design critique please

fast14riot · Feb 26, 2011

Hey everyone, I have a design that I have been refining that I hope to be scalable up or down to fill different roles. I like the idea of the same design taking on different uses for some reason.

Actually started as a kitchen knife design with roughly a 4" blade, but if scaled up accordingly could work well as a knatchet, and scaled down could be a neck knife similar to the Folts Minimalist, give it a 3.25" blade and call it a skinner.

Any and all criticisms good or bad are welcome, just keep in mind I am after a scalable design and not adding different features for different sizes/uses.

Thanx for looking-
-Xander

AcridSaint · Feb 26, 2011

Hi Xander - I was in the shop the day Alan came up with the minimalist. Cool little knives. I'd say that from a utility perspective, you may want some belly to the blade if you plan to use it as a multi-purpose design.

fast14riot · Feb 26, 2011

A.S. - yeah the minimalist is cool, I love mine, its a CRKT though.

As far as belly goes I was playing with that, one of my variations had the swept portion extend further back towards the handle, but then I liked the look of the longer straight section as well. This one may have to be made from plastic or aluminum to check it out.

-Xander

grumpyphil · Feb 26, 2011

Interesting that you are using the Minimalist as a sort of model because I have sort of the same idea in my head and have for awhile. Is there a reason you're not sticking with a Wharncliffe? Personally, I don't find anything to bitch about, I like it and I like that big fat belly on it. What kind of grind are you going to do?
Grumpy

Frank Niro · Feb 27, 2011

You asked and said you wanted it. It certainly won't work well as a skinning knife, nor as an opening knife, but might work well for chopping. Frank

fast14riot · Feb 27, 2011

Frank, thanx. I appreciate all input. Truth be told, I am still up in the air with this knife and idea. I know that there is no such thing as one blade to do everything and do it well but thought that if I took the same blade and made it bigger/smaller it might cover more bases. This one may never leave the pages of my notebook, but I still want any and all input on this design.

-Xander

TxSxB · Feb 27, 2011

I really like the design, it looks very useful and I think the lines flow very well. The one thing that I think would help it out is a little bit of extra blade length to draw out a little more belly, something like this is beautiful I think. Sorry for butchering your sketch by the way

Would make for an excellent kitchen knife I imagine.

Frank Niro · Feb 27, 2011

Perhaps concider what you are looking to do with it; look at what others are doing for the same function; expand or reduce their ideas to what pleases you; don't try to make it all in one knife; think function which can be useability or beauty; strange does not necessarily mean either. Frank

Patrickknives · Mar 1, 2011

I suggest you make a model of both just to see how they feel and handle, you can get 1/8 thick plastic or wood, some use cardboard and mock up the knife. I like plastic since I can cut and glue to make changes.

You have a couple of different radius that you use which will require additional tooling, I suggest you draw all the radius the same which makes construction easier w/o changing the design.

I am assuming the 3/8 hollow will be a tube that is flared to hold the end?

NStricker · Mar 1, 2011

I'm looking at the design and trying to figure out what the knife is intended to do. It may cut at a number of different tasks, but I don't think it would do any of them well.

First, the point is pretty low--below the centerline of the handle, and likely at or below the knuckles when the knife is in hand. That means that for any tasks in which you're using the point you are going to be using your hand/wrist muscles a lot more to fight against the blade as it will have a tendency to tip the handle upward in your hand for any puncturing/forward movements. As long as you are making only downward cutting motions you might be fine, but as someone else pointed out you don't have a lot of belly, and what you do have is all at the front fourth of the cutting edge. So for any skinning/slicing chores you are going to be working harder to force the straight edge at the back 3/4 of the blade through whatever it is you are cutting. Since that edge is (again) below the line of the bottom of the handle you will be working harder to control it.

If you raise your point up so that it is in line with your front pin, and raise up the rear edge so that it is no lower than the bottom of the back of the handle I think you will find that the knife is much more efficient to use.

fast14riot · Mar 2, 2011

NStricker said:
I'm looking at the design and trying to figure out what the knife is intended to do. It may cut at a number of different tasks, but I don't think it would do any of them well.

First, the point is pretty low--below the centerline of the handle, and likely at or below the knuckles when the knife is in hand. That means that for any tasks in which you're using the point you are going to be using your hand/wrist muscles a lot more to fight against the blade as it will have a tendency to tip the handle upward in your hand for any puncturing/forward movements. As long as you are making only downward cutting motions you might be fine, but as someone else pointed out you don't have a lot of belly, and what you do have is all at the front fourth of the cutting edge. So for any skinning/slicing chores you are going to be working harder to force the straight edge at the back 3/4 of the blade through whatever it is you are cutting. Since that edge is (again) below the line of the bottom of the handle you will be working harder to control it.

If you raise your point up so that it is in line with your front pin, and raise up the rear edge so that it is no lower than the bottom of the back of the handle I think you will find that the knife is much more efficient to use.

NStricker - Thanx. You and everyone who has replied all have very valid points.

This design started as a small kitchen/bar slicer and for some strange reason I thought about scaling it up and down to fill different roles. It is one of the more untraditional designs in my note book and I wasn't too sure about it, so I posted here for some feedback.

I have always been a right tool for the job kinda guy, and knives have been no exception. I don't know why I thought I could make a one design cuts all knife, and then reading through my copy of Knives 2011 the article about the "Besh Wedge," it outlines that many knife concepts have been combined unsuccessfully over the years. or what we think is new is actually called something else by someone else. This design may be destined to stay on the pages of my notebook for sometime.

Thanks again for all the feedback, everyone.

-Xander