Guards, no guards, or something in between?

[bikerector]

Good day fellas. As many of you know, I'm collaborating with John on some knife designs and I've been posting sketches here and there in the collaboration thread. One of the comments on a recent sketch, along with remembering an AG Russell lockback hunter, along with some personal puukkos and moras I've used, is a guard even needed?

This does not consider what John can currently make, I'm curious about your preferences, or if they vary, under what situations do you like guards, no guards, or something between the two?

For guards, I think of things like a Loveless style hunter or a buck 110. I love the look of a guard, but rarely feel it's necessary, so I don't tend to have too many. Something that should obviously keep your hand from coming forward.

The something in between I think is best described with knives like the Kephart or element series knives from John. I have a lot of these styles where there is some grip securing features, but not an outright guard that very apparently keeps the hand from sliding forward.

Lastly, no guard at all. I actually find these handle to feel pretty comfortable and I like the look, but I don't think they're as common. As a defining characteristic, it's a straight transition from the handle to the edge. Puukko's are the main ones I'm thinking here, but there are a lot of folders that fall into this category like the buck 110.

 

[Creaky Bones]

I’m not a fan of big obtrusive guards, or guards above and below the spine like those on a KaBar or a bolt knife, but I do like something there to keep my hand from sliding up onto the blade if I’m stabbing into something like a stump. If the purpose of the knife was limited to carving, I’d opt for no guard and a rounder handle profile, but for a general use, do it all knife, something like this is my preference.

Nothing overly large, no sharp corners, I can still get my hand close to the cutting edge, but there’s something there to prevent sliding onto the sharp part.

 

[JK Knives]

I’ve always considered a guard to be something that protrudes down below the handles and blade edge, something like on my Scout Jr., (designed with input from an active SERE Trainer), or my C/U-7 model.

 

[cbach8tw]

For me definitely something in between, where the handle makes a guard on the bottom side of the handle. Or some Fiddlebacks have a slight guard incorporated before the blade.

 

[bikerector]

I’ve always considered a guard to be something that protrudes down below the handles and blade edge, something like on my Scout Jr., (designed with input from an active SERE Trainer), or my C/U-7 model.

I wasn't sure how to portray things like the Kephart or the hurley creek. Technically I think it's a guard, but it's not a whole lot more effective than a finger choil, but certainly more effective than nothing like puukkos and similar European designs. The curvier puukko handles I think are beautiful, and I think it could pair well with some blade designs I'm working on but my defaults have been the smaller guard or some feature that is not quite a guard but still helps keep the fingers off the edge like a groove or the blade dropping below the handle so the blade acts like a guard.

 

[JK Knives]

I personally like an index finger cutout like on the Element Series

 

[cbach8tw]

This is just for reference only about the guard incorporated into the blade.

 

[fishiker]

The something in between I think is best described with knives like the Kephart or element series knives from John. I have a lot of these styles where there is some grip securing features, but not an outright guard that very apparently keeps the hand from sliding forward.

If I were to choose a knife to use from the 5 in this pic it would be the second from the top. Nothing wrong with the top knife or bottom 2 but I would have little interest in the handle on the middle knife. The groove near the blade looks like it's too small to comfortably accommodate a man-sized index finger.
A guard or no-guard isn't a deal breaker for me if it is incorporated into the design in a way that is appealing to the eye and functional. With the exception of my Randall 14 and TGLB I'm not a huge fan of double guards but if done properly they can work.

 

[Wurrwulf]

I'm a no-guard guy, but I'm also someone who prefers a blade that is taller than the handle. Obviously, I've made exceptions with plenty of knives that I own and use, but if I have a choice between 2 identical knives, I'll typically go for the guardless. I'm also a huge fan of full length edges, which is where my preference for knives with blades taller than the handles comes from.

 

[glennbad]

I would think most of the chores a med/lrg JK blade are made for might require a guard of some kind. Whether stabbing/chopping, or working with wet/slimy conditions. Gives a bit more confidence in the handling also.

 

[David Mary]

I used to be all about guards, but I think a handle can be shaped in such a way as to be relatively safe for all but the most aggressive thrusting without one.

For example, this hybrid chopper machete I finished a few weeks ago:




Also, it's a bit easier to make by hand because the radius of the handle fits onto the wheel of my grinder, rather than requiring a variety of tools to get into the smaller radius of a guard.

Here's an EDC I will be finishing up in the next few weeks which also reflects my evolving take on guards:

 

[David Mary]

I'm a no-guard guy, but I'm also someone who prefers a blade that is taller than the handle. Obviously, I've made exceptions with plenty of knives that I own and use, but if I have a choice between 2 identical knives, I'll typically go for the guardless. I'm also a huge fan of full length edges, which is where my preference for knives with blades taller than the handles comes from.

I'm not sure I understand this last part. You can have a full length edge with a blade of any height, no? But I agree, full length edges are wonderful. That edc I posted above is influenced by the Spyderco Tenacious/Resilience line. Those knives have full length edges, and minimal guards, if you can really call them that. It allows you to get your hand right up to the cutting edge for maximum cutting leverage, which seems like something a knife really should allow if performance is a goal of the design.

 

[Wurrwulf]

I'm not sure I understand this last part. You can have a full length edge with a blade of any height, no? But I agree, full length edges are wonderful. That edc I posted above is influenced by the Spyderco Tenacious/Resilience line. Those knives have full length edges, and minimal guards, if you can really call them that. It allows you to get your hand right up to the cutting edge for maximum cutting leverage, which seems like something a knife really should allow if performance is a goal of the design.

Apologies for the pic of a non-JK knife; I don't have my Pocket Chef on me today. When I speak of full-length edges, I'm talking about an edge like you typically see in a kitchen knife.

 

[David Mary]

Apologies for the pic of a non-JK knife

My apologies as well, I didn't realize I was in the JK subforum.