Categories/Types of knives

Patrice Lemée

Patrice Lemée

Joined
Aug 13, 2002
Messages
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Ok, I am doing a little cleaning in my knife pics collection. I have a lot of them as many of you here probably do. The thing is I am having trouble categorizing everything.

Any interest in trying to come up with a system that would work. Here is what I have on there now and as you can see it clearly isn't working:

Art
Blacksmith
Camp Knives
Choppers
Clip point
Cut & Shoot
Daggers
Fighters & Bowies
Filet
Folding
Hunters
Karambit
Kiridashi
Kitchen Knives
Machete & Swords
Medieval
Navaja
Neck Knives
Push Daggers
Recurved
Ring knives
Scandi
Small & Drop point
Swords


So if you want to participate feel free to add your suggestions for categories/sub-categories and I'll update the original post each day and hopefully in the end we can come up with a useful system.

Patrice

PS: After we have the system worked out we may add a brief description to each categories.
 
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Some of the categories always seem to overlap for me.
Also, I am not entirely sure how you define some of them like Hunters, Fighters, Bowies. I know what they are BASICALLY but can't a knife be both like bowie and fighter?

Thanks for your help.

Patrice
 
I don't have a problem with a category for 8"+ bowies, fighters and maybe even daggers.

A couple more categories, kitchen knives, cleavers, kiridashi, cut and shoot.

but where is the distinction between machete and chopper though.

Perhaps it may be better to have a hierarchy with subcategories such as:

Knife - 8" or longer

Knife 8" or less,

Art, any size or type, maybe subcategories

sword <24"

sword >24"

Chef, any size
 
For intersecting categories of info databases are used. You can categorize, and you can filter by category. That way you can define multiple categories for each pic, for example an art chef's knife may appear both art knives filter and kitchen knives filter...

There are plenty softwares do that: google search "image database software" keywords. Some pretty expensive software used in crime labs etc. and some free ones. Read the features, download evaluation version...
 
I guess choppers are more the kind used in cutting competition?
I want to include Japanese knives but I am afraid that culture specific categories will again overlap, maybe as subcategories.
Once we get a good base I'll see what we can do with subcategories.

Thanks again for participating

Patrice

PS: Galadduin, great idea thanks. I'll go take a look at what is available. I'll still continue this list thing for people who aren't as computer savvy.
 
Here are a few possible ideas...

  • Medical/surgical
  • Razors
  • Carving/whittling
  • Horticultural/agricultural (various specialty harvesting blades, grafting, etc)
  • Under hunters: skinners, caping, bird & trout
    • would the larger beef slaughtering and butchering knives go here?
    • would something like the Alaskan ulu go here?
  • Throwing
  • Historical, replicas, reenactment, etc
  • Non-steel: flint knapped, bronze, ceramic, titanium, etc
  • Fantasy/SciFi (or would this be under art?)
I'm running out of steam. More later. The database multi-category idea seems a good one.
 
It would be easier to categorize knives strating from the top at the simplest divisions and work down from there. i.e. start by dividing into folders and fixed blades, then general uses (tactical edc versus hunting and the like), then specific types, and continue from there until you have a sort of map.
 
Phil has the right idea!
Do you want types of knives or blade shapes? I could consider clip point or drop point a blade shape not a type of knife. If you called it a clip point hunter then you have categorized it in the hunting category.

You also did not list Japanese, list them as to their size, Tanto ect.
 
Hunters/Bowies/Fighters

I just can't seem to see a clear difference between those. What makes one be one or the other or a mix of 2 or 3? :confused::confused:

Patrice
 
Patrice Lemée;7394223 said:
Hunters/Bowies/Fighters

I just can't seem to see a clear difference between those. What makes one be one or the other or a mix of 2 or 3? :confused::confused:

Patrice
Click to expand...
kinda like an suv, is it a car or a truck? it all depends on who is driving it I guess.
 
Yes Rusty but:

What makes a hunter a hunter (except for skinners of course)?
Is anything large considered a Bowie?
You can fight with any knife, what makes one fits exclusively the fighter category?

Patrice
 
Art
*Fantasy/SciFi
Blacksmith
Camp Knives
Carving/whittling
Choppers
Cut & Shoot
Daggers
Fighters & Bowies
Filet
Folding
*Slipjoint
*Tacticals
Historical, replicas, reenactment
*Medieval
Horticultural/agricultural
Hunters
*Skinners
*Caping
*Bird & trout
Japenese
Karambit
Kiridashi
Kitchen Knives
Machete & Swords
Medical/Surgical
Medieval
Non-steel
Navaja
Neck Knives
Push Daggers
Razors
Ring knives
Scandi
Swords
Throwing
...

Almost all these could further divided by:

Size
Blade shape
&#8230;

Here is the last update. I think that this could be more of a list of different tags we could use with the database idea.
I downloaded Picasa3 and it seems like a good program to tag pictures. I haven't played a lot with it but it looks promising.

Patrice
 
If you're trying to list anything and everything with a cutting edge GOOD LUCK. The list would be a mile long. :eek: My list for general types of KNIVES would go as so..

Art
Balisong
Bowie
Butcher (this could be kitchen)
Camp
Chopper
Dagger
Diving
Fighter
Fillet
Folder
Hunter
Kitchen
Machette
Neck Knife
Non-Steel
Skinner
Survival
Sword
Tactical
Throwing
Utility

Anything else could probably be grouped into one of the above IMO. Way too many sub-categories to name but, this is your thread not mine. :foot: :D
 
Patrice Lemée;7395650 said:
Yes Rusty but:

What makes a hunter a hunter (except for skinners of course)?
Is anything large considered a Bowie?
You can fight with any knife, what makes one fits exclusively the fighter category?

Patrice
Click to expand...

I think of a hunter as being a blade 4-5" long, usually DP or clipped. Probably one of the most versatile knives.
example:


A bowie is basically an oversized hunter. Too big/thick and it's likely more of a chopper.
example:


A fighter is designed for good penetration and slicing. Usually not as wide or tall as a bowie. Long and pointy comes to mind.
example:
 
I was going to suggest two categories.....those knives that you have cut yourself with and those you have not cut yourself with. Then I realized all my knives would be under the same heading.:)
 
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