One arm patterns with the cut out at the tip the blade. Useful or silly?

[TsarBomba]

Anyone who carries one of these - how much piercing utility do you gain over, say, a spey blade?

Pretty much none, unless you've got one like my Queen trapper where they left the entire arc cutout in place instead of rounding off the sharp bit (and even then, I can't imagine you'd get much penetration at all). The spey is probably the closest in utility to the one-armed blade, having an approximately-equivalent length of straight cutting surface and reasonably similar amounts of belly at the tip. The rounded OAM blades, such as Case and Boker have released, actually serve as excellent butter/spreading knives in addition to their sharp edges.

Really, though, I think it's just an excuse for a different, pinchable blade in a traditional pattern. Plus the "unrounded" ones like the aforementioned Queen really can be snapped open simply by drawing it from a pocket and catching the "hook" on a seam. Of course, between carrying a modern and having both arms, one can definitely argue that the utility of this design is lost on me. Simply stated, I like the way it looks.

 

[wazu013]

 

[TsarBomba]

Nice Remington, wazu013! Is it an RB473 or something else? The slight recurve in the Remington's master blade is an interesting take on the one-armed style. I imagine the stamped serial number indicates the Damascus blades (and stag?) are a short run?

I have one of the "normal" 2008 Remington RB473s and one which was claimed to be a "factory error" as the shield was left off (and the bone never cut for one). While I am highly skeptical of this claim -- it sounds like dealer nonsense meant to rope in unknowing collectors -- I have yet to find another one. It's almost certainly the original bone, just no shield.

I've been meaning to take a photo of them both for the "notable pairs" thread. If I find some time tonight I will fish them out and take some snaps.

Thanks for sharing yours!

 

[wazu013]

This one was sold as a factory error as well by SMKW. It's hard to make out in the pic but it's stamped 2009 instead of 2008.

 

[biomed]

I finally broke down and bought a GEC in ebony wood after being intrigued by the type for a couple of years.

Mike

 

[Rick Underwood]

I believe that these blades were originally a take on the Italian Mozzetta knife. The Mozzetta has a blunt tip, and the knives were popular because of a 1908 law requiring blunt tips for knives over 4 inches long. The curved tip looks like the so-called Spanish tip on many straight razors. Not a;;<ozettas have that particular tip. Some are squared off. I the original one-arm knife (knife for a one-arm man that was invested after the Civil War) had a curved blade that could be rocked on the substance to be cut, and it also had a fork like profusion for picking up the small piece that had been cut. I found a reproduction at RUSSELL - GreenRiverWorks.