Heel types - pros/cons

[BKT]

One area I struggle with in my mind is how to do the heel. How far down to bring the plunge. Do you leave a sharp edge on the bottom, or do you terminate prior to the bottom of the edge? I have seen it done both ways.

Example...Aaron Gough leaves his heel tang width and grinds in a small choil to terminate the edge:

And Burt Foster goes all the way to the bottom of the heel with his edge:

What are the pros and cons of each do you think? Is there any safety/comfort concerns with the index finger riding so close to the edge? Both look fine to me but which do you guys prefer and why?

 

[MKarish]

For a kitchen knife I like edge all the way to the heel. That way you don't end up with a dull or worse high spot that prevents the blade coming flat to your work surface.
For work knives or something I'm likely going to be pushing into the cut I like a dull heel as I feel it gives me a little bit of protection in case my hand slips forward on the grip.

 

[kuraki]

Gah I have the same problem. So I'm just tagging this to see. I don't care for choils at the plunge. They look nice, but in use I just snag stuff in them.

 

[BKT]

I guess the real question is how realistic is the fear of the hand slipping up onto the blade? I personally have never had this problem or even come close. Many folders do not offer any protection like this and you dont hear of peoples hand slipping up onto the blade (or I have not anyways), and if the hand did slip up onto the blade, its likely it would go higher than the 1/4" or so the dull heel protects from. It is also worth noting that pretty much all integrals are set up with a sharpened heel.

These are just the things I think about while I should probably be getting work done at my day job lol.

 

[Justin Schmidt]

Following this.

 

[john april]

i have never had my hand slip up toward a blade, even with a non contoured handle. i would choose the foster method. the other example will not cut flat because the whole edge will not touch the cutting surface.

 

[weo]

I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination (unless your talking physical therapy, of course) but I'd say the function of the knife has a lot to do with the answer.

As MKarish says, on a kitchen knife, you wouldn't want a ricasso instead of a heel because then the entire cutting edge of the blade wouldn't hit the cutting board. I could see the benefit of having a ricasso on a hunting knife, because slimy guts can make things slippery.

Quick research shows that there's differing opinions on the function of a ricasso, from adding strength to the blade when making a knife with a tang, a place for the forefinger, or a good base for a bolster which would be more difficult without one.

Here's a good explanation on the function of the ricasso: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/428199-Why-a-ricasso
Thanks for asking and making me research and learn...
~billyO

 

[samuraistuart]

Personally, I like and use both methods pictured in BKT's OP. There are drawbacks to having an exposed heel, especially on a hunting knife. I made myself an M4 hunter with exposed heel last year, and before I had my first whitetail unzipped, that heel bit me in the finger. Not while I was actually using the knife to make cuts, but when it was laying on the ground and I reached down to grab it (shot the deer right at dusk, so it was getting dark). However, it is super fast and easy to sharpen, as you don't have to worry about the sharpening stone banging into the ricasso and scuffing it up. One drawback to the plunge design on Aaron's resolute (and that style), is often the grind is thicker towards the plunge, making for wonky sharpening. However, us custom knife makers don't (shouldn't) allow that to happen, as we strive to make the grind even and thin from plunge to tip. However many "factory" knives get thicker towards the plunge line, due to uneven (lazy) grinding.

There is also the option of NOT using a sharpening choil, and having the edge go into the plunge/ricasso. That way you won't get any snag.

 

[JTknives]

I have never had my hand slip up onto the edge but I have cut my self lol. Like everyone else here you have to look at the knives primary use and terminate the grind accordingly. Kitchen knives come all the way back at off the heal, but normally that's not a problem because thoes knives are wide blades used for slicing or chopping. But other kitchen knives with small thin blades like a fillet I stop short of the heal becaus your not going to be using it on a cutting board like a chief knife. On slicing knives like skinners I also don't go all the way to the heal but that depends on how wide the blade is. I also am not a fan of choils, all thy do is catch and snag. But there's always an exception to this and I make a knife that breaks all my above guidelines. So with that said lets see if we can dig up some pictures

Here is a kitchen knife I made for the wife, the blade is wide enough that there is no chance of slipping onto the edge.

This filet knife has an extended heal to keep your hand from slipping down onto the edge when slippery.

This micro fillet has such a small handle that it also needed an extended heal, this is my wife's favort knife for dressing out chicken.

This is a skinner just out of cryo (action shot lol) and I terminated the grind befor the heal.

And this is an exception to all I have said, it's my 2nd Amentment knife.

So I guess all I have proved is make what works and looks good and there is no hard and fast rules.