FALSE EDGE on a blade: What's it for?

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Full Tang Clan

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Jul 22, 2000
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I own a Spyderco Native which has a false edge.

What purpose does the false edge on some blades serve? Is it mostly for cosmetics?

I know that, on say a Gerber Combat/Covert, you can sharpen the false edge to have a double edged knife.

Does the false edge serve any other purpose in blade design? What's are it's pros and cons?
 
It does allow the tip to penetrate easier, but it's mostly for cosmetics. On a bigger knife, it does help lighten the blade and move the balance back towards opposite end, but again, it's mostly cosmetic. Nothing wrong with that, though.
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--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
The absolutely ONLY reason ist to be banned in Switzerland.
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Ted
 
False edges are banned? True double edges are banned a lot of places (including here), but I've never heard of them banning false edges. That can't be much fun
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--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
1. False edges look so cool! They can really add to the aesthetics of the blade.

2. They allow the point to penetrate easier

3. They remove some metal up front, so the balance point moves back towards the handle. I am frankly sceptical about how many knife designers put a false edge on their blades for this reason, but apparently some do.

Joe
 
I avoid them when I can. They generally don't help penetration and they compromise tip strength and the belly curve of the blade.

Most folding knives are too short to be real effective stabbing weapons; however, if effectively sharpened they can open huge slash wounds. I experimented with slashing a few years back. The most critical part of the edge is the last inch or two by the tip (the belly of the blade). You want this back-curved, thin, and razor sharp. If you want strength when you do this you need the blade to be somewhat broad. A false edge just eats into this area for no benefit. The manufacturer usually ends up making the blade thicker to compensate for tip weakness and further reduces the blades effectiveness.

After running my tests, false edges just don't look as cool to me anymore.
 
At the risk of sounding pedantic

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">I own a Spyderco Native which has a false edge.

I know that, on say a Gerber Combat/Covert, you can sharpen the false edge to have a double edged knife.</font>
Click to expand...

Unless you've sharpened it, your Native does not have a false edge. An unsharpened suggestion of an edge on the spine of a blade is called a "swedge". A sharpened edge on the spine of a blade that does not run the full length of the blade is called a "false edge". That's right, a false edge is sharpened. If you sharpen the entire spine such that there is no differentiation between the edge and the spine, then you have a "double edged blade".



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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
Gollnick,

Interesting points.

- But if it's a matter of semantics, once one sharpens a false edge, wouldn't it follow that it is no longer "false", but a real edge?

- Perhaps I was a bit premature in saying that the Native has a false edge since it is a bit thick to consider sharpening; it IS a "swedge". The false edged Gerber Combat/Coverts, however, can be made into a double edged knife.

- Although we dont want to have the law breathing down the backs of knife companies anymore than they do, another reason for the false edge could be for knife companies to make as close as a double edged knife as legally possible.

- Some feel that false edges compromise the overall structural integrity of the blade. I know some people have complained about their Native's tip breaking off with little force.
 
There are always trade-offs in blade design. A thinner cross-section penetrates better than a thicker one. A thicker cross-section is less likely to break. Which is more important depends on how you are using the blade and what you are using it on.

I don't think that swedges are inherently bad. They simply trade better penetration for greater fragility. I like the way that works out on the Native, but I am not planning to thrust with it against body armor or bone.
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--Bob Q
 
Generally speaking, I like false edges and swedges on folders. However, I seem to have become much more fine-tip-work oriented these days. A few years ago, I was breaking tips off folders left and right, and wasn't a huge false edge fan. These days, I seem to end up doing finer work, and so appreciate a sharper point however I can get it, whether it's through a very fine wharncliffe-type blade, or through a clip- or drop-point with a false edge.

Joe
 
Gollnick, thanks for clearing up the terminology--I've always wondered about the differences. Of course all of this talk about converting a swedge to a false edge on a folder is moot unless the handle is designed to accomodate the modification. The handle on the Worker is a case in point. Too bad the Police, Native, Tim Zowada, and other knives with swedges don't have handles deep enough to cover said swedges.
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"> But if it's a matter of semantics, once one sharpens a false edge, wouldn't it follow that it is no longer "false", but a real edge?</font>
Click to expand...

A False Edge is just that: An EDGE. It is sharpened. It's called a "False" Edge not because it isn't sharp but because it does not run the full length of the blade.

If something isn't sharp, then it isn't an edge in the knife-sense at all. That's why an unsharpened suggestion of an edge on the spine of a blade is not called an edge but a "swedge."

Now, in many jurisdictions, a blade with a false edge, even if it doesn't run the full length of the blade, is considered for legal purposes to be a "double edged" blade.


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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
"I experimented with slashing a few years back."

God, some days this forum seems even less rational than usual. Who comes up with sentences like this!?
 
YOU can call it a "swedge", or whatever you want. I'll continue to call it a "false edge". Everybody knows what I'm talking about.
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Gene:
YOU can call it a "swedge", or whatever you want. I'll continue to call it a "false edge". Everybody knows what I'm talking about.</font>
Click to expand...

Well, that's what I thought. I thought a "swedge" was Spyderco-lingo for a false edge.

And I always thought that a "false edge" was an upsharpened edge.

I know, I know...WHATEVER.

Shall we complicate matters by introducing the term, "double-bevel"? Nah. Let's not.

 
"less rational", hey, I resemble that remark!

I brought up "slashing" as a tactical function of knives, since tactical functionality is the only excuse for a false edge that seems real significant to me.

BTW, I didn't use live test subjects. After a little playing with meat and other realistic substances I settled on bundled cloth as a representative target for experimental cutting. A roll or wad of denim or muslin moves compliently in response to an edge and resists cutting sufficiently that you can do quantitative comparisons of cutting depth when you take swipes at it. You can quickly see that thin blades with a lot of belly work best against soft material. You can also see the advantage of a file-sharpened edge if your blade is thick like a bayonet.

 
i have found that a false edge aids in breaking through a small bone of ... say a chicken for instance.it allows you to preserve the actual edge, but allows an "edge" to put pressure against the bone, as opposed to a flat spine. i have used a randall trout and bird{model 8?} in this way on more than one occasion.

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a cat almost always blinks when hit in the head with a ball-peen hammer, if he sees it coming, that is.
A sick mind is never bored.

life's tough, get a helmet.

(escalation of hostilities)
A few of my Knives
russ aka BladeZealot
 
rotflmao. cute.
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a cat almost always blinks when hit in the head with a ball-peen hammer, if he sees it coming, that is.
A sick mind is never bored.
life's tough, get a helmet.
A few of my Knives
russ aka BladeZealot
 
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