Fighter Design.

[Indianbladenoob]

A purely theoretical exercise, this is a fighter style knife that has been in my head for a while.

I don't have the equipment or the skills to make it though.
Any opinions?

 

[Frank Niro]

Yes. Your handle is low on the end which in fact would cause the tip to point upward and it is to small neasr the guard. As well the swedgr bis far too short and the top of the blade would act as a restriction. Frank

 

[Indianbladenoob]

Yes. Your handle is low on the end which in fact would cause the tip to point upward and it is to small neasr the guard. As well the swedgr bis far too short and the top of the blade would act as a restriction. Frank

The butt end? I thought the opposite would happen. i.e. the tip would have a downward bias if I slightly "pistol gripped" the handle. Will re-think this.
About it being too narrow near the guard, I was thinking a near 1/4" thickness will be strong enough. Plus most of the fighter style knives I see aren't full-tang.
Noob alert; I should have put down dimensions. I intend for the blade to be 10 inches long and just over 2 inches wide, just ahead of the guard. The handle itself is almost 5 inches for my hand but it could vary. Does that change anything?
I was pretty unsure about the swedge. It seems de-rigeur for a fighter. I am going to try taking it back about halfway up the blade.

PS. This is all theoretical. I have no experience or knowledge of Knife fighting. I have never used a knife in anger or danger and some would argue, with any skill.
I saw some on this forum and thought they were plenty cool

 

[tryppyr]

It's an ambitious design. Have you considered making a prototype from wood first to see how it handles?

Personally, I think the thumb rest is superfluous, but if it's just there for looks, go for it. I also think it would be better without the swedge.

About the handle, something bothers me. The line you drew through the pins does not line up with the direction of use for the blade. It makes it look like the tip is pointing down. Not sure why you would want to create that impression.

I do like the forward slant of the plunge. The small choil beyond the finger guard is unnecessary, but not unattractive. The lanyard hole in the handle is probably never going to be used, but again it looks pretty neat.

I did a mock up with some changes.

 

[daizee]

I lik the crisp, clean lines of the blade a lot, but the handle is a bit blobby at the back. I think it needs a bit more intentional sculpting. 1/4" is rather heavy for a fighter which should be fast in the hand, IMO.
I did a grind very close to that on a boot knife (sans swedge) and it's a nasty little blade. The tip does feel high due to the straight spine. On a small knife it might be less of an issue.
I'd widen the front of the handle slabs to reach down the guard a bit, but keep the front of 'em curved.
At any rate I like where you're going with it.

 

[Indianbladenoob]

It's an ambitious design. Have you considered making a prototype from wood first to see how it handles?

Personally, I think the thumb rest is superfluous, but if it's just there for looks, go for it. I also think it would be better without the swedge.

About the handle, something bothers me. The line you drew through the pins does not line up with the direction of use for the blade. It makes it look like the tip is pointing down. Not sure why you would want to create that impression.

I do like the forward slant of the plunge. The small choil beyond the finger guard is unnecessary, but not unattractive. The lanyard hole in the handle is probably never going to be used, but again it looks pretty neat.

I did a mock up with some changes.

That's a great idea. The wood mock up I mean.
I see a lot people using the sabre/filipino grip for knife fighting. The thumb forward and lining up with the spine. Just thought a place to rest the thumb might be useful for jabs. Also a spine parry would not result in the opposing blade sliding down and hitting the thumb. Like I said theoretical
I will re-work it with the original grind and post. The main grind line was angled higher and ended a little forward of where I have the swedge ending on this drawing. The angle matched the line for the pins better. But I wanted a little forward cant to the blade. In my head a forward cant would increase the force of the slash/chop. Also a little bit of "pistol grip" seems to make the blade line up with the bones of the forearm well. I might be way off the mark on any or all of this.

The forward slant, the lanyard hole and the mini choil are as you say, aesthetic. Features that appeal to me personally

 

[Indianbladenoob]

I lik the crisp, clean lines of the blade a lot, but the handle is a bit blobby at the back. I think it needs a bit more intentional sculpting. 1/4" is rather heavy for a fighter which should be fast in the hand, IMO.
I did a grind very close to that on a boot knife (sans swedge) and it's a nasty little blade. The tip does feel high due to the straight spine. On a small knife it might be less of an issue.
I'd widen the front of the handle slabs to reach down the guard a bit, but keep the front of 'em curved.
At any rate I like where you're going with it.

Agree on the blobbiness. 1/4" is a maximum but I want to keep it robust as well. I was thinking very little of the surface area is actually going to be full thickness. (Edit) Also the narrow neck behind the guard maes me think a lil thickness might be good. Drilled out and/or tapered tang maybe?
The handle slab is still fluid in terms of design. I was thinking they should be designed and contoured to the individual hand. (Edit) Maybe a little curvature added to the tang based on the hand and preference too.
Reworked.
I thin I addressed tryppyr's comments in the rework as well.