the bleeding". My blind guess is that the reason for the wide angle is to make the edge extreemly resistant so that it will last through a mission that involves lots of ribcage penetrations. Any other ideas?
I recently purchased a Böker Applegate-Fairbairn Combat II knife and I was surprised to find that it is not very sharp out of the box. It's not like it's dull, the edge is well polished, but the angle seems to be a little wide. I wonder why they made it like that, the 440C steel should be tough enough for a narrower angle. I understand it is a combat knife therefore its main purpose is to stab, however according to Fairbairn: "It is essential that the blade have a sharp stabbing point and good cutting edges, because an artery torn through (as against a clean cut) tends to contract and stop the bleeding". My blind guess is that the reason for the wide angle is to make the edge extreemly resistant so that it will last through a mission that involves lots of ribcage penetrations. Any other ideas?
