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- Oct 28, 2006
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Man has been making blades as his first tools since the beginning of time and along with fire and the wheel is to a great extent responsible for our existence.
The blade is arguably the most important component of a knife. You can to some degree use a knife without a handle, however without a Blade, let’s just say it’s not much of a knife.
The blade pretty much defines the knife as to it’s function and how a blade’s designed, what materials are utilized and how it’s executed will determine the degree of function. Many aspects such as steel type/make-up, shape, length, width, thickness, weight, taper, grinds, tempering/hardening, edge geometry go into the making of a fine blade.
It’s interesting that in some ways the blade has evolved tremendously over the tens of thousands of years that it’s existed yet in many ways it really hasn’t changed that much at all.
We see thousands of custom/handmade blades every year here on Blade Forums in all types, styles, sizes, shapes and materials and though I’ve seen many threads on knife handles and handle materials I’m not sure I have seen many specifically on and saluting the BLADE.
So please give us your thoughts. Some points for discussion:
• Your preference and opinions on blade steels among stainless, carbon, pattern welded and laminates?
• Your preference and opinions on stock-removal and forged blades? And who are some of your favorite makers for both these methods?
• Thoughts on tempering/hardening?
• What’s your preferred blade length for various types (hunter, bowie)?
And most importantly, post up photos of your favorite BLADES.
And as always, thank you in advance for your views and participation.
Bill Moran’s ST-24 blade design has always been one of my favorites:
Larry Fuegen’s blade carvings and treatments exemplify “Functional Art”:
Bruce Bump’s combination of deep and precise blade grinds and beautiful Damascus patterns create some stunting blades:
Thad Buchanan is grinding outstanding double edge fighters in the Loveless tradition:
Burt Foster shows why laminate blades are super hot:
And there’s beautiful engraved blades as demonstrated here by Ron Best and Jere Davidson:
The possibilities seem endless for Damascus patterns as shown here in what I call Don Hanson’s “scary things” pattern:
And how can you have a blade thread without depicting a expertly executed hamon as demonstrated by Karl Andersen's CKCA 2010 Club knife:
There are the “Art Blades” as demonstrated by Buster Warenski’s monumental King Tut gold dagger blade:
And then on the opposite end of the spectrum, the no-frills blades that do just what knives have always been meant to do “CUT”. A great example of that here with Jerry Fisk’s 2010 cutter blade. Though you can't see it here, it has a very aggressive "chisel ground" clip:
The blade is arguably the most important component of a knife. You can to some degree use a knife without a handle, however without a Blade, let’s just say it’s not much of a knife.
The blade pretty much defines the knife as to it’s function and how a blade’s designed, what materials are utilized and how it’s executed will determine the degree of function. Many aspects such as steel type/make-up, shape, length, width, thickness, weight, taper, grinds, tempering/hardening, edge geometry go into the making of a fine blade.
It’s interesting that in some ways the blade has evolved tremendously over the tens of thousands of years that it’s existed yet in many ways it really hasn’t changed that much at all.
We see thousands of custom/handmade blades every year here on Blade Forums in all types, styles, sizes, shapes and materials and though I’ve seen many threads on knife handles and handle materials I’m not sure I have seen many specifically on and saluting the BLADE.
So please give us your thoughts. Some points for discussion:
• Your preference and opinions on blade steels among stainless, carbon, pattern welded and laminates?
• Your preference and opinions on stock-removal and forged blades? And who are some of your favorite makers for both these methods?
• Thoughts on tempering/hardening?
• What’s your preferred blade length for various types (hunter, bowie)?
And most importantly, post up photos of your favorite BLADES.
And as always, thank you in advance for your views and participation.
Bill Moran’s ST-24 blade design has always been one of my favorites:
Larry Fuegen’s blade carvings and treatments exemplify “Functional Art”:
Bruce Bump’s combination of deep and precise blade grinds and beautiful Damascus patterns create some stunting blades:
Thad Buchanan is grinding outstanding double edge fighters in the Loveless tradition:
Burt Foster shows why laminate blades are super hot:
And there’s beautiful engraved blades as demonstrated here by Ron Best and Jere Davidson:
The possibilities seem endless for Damascus patterns as shown here in what I call Don Hanson’s “scary things” pattern:
And how can you have a blade thread without depicting a expertly executed hamon as demonstrated by Karl Andersen's CKCA 2010 Club knife:
There are the “Art Blades” as demonstrated by Buster Warenski’s monumental King Tut gold dagger blade:
And then on the opposite end of the spectrum, the no-frills blades that do just what knives have always been meant to do “CUT”. A great example of that here with Jerry Fisk’s 2010 cutter blade. Though you can't see it here, it has a very aggressive "chisel ground" clip:
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), also ivory and stag.