Educate me on guards.

[CUTS LIKE A KRIS]

I do not, as a rule, like guards. I like puukos, and dropped blades, and the like. I have experienced that guards work loose, get in the way, and just aren't me for my mostly bushcraft and meat cutting uses. But I also realize that eventually I will make a knife, or many knives, with guards. So I ask that you post a picture or two of knives you have, have had, or just admire, and tell me WHY the guard works so well, hopefully from a functional, as well as aesthetic point of view. All types if knives, from fighters/bowies, to EDC and folders are appreciated. Clamshell/ball/ring....... Let me see them all and learn why!!

Thanks
Kris

 

[black mamba]

I prefer a half-guard on a field dressing knife for extra security when hands and grip are bloody and slippery.
They are even more effective when paired with a large choil ahead of the guard, like on this D. Lisch hunter:

which allows a "choked up" grip, like this:

 

[D lisch]

I like guards of all kinds, with that said I would not put one on a kitchen knife. I like to make bowies and fighters and for the most part they have guards. so the challenge for me has become how can we innovate on something that has been around for a very long time with little change. I am still working on some new thoughts but I am very happy with what I came up with here, this split ring fighter adds a lot to this knife it feels great in your hand it adds flow to the knife and would add a lot of protection if you got in a knife fight, it would guard you hand.

 

[Lorien]

there is an issue of Blade coming up at some point (haha) which will have an article where a few top tiered knife makers are asked for their thoughts on guard design. There are some real pearls of wisdom in the article, none of which came directly from the author.

 

[Ben Seward]

Love that guard, Dave! Very innovative. I think the very definition of the word guard sums up its purpose...to protect the hand from your own edge and the edges of others. That said, I think the smaller the knife the lesser the need for a guard, IMHO.

 

[CUTS LIKE A KRIS]

Dave, I will pick on your post a bit if I can. I'm looking a bit more toward WHY you make the choices you do in guard construction- I guess a bit of a peek into- 'why does this shape work over another shape', and of course how to tell if it doesn't work. You know, the straight forward scientific aspects of aesthetics. (A bit of sarcasm). Really, any of the 'why' steps during construction would be appreciated if you could be so kind.

Another reason for my disdain of guards is the reason Jeff stated a benefit of them. I find choils to be something I don't appreciate either. I like my edges as close to the handle as possible, and find choils get caught up way too often in the various media being separated. To me (no offence to other types of knife styles), saying that you can choke up on the blade seems like a improperly designed handle- but that is coming from the Puuko style of work knife in my style, I have never felt the need to wrap my finger for leverage on my blades like was shown, and I'm fine with grabbing the blade itself as in some kitchen grips. But finding out how the other side thinks is why I posted this.

Great to hear Lorien, I'll try and keep my eye out for it, although I haven't picked up Blade for a while (local newspaper shop messed up my subscription badly last year and I haven't returned yet)


Perhaps another way to ask would be- Could you point out to me some guards that do not get it right in your mind, and please tell me why/what could be changed to make it right- but that criticism may strike some the wrong way.

Thank you for the responses this far!
Kris