Blade shapes - do they really matter?

Geedubya said:
Try out a few different shapes and steels,

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a few by Rick Menefee

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

ya!

GWB
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And I thought I had too many
 
Wild Willie said:
Try to bone out a chicken with a wharncliffe, then get back to me...
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Re-read the first paragraph
“aside from aesthetics, and maybe a few specialized jobs (like skinning game for example) what difference does it make”…

This post is for the folks who have way more knives than they actually need, and have all different kinds of blade shapes etc…
Which I would think is most of us on a knife forum, myself included.
But for regular edc use I can/could/have got by with many different shapes, including : Wharncliffes, drop, spear, clip/bowie, and a couple tantos way back.
 
tony281sc2 said:
Re-read the first paragraph
“aside from aesthetics, and maybe a few specialized jobs (like skinning game for example) what difference does it make”…

This post is for the folks who have way more knives than they actually need, and have all different kinds of blade shapes etc…
Which I would think is most of us on a knife forum, myself included.
But for regular edc use I can/could/have got by with many different shapes, including : Wharncliffes, drop, spear, clip/bowie, and a couple tantos way back.
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I was trying to be humorous, although I've found that a little belly on any knife I carry for general utility is preferable... Except spear points, don't really care for them.
 
Wild Willie said:
I was trying to be humorous, although I've found that a little belly on any knife I carry for general utility is preferable... Except spear points, don't really care for them.
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I find spear points done right is amazingly utilitarian, of course not needle point or double edge, a good spear point knife is the ER defender IMO
 
Just like with most things, one blade can work just fine for most casual tasks. One blade shape might seriously hinder your ability to do some things, but enhance others. Generally, we just need a thing with a sharp edge so whatever we have in our pocket suits the need until we start doing something specialized.

Geedubya said:
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Do I spy some handsomely rehandled Dexter Russell?

That company is a great example of purpose-driven blade shapes. Their knives are inexpensive and they make only utilitarian designs because they sell. A person could do food prep with the 6” butcher knife, but it’d sure be a lot easier with a more traditional western chef’s knife.
 
Leave the perfect filets and presentations for the restaurant industry, when it comes down to the raw use of a knife, you're not worries about optics or aesthetics, if you got a good size chunk of meat to grill up, then it's a win, blade shapes make some jobs easier, but I would never say " I would have been able to accomplish that task had I had a ______ blade shape
 
I work in a parts department and open a ton of boxes and packaging every day. I think clip points look the best, but an insingo blade shape is the way to go for me. A modified sheepsfoot or something along those lines. Not too many modern folders with that shape though. Not too many domestics knives anyway....
 
ShaiHulud said:
I find spear points done right is amazingly utilitarian, of course not needle point or double edge, a good spear point knife is the ER defender IMO
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It's just a personal preference thing for me, I still carry a SAK daily. For my primary knife it's a clip or drop point.
 
Blade shape does matter to me, as belly on a knife and the location of the point along the axis of the knife drastically change its cutting characteristics in my opinion. A wharncliffe or sheep foot blade with the tip on the bottom edge and the flat sharpened edge make it an excellent choice for draw cuts and really digging in to materials as a utility blade (cardboard, opening packages, etc) however to me it doesn’t do as well at food prep, skinning or slicing. A knife with plenty of belly and the tip close to the spine, like a mora or an Old Hickory butcher knife for example, does good at skinning, slicing, food prep, etc. but is not as good at piercing or work involving the tip. I feel like a spear point blade is closest thing to a “one size fits all” solution, so I think Victorinox gets it right there. Of course, that’s why I like my stockman patterns because I get a variety of blades for different chores in one package.
 
EngrSorenson said:
Just like with most things, one blade can work just fine for most casual tasks. One blade shape might seriously hinder your ability to do some things, but enhance others. Generally, we just need a thing with a sharp edge so whatever we have in our pocket suits the need until we start doing something specialized.


Do I spy some handsomely rehandled Dexter Russell?

That company is a great example of purpose-driven blade shapes. Their knives are inexpensive and they make only utilitarian designs because they sell. A person could do food prep with the 6” butcher knife, but it’d sure be a lot easier with a more traditional western chef’s knife.
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Absolutely,

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Back when i did not know beans about stuff (not that I know that much now) but knew I liked wood hafted blades, I made the acquaintence of VinceM. He did those and others in a number of different woods.

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The 4th knife from the left he hafted with African Blackwood, IIRC.
I have used nigh every day in the kitchen for at least 10 years.

ya!

GWB
 
Tanto point is good for piercing harder material because it has more stocks on the tip so it doesn't break easy, but not better than most other common sharps for penetrating softer materials, if not worse due to friction. This can also be achieved by having thicker grinds at the tip only. The sharp angle on the blade belly, which generally is the definition of tanto style, is more of aesthetic, imo. Less belly = less continuous cutting contact

A needle knife/dagger is better at puncturing soft material as it demands less force, but you then have a thinner blade and more awkward for general usage, hence why most of them are combat knife, from an older time. For more general utility, the swedge/false edge on the spine is a balance in between, it narrows down the thickness a little bit for more piecing, but still strong enough for general use.

Nevertheless, it doesn't stop people from having a combination of all of those... The Kabar Tanto has a swedge with tanto belly/tip and techincally a drop point... I'm too inexperience for such special blade.
 
tony281sc2 said:
...

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?

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If you use them, yes. If you flip them while watching tv, no.
 
I thought the shape does not really matter until a day, I was in hiking and wanted to cut the rope, I used the common knife (PM2) and my friend use the Dragonfly 2 Salt FRN Yellow Hawkbill. Sorry I don't know how to call the angle of that knife in English, it's reversed compare with "common" knife. When I use his one to cut the rope, it feels so great compare to my PM2, then I think the shape (angle) does really matter.

Similar feeling when I use the knife for cutting fish, use a thin and long shape blade makes the feeling easier and better. (e.g. use Grohmann #2 vs. Benchmade 15017-1)

Just my 2 cents.
 
ShaiHulud said:
Blade shapes both matter and don't matter.
Some shapes make chores easier to perform, but essentially every shape can perform every task, just maybe not as well.
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I think of it this way as well. It is possible to do about whatever cutting task needs done with any reasonably sharp knife, but few people on a site like this are going to accept suboptimal performance.

A long while ago people were taking great care to put flutes in edged tools made of stone, because it made them perform better. Of course it was still possible to kill animals without the flutes, but better is better and once a person has the choice, why not.
 
My stone tools came without flutes, once I chipped them in there, WOW! What a difference!

The added speed of cutting on a woolly mammoth, for example, gave me spare time in which to invent the wheel.

I attribute all my success in life to blade shapes.

Except for what I gained by my natural good looks.

And my remarkable modesty.

Parker
 
catspa said:
My stone tools came without flutes, once I chipped them in there, WOW! What a difference!

The added speed of cutting on a woolly mammoth, for example, gave me spare time in which to invent the wheel.

I attribute all my success in life to blade shapes.

Except for what I gained by my natural good looks.

And my remarkable modesty.

Parker
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How did you carve all of this onto this magic box?
 
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