pointed knife or not

K

KnifeTest

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Aug 7, 2004
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71
Hi guys,


What do you think about pointed knife ? You use the point usually ? May be a sheepsfoot knife or and rounded point is better, safer for other people and for yourself. the French brand OPINEL sell very well a knife with an rounded point, maybe some Spyderco too ?

Can you say what's good knife with rounded point or at least NOT POINTED ?

Thanks for your opinion and advice
 
Benchmade River/Dive 100SH20 if you are looking for a fixed blade.

All in all, it boils down to what you are using the knife for. For a common everyday carry, I like knives with some point. They are good for envelopes and boxes. I usually find a clip point to be more versitile than a sheeps footed knife. Still, with proper handeling, neither knife is more dangerous than the other.
 
I personally favor knives with pointy blades, preferably clip point or drop point. I find them a whole lot more useful than sheep's foot style blades.

However, taste is a personal thing, and if you like rounded off blades you might want to take a look at the Spyderco Rescue series.
 
The sheepsfoot is a good blade for utility cutting purposes. I have skinned deer with a sheepsfoot on a stockman. I designed a small knife with a radical drop to the point sheepsfoot type blade that I intend on trying as a skinning knife this fall. It's only has a 1 1/2" blade. If you need to pierce, the pointed blade will work better.
Scott
 
Very frequently you need to pierce a material to start a cut. Some sort of point or sharp corner on your blade is needed to begin this piercing action so a rounded tip is not generally useful. A sharp corner on the front of the edge (such as you find on box cutters or sheeps foot blades) will work for many utility functions, but not all. They excel at cutting arbitrary curves or making straight cuts in uniform materials like cardboard. The leading edge corner digs in and cuts where you point it. It is bad to have the leading corner when you want to seperate materials at their natural boundaries, such as when you are skinning game or otherwise dismantling a compound structure. The leading corner will tend to cross the material boundaries and cut into areas where you don't want it to go. A relatively straight edge without a curve to a narrow point will also not work well in small openings. Often I want to slip a point into tight opening and split the oriface apart. A sheeps foot blade or a square tip don't work well in this application.

In general I like a clip-point or drop-point for utility work. A sheeps foot makes a nice secondary blade. I like stockman model folders because they offer a long clip point, a small drop point, and a small sheeps foot blade.
 
I usually prefer something with a very moderate drop, or even no drop from the spine. This still leaves you with a point, however, it also has a good deal of 'slice' left to the blade.
 
Granted, the Benchmade 555 is a "modified" sheepsfoot blade, but my drummer has proved it equally dangerous to any "pointed" blade.

I loaned him the knife to pop some zip-ties off a few cables at our last gig, and next thing I know, he's running toward me clutching his hand. The wall beside the kit is dotted with blood, and he's dripping on the floor (actually turned out to be a minor stab to the fingertip).

Proves that anything can be dangerous, point or not. Also...there's a reason it's always the drummer in the band that dies first. :p

Neil
 
I definately prefer a point. Although I sure a sheeps foot is great in a liferaft or rescue use only knife the rest of the time it is too handy to not have. It wont really make the knife "safer" by losing the point because any foolish or malicious action can still cause lots of damage (ie. sharp edge). That being said maybe some day I will buy a Boye or Spydie Rescue.
 
That would depend on the laws where you live. In most of North America there are no laws about the tip of a knife. I would also not trust a law enforcement officer for legal advice. As good intentioned as it may be they can be wrong just like the rest of us. Saying "officer Smith told me it was ok" will not hold up in court. Also I would not want to miss out on a nice knife because someone wrongfully told me not to carry it although I was legally allowed to. I know a few "anti knife type" people who would tell you not to carry any knife even though it is perfectly legal to where I live.
 
It is nearly impossible to remove zip ties from cable without a point to slip between the cable and the zip tie, other wise you risk cutting the cable.

Basically the reason there are so many knife designs is that there is a special knife for every job. In our hunt camp we say "you can use a fillet knife to dress a moose but it is going to take a VERY long time".
 
I carry a Kershaw Leek all the time,, no matter what else I'm carrying....
The very pointed warncliffe blade is my favorite for many tasks,( I'm a carpenter,, so I do a lot of splinter surgery)

At work I also have a Graham Razel,, this is a very pointless(he he) knife


B.G.
 
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