Guard or no Guard

R

Reggie Barker

Joined
Jan 26, 2005
Messages
146
I put guards on knives that a customer orders one for. Myself a guard is in my way. Kitchen knives, commercial skinning knives none have a guard. I skinned cows and cut meat for a living for a few years so I grew used to no guard. I am not saying I am right just my preferance.What are some of ya'lls ideas on this I am interested.
Thanks
Reggie
 
I can go both ways on the guard issue. It's more an aesthetic choice for me than a functional one - some knives look better without a guard to break the flow from blade to handle, others just look plain wrong without one. A well designed handle will keep your hand where is ought to be. As will attentiveness to the task at hand. If you cut yourself, it's likely not the fault of the knife.

Roger
 
For a general utility knife I could go either way. None of my pocketknives (especially the traditional slippies) have guards, and the only times I've cut myself with one weren't for lack of guard.

At the same time, I don't use them for the sorts of specific tasks that require a lot of hard thrusting. I have other knives for that stuff, and they all have ample guards. For that use, then yes, I definitely want a guard.
 
Actually, upon reading your post again, maybe I should have asked for clarification. Many of my kitchen knives (such as Henkels) have a solid bolster that does not extend below the edge line. So I can see where a guard would get in the way if it dropped down too far, or had a top arm as in a double guard, but I feel a bolster would be better than just a choil or nothing. Otherwise your first finger is pressing against the thin steel of the blade. It's more comfortable to have some width there. I think Daniel Winkler often forges out this area wider for this reason on his knives that don't have a true "guard".
 
I do not like traditional guards. Like said already: they get in the way.

I like integrated guards like on Bob Dozier knives. They give security, but do not get in the way. In a pikal grip, they serve as a thumb ramp. Even his double guards still allow you to lay your thumb along the spine, or your finger. Simply genious design. All of the pros of a guard (though a little less secure in VERY heavy stabbing as a full traditional guard), and all of the pros of no guards at all.

In the folder world, "horns" like seen on many TNTs are the equivilant.

I also like wide finger cutouts... if wide enough to fit my thumb when in the pikal grip. The Snody Sportster is an example. My thumb fits in there nicely. Some are too small.
 
As you know from an earlier post of mine, I prefer a guard. I did cut myself once on a Scandinavian style knife when my hand slipped up the handle and on to the blade. I'm sure it was my own fault, but ever since I have wanted all my users to have guards.

If a customer requests a knife without a guard, then that is the way it should be made. If you tend to sell a lot of knives that don't have guards, then you should continue to make a large percentage that way.

When I order a knife, I make sure I ask for a guard. It should be up to the person purchasing the knife to make sure that it is made the way they like.
 
RogerP said:
I can go both ways on the guard issue. It's more an aesthetic choice for me than a functional one - some knives look better without a guard to break the flow from blade to handle, others just look plain wrong without one. A well designed handle will keep your hand where is ought to be. As will attentiveness to the task at hand. If you cut yourself, it's likely not the fault of the knife.

Roger
Click to expand...

What Roger said!! :thumbup:

Jimmy
 
I like knives with large guards, I have no use for a guardless knife. Jimmy Crowell is making me two small knives right now and I told Jimmy to put a large guard on them, he tends to like small guards or no guards at all. I had J.D.Smith make me a hawkbill recently, he forgot to put a guard on the knife when I received it and saw no guard I put it away and most likely will never use it.
 
This is good I think this shows that some people like chevys and some like fords.I was not impliying that there was only one way. I like to see what poeple like.
Thanks
Reggie
 
Personally I think it depends on the style of blade. If I was going to use a knife for say... dressing some rabbits , I would not mind if it did not have a guard , for a larger animal like a deer I would prefer a guard but could 'live' without it. (only because at times I too am paranoid about hand slippage in certain applications).

Now honestly , for a fighter style , fixed blade I would prefer a guard of some sort , a choil would be better than nothing but I would prefer a guard first.
Especially for a stabbing (penetrating - tanto etc) blade as opposed to a slashing blade (karambit etc).

On certain styles of knives , the knife would look lost without a guard , like a Bowie for example.

Just IMO. :p
 
I tend to not like guards....i like how they look but not how they feel. I agree with the idea that if you cut yourself, its 99.9% of the time your fault and not the knife.

I always wonder whn i read these... "What the hell are these people stabbing so hard and so often?"..then i remember that 99% of knives usage are all in some theoretical situation.... :)
 
I like a half guard, for the same reason Keith states above and knifemaker KBA. If the knife gets jammed or if the handle is slippery for rain or you may have put it down for some reason,when you pick it up dew is on the grip. Could be blood on the grip if your a hunter. I have had my finger(s) go forward on the blade and get cut. Lower half guard please.
 
I like a half guard, for the same reason Keith states above. If the knife gets jammed or if the handle is slippery for rain or you may have put it down for some reason,when you pick it up dew is on the grip. Could be blood on the grip if your a hunter. I have had my finger(s) go forward on the blade and get cut. Lower half guard please.

oops sorry about the double can't delete!
 
Reggie Barker said:
This is good I think this shows that some people like chevys and some like fords.I was not impliying that there was only one way.
Click to expand...

And nobody but the weirdos like Dodge!;) :D

I think Roger P nailed it completely. Nothing more to say there.
 
Ask "What is the purpose of the knife, can a guard enhance its use in purpose?"

Guards do two things; prevent the user's hand from sliding onto the blade, and/or prevent something else from sliding up the blade onto the user's hand.

A utility knife generally used for light cutting or slicing likely won't need a guard. There the force of use is towards the handle, a pulling motion is used, unlikely the hand will slide forward onto the blade.

Any knife designed for forward movement, however, perhaps for stabbing or thrusting, or which might be used for defense, should in my opinion have a guard. The guard on such a knife will prevent the user's hand from sliding forward onto the blade if the point hits something hard (bone or armor), or it can be used to parry another's blade, protecting the hand.

If you have ever fenced, then you can understand how important a guard can be for protecting the hand from an opponant's blows!

Andy
 
Andrew Colglazier said:
A utility knife generally used for light cutting or slicing likely won't need a guard. There the force of use is towards the handle, a pulling motion is used, unlikely the hand will slide forward onto the blade.
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I'd like to make an observation about knife design here. The design should naturally reflect what the knife will be used for most of the time. But you still have to weigh in the consequences of the other things it might do on occasion. In this example, I may use a general purpose knife with a slicing or pulling motion 99% of the time. But if stab hard enough for my hand to slide off the grip just one time, the result could be permanent tendon damage without a guard. We all decide for ourselves where to compromise, but in some cases the results could be more catastrophic than others.
 
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