Blade shapes - do they really matter?

[tony281sc2]

Weird thread title and topic, I know.

But as I’m sitting here before work, flipping my Eklipse Bowie and Harpoon Spanto as I watch tv, I can’t help but wonder, aside from aesthetics, and maybe a few specialized jobs (like skinning game for example) what difference does it make for someone like me, the average knife enthusiast?

In the past I have had jobs where I would be using a knife dozens of times a day.
Now, because of my job, it’s more like a handful a day, if that. Even still, the geometry, and the blade steel seemed much more important for getting the job done, compared to what shape the blade was.

So I was just wondering, how do you folks choose your blade shape? Or how do you choose a favorite? Specifically on a knife like a Hinderer, which has many different styles of blade, with the same handle and general dimensions. Is is purely aesthetics, is it maximum efficiency of what you will be cutting, or a combination of the two?

FWIW, I like the look of tantos the most, but they are a pain to sharpen, so right now I have to say the most appealing to me in general is the Bowie blade shape.

 

[Dav1]

Many including me look at aesthetics but also other factors come into play and are more important for tasks such as thickness, primary and secondary grinds/bevels etc... Of course as you mention this doesn't take into account specific jobs where the shape will come into play like preparing game, woodworking, brush clearing etc...

 

[shane45-1911]

Drop point covers 95% of my general requirements in a knife.

I like a clip point for skinning.

I like a wharncliffe for cutting cardboard or other "x-acto" type precision cutting knife requirements, where the tip does most of the work.

 

[ferider]

Drop point covers 95% of my general requirements in a knife.

I like a clip point for skinning.

I like a wharncliffe for cutting cardboard or other "x-acto" type knife requirements.

This. Plus, I don't really care for Tantos (there are exceptions of course )

Note that the handle is often at least as important for me.

 

[shane45-1911]

Note that the handle is often at least as important for me.

Yup, gotta have a comfy hande regardless of blade shape.

 

[tony281sc2]

^very true, good point guys!

 

[pvicenzi]

Yes.

 

[J. Doyle]

I think for 95% of tasks, 95% of blade shapes will do them equally well. So for most daily chores, most of us can get by just fine with whatever blade we like.

I'll leave a little room for the more rare specialized tasks where a specialized blade would excell.

 

[Delta-v]

Some shapes certainly excel at certain tasks. Wharncliffes are great for cutting cardboard and paper etc. Clip points are great for skinning. Tantos are great for piercing. Spear points are great for defensive uses. Drop points are the best everyday utilitarian choice since they do a decent job at just about everything.

 

[mauser9]

Great thread and posts. I like clip points for game and EDC plus the tanto for carry also.

 

[DavidABQ]

The shape of the blade grind and blade edge shape ( recurve versus something with little to no belly) makes a difference. I am not sure how much impact on cutting something a clip point versus a spear or drop point makes. The straight cutting edge found on sheep foot blades would impact cutting, I think?

 

[Ratatoskr]

Ergos are more important to me than blade shape, for the most part.
I like a sort of leaf-shape or spear-with-belly for animals and I don't have a lot of use for radical new things in the knife world.

 

[SomebodySomewhere]

Deleted.

 

[GmpaJim]

When think of the times I’ve used the wrong knife for a job, being steel stupid, not knowing a grind from from a liner…and that was last week.
To me, thick for the woods, thin for cooking, shape…I like them all, if it doesn’t get overly exaggerated

 

[Another Shepherd]

In the kitchen, some people like to rock the knife on the cutting board, for which you need a belly. A straight spine is then useful for scraping food off the cutting board.

When you use a slicing motion rather than a rocking motion, a Wharncliffe of Sheepsfoot give you a longer cutting edge to slice with.

A hawkbill can be useful to reach things in awkward places. But a recurve limits your choice of sharpening tools.

A Mora Kansbol has a compound grind, Scandi near the heel and full flat near the tip. So the edge near the tip is good for cutting common things like cardboard or food, while the edge near the heel is good for tough things like hard rubber garden hoses.

I don't know what a clip point is good for, compared to a drop point. Maybe it's a hunting thing.

Regarding hollow vs. flat. vs. convex grinds, I've seen Catra data somewhere, but I don't recall where it was--perhaps in Dr. Larrin Thomas's excellent book.

 

[beeinak]

Too many variables/situations occur- that is why I carry more than one!

 

[Shorttime]

I've developed a preference for points that sit lower, relative to the mid-line of the knife. More of a modified sheepsfoot than a proper wharncliffe, I guess.

Eh. I guess it would be easier to describe with some recycled pictures.

More like this

Or this

But this is a little too flat, for me.

 

[SomebodySomewhere]

Deleted.

 

[Wild Willie]

Try to bone out a chicken with a wharncliffe, then get back to me...

 

[Geedubya]

Try out a few different shapes and steels,

a few by Rick Menefee

In light of some great responses, chances are you will be able to answer your own question better than anyone else can.

ya!

GWB