Blade shape and "usable" length (Sunday morning thoughts..)

[quattromori]

Hi guys,
as many of you know, I recently acquired a GEC #25 and (now that I sharpened it) I've been carrying it around a bit. I do love the knife, the elk scales, the F&F, and so on (I will leave a kind of "review" in another thread); it's a good example of how a small knife can be enough for most (or any) task...but it also made me think about something I had never really considered.
We often talk (and write) about the blade length that allows us to perform our tasks, and of course we all have different thoughts (and different uses, too). But I never read about how the blade shape influences the "usable" length. Let me explain myself.
Is a 2,5" spear blade as "long" as a 2,5" wharncliffe blade? Yes and no.
Of course, they're the same length. But when it comes to cutting tasks, one can actually prove to be "longer" than the other. I realized that this is true especially in "peeling" cuts. I was testing the edge of my GEC (eating an apple) 5 minutes after peeling another apple (of the same size) with a blade of exactly the same length, but a clip shaped one. The GEC felt shorter.
The spear blade shape, somehow, appears to be less "usable", meaning that, to feel the same "comfort" in peeling cuts, I "need" a longer blade. Not that much with a clip. And I suspect that a wharncliffe blade (of the same length) would "feel" even longer (thus, more comfy).
Am I just bored, or someone else experienced the same thing?

Fausto

 

[Smaug]

I think for peeling, you're right. Nothing will beat the straight edge of a Wharnecliff.

But I think for just about anything else, one blade shape won't feel any longer than another.

 

[quattromori]

That's exactly what I thought, too.
For "frontal" cuts, I never noticed any difference, and, after all, those cuts require very few cm's of edge.
Peeling is another matter.

Fausto
:cool.

 

[Peregrin]

I think maybe you are bored, Fausto! j/k

I never thought about your observation. The mechanics of it make sense though and are maybe so obvious I shouldn't bother with this post. When you are peeling something you get maximum blade contact with a Wharncliffe type (straight edge) blade, so you have the whole blade to peel with. If you are peeling with a spear or clip you are probably not using the curved portion of the blade so the blade seems shorter.

 

[quattromori]

Yeah Gary, maybe I am
The fact is, my new GEC is a sort of "experiment" on my path to smaller and more pocket friendly knives.
Until that apple, I was thinking that it was perfect. Now, I'm guessing the wharncliffe version of the same knife could work even better...and meanwhile, I thought I may be the only one experiencing this

Fausto

 

[rinos]

When peeling(apple) you are using just small part of blade(at least that's the way it works for me)so you don't need whole length,curved blades(spear or clip point)have more edge for "same" length of blade than wharncliffe
or maybe im wrong

 

[jakemex]

My Case slimline trapper with its long thin blade has always been my favorite for apples as its belly is located close to the tip and is not more than 3/4" leaving plenty of straight blade for peeling.

 

[quattromori]

My Case slimline trapper with its long thin blade has always been my favorite for apples as its belly is located close to the tip and is not more than 3/4" leaving plenty of straight blade for peeling.

The same exact thing happens with my Opinel (even though, to be fair, the blade of my #6 is longer than my GEC), which, so far (and also due to blade geometry) is my favourite peeling knife.

Fausto

 

[richstag]

I don't peel my apples Fausto. 90 some percent of the benefits reside in the peel...

 

[quattromori]

I don't peel my apples Fausto. 90 some percent of the benefits reside in the peel...

Kevin, I don't peel them either...if I take them from the appletree
But, if you prefer, I will substitute the apple in the thread with an orange or even a coconut if you wish

Fausto

 

[richstag]

Well, oranges I cut into eight sections because ninety some percent is in the white part of the peel

Coconuts I chop a hole off the top, pour in some rum and stick in a straw. Seriously

 

[richstag]

Something like this

Somewhere like this

Right off the tree

 

[Modoc ED]

I'm right handed so, if I hold the fruit or whatever I'm peeling in my left hand and make a straight stroke of the blade toward me with the knife in my right hand to peel the rind, a straight blade is more beneficial for a nice long, wide, straight, slice, BUT if I want to make a continuous peel in a sort of a spiral pattern, a curved blade (such as a clip blade) is ideal so as to make a rolling, toward the body, motion of the wrist to keep the slice/cut/rind continuous.

 

[black mamba]

I agree with rinos: the more belly the blade has, the more edge it has for it's length from tip to bolster. A true skinner blade has the most edge so that as you rotate your wrist, you can keep the edge moving through the material. I'm not a whittler, but I like my straight edged blades, like coping, sheepfoot and Wharncliffe, to be shorter for control with precision cuts. The best of all for this IMO is the sheepfoot on a sowbelly, with the blade already set at an angle because of the serpentine frame shape.

 

[richstag]

I agree with rinos: the more belly the blade has, the more edge it has for it's length from tip to bolster. A true skinner blade has the most edge so that as you rotate your wrist, you can keep the edge moving through the material. I'm not a whittler, but I like my straight edged blades, like coping, sheepfoot and Wharncliffe, to be shorter for control with precision cuts. The best of all for this IMO is the sheepfoot on a sowbelly, with the blade already set at an angle because of the serpentine frame shape.

Yeah to be serious, give me a good belly on a knife.

 

[jacktrades_nbk]

Something like this

Now that i have to try

 

[Brutus013]

Shortest distance between two points will be a straight line, so for any given blade length the more curve your blade has the more cutting edge you have. A wharncliffe or any other straight edged blade will have less cutting edge than a blade with belly, and even less than a blade with a recurve.

 

[popedandy]

Well, oranges I cut into eight sections because ninety some percent is in the white part of the peel

Coconuts I chop a hole off the top, pour in some rum and stick in a straw. Seriously

I assume that's because 90% of the benefit is in the rum? LOL Blade shape doesn't make much difference to me because when I'm peeling I'm not taking off a very wide piece of the peel. However, I'm not really fond of small knives like the 25 for that particular task.

 

[richstag]

^you got it