Question on recurved blades

T

tipoc

Joined
Dec 19, 2009
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Likely this has been discussed many times before here but, as a nonpaying and new member, this is my question; Is there any particular advantage to a recurved blade?

tipoc
 
They tend to "pull in" whatever you're cutting, so theoretically they have better cutting performance.

Other than that, they're more difficult to sharpen IMO because you can't use flat benchstones; you have to use rods or something similar to get into that inward curve.
 
As THG said they do "pull" the material you're cutting, which makes them effective if you do a lot of pull cuts such as cutting rope. They also put more weight near the front of the blade making it better for slash cuts. The recurve also has more cutting edge than most equal length blades, although most of the wear will come in the recurve section.

Having said that I've used several different recurve knives and haven't actually experienced enough of a benefit to warrant choosing it over a more traditional curved belly drop point blade.
 
For small recurves: I like using them especially during slicing tasks. The changing angle of the blade seems to make the job easier. I don't mind sharpening them at all, but I do have several types of rod sharpeners.

For big recurves: It seems that the blades have a nice "sweet spot" for chopping- sort of like a kukuri but not as pronounced.

Of course these benefits are probably negligible when compared to other blade types of similar size with straight or convex edges.
 
Exactly what THG said. I always have my knives profesionaly resharpened, so sharpening recurved blades is not a problem for me.
 
Rat 1 said:
Exactly what THG said. I always have my knives professionally resharpened, so sharpening recurved blades is not a problem for me.
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I dislike recurve blades. I don't find that the curve helps at all, even when slicing. I think it's a matter of visual appeal and preference.
 
I have found that I dont like them for carving wood. They may pull when you cut rope, but for carving wood it can become awkward. Sometimes you can end up with two points of contact -it is the same problem that is encountered when trying to sharpen one on a flat stone.

The sharpening problem is enough to turn me off of them completely -except for the traditional kukri
 
Visually a recurve blade adds character to a knife, like Josh said. Downside is that it takes more time and a little more skill to sharpen; I could never get anything better than a working edge on my Kershaw Chive using DMT pocket stones and stropping.

I heard Spyderco's Sharpmaker and the ProFile Set are more suited to sharpen recurves, though...
 
With a recurve either a Sharpmaker or paper wheels are almost essential to sharpen them. Either that or sandpaper on a dowel. (Works pretty well, you'd be surprised.)
 
I convex recurves, makes it very easy to sharpen. +1 to what THG said.
 
I personally dislike them because I use flat stones to freehand sharpen.

I've never seen enough of an advantage in the recurve blades I do have to want to buy any more. YMMV.
 
tipoc said:
Likely this has been discussed many times before here but, as a nonpaying and new member, this is my question; Is there any particular advantage to a recurved blade?

tipoc
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not to dissuade you from posting things like this, I think it's a great question, but if you ever want to do a search, you and search google with the string site:bladeforums.com before whatever item you want to search for. sometimes it gets frustrating not being able to use the search, so I figured that might come in handy for you.
 
not to dissuade you from posting things like this, I think it's a great question, but if you ever want to do a search, you and search google with the string site:bladeforums.com before whatever item you want to search for.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this info.

What THG and tjsulli790 is what I had heard and read. In the early 80s I acquired a Kukri from Pakistan which I had for many years. It was not particularly useful but it looked nice around the home. I sharpened it's 17" blade free hand with some half round stones.

Last year I picked up a Kershaw Blur which I like but sharpening the blade on stones does not work. I got to wondering about the point of the shape on small folders. For decades I have used stones.

Much thanks to all.

tipoc
 
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