Recurve Blade: why better or worse tool?

[DOC-CANADA]

I should have said I have 2 curved blades and they just are not right for me. A fellow sent me a design for a curved knife and at first I was like Hummm lol. But as I am making his curved knife up, I found my self saying well just maybe this knife with some different changes might just be one I would like over the straight blade.
Like Doc Canada said to me that he does not want to say the curved blade is better but to Doc it seems to be.

I am still interested in what others have to say about this and what there experiences are with a curved over the straight blade.

Good topic Ira,

Bryan

Just to qualify this, I think it works better as a chopper. I didn't mean as a regular knife. Sorry for the confusion, Bryan.

Doc

 

[sicily02]

Hi Doc, Understood. I think you are right for the chopper part. That is why I, am making mine for.

For a smaller knife I will take a straight blade any day over a small curved one any day. For me the straight blade feels better when cutting.

Bryan

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Sorry for abrupt comment, as already pointed this is had on stone and sounds like an unnecessary complication.
I perfectly understand and accept the benefits of belly on a blade, it's the recurved part that annoys me. My favorite design is like the Fallkniven A1 (side profile, the whole design is another story):
http://www.fallkniven.com/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/A1blz_4abc6c2bd5d61.jpg

if you look carefully you'll note that the edge is slightly angled forward, except it is straight from handle to belly, so you get some belly without the recurve. I see little benefit to having the blade curve back near handle.
I think that (unfortunaly) recurve serves mostly aesthetic purposes on most blade (particularly small ones) and although I find it cool looking it is of little practical purpose (IMO).

Fortunately a dedicated stone for sharpening concave blade profiles exists and isn't hard on the wallet. It's called a scythe stone.

Here you can see a man using one to sharpen a short, heavy, sickle-like knife in the field.

 

[Dannyboy Leather]

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