Recurve blades

T

Tbmfish

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Aug 4, 2016
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What is the reasoning behind recurve blades? To me they are very difficult to sharpen, even when they have a micro curve.


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So cool.
IIRC the recurve produces a longer cutting edge and it's like you are moving the edge in a downward move.
I hope someone can explain better.
 
It draws material in during the cut and gives you more cutting surface for the length.

But mostly its used because it looks cool to some people.
 
It's great for cutting things like rope because the blade won't slip off as easy. This is why you see it a lot on mariner knives.
 
It alters the presentation of the edge relative to both the hand and the target being cut. This makes that region better for certain kinds of cuts that other regions of the blade might be less well suited for.
 
I just don't like the looks of them. I'd sacrifice some performance (I don't need a great cutter particularly), to avoid a recurve.
 
It also give a longer cutting edge. Two blade that are the same length say 3.5 inches, the recurve blade will offer more cutting surface.
 
Search threads here, circa 2006 or so, should find plenty of threads on recurves/Kershaw hate.
 
You can't tell me that the Benchmade 710 doesn't have a sexy blade profile! The reason behind the recurve blade shape has already been covered above, I think the reason they get a bad rap is:
1. Hard to sharpen for most (get a Sharpmaker)
2. Usually combined with a tanto blade shape, a "double weak-sauce" for many knife aficionados
3. Typically used in overbuilt "tacticool" folders

I only own one knife with a recurve, the M390 Benchmade 710. It is a very slight recurve and I think it looks elegant. In a 4" blade it works well too; a nice amount of belly to work with, a sharp and usable drop point tip, and a slight recurve towards the ricasso that excels at cutting rope or string etc. I have also seen people grind the recurve out of the 710 and it seems to lose a bit of the aesthetics of the knife. Not to mention that in this type of blade the recurve functions very well. With that being said I do typically avoid them for the reasons above.... no offense to anyone as we all have different preferences but typically the tanto blade, combo edge, black blade and recurve crowd seems to be in the same camp. But hey, clearly they sell or no company would produce them. I think they also oddly enough appeal to people who can't sharpen for the same reason that serrations appeal no non-knife folks. Even when dull as a rock they cut better than a plain straight edge because of the blade shape.
 
I just had to re-profile my brothers Blur .... Recurve from hell + S30V that chipped out from peeling wood ....

It was like a saw blade with an annoying curve in it.
Bad combination.

I have never seen the benefit of a recurve vs sharpening effort, and I can sharpen....
 
I like the looks. I have a couple of Vaquero Voyagers & they sharpen up fine with a Sharpmaker, but not much else. The shape works well on draw cuts with a lot of things but can bind up a bit easier during a cut, too, depending on the depth of the recurve. You get the benefits of a blade with "belly", but with the edge presented at a different, & often less intuitive feeling angle.
 
I'm not a big fan of recurves either but i do like my 710 in M2HS and have a soft spot for Emerson Commanders and CQC-11s; the latter having a more gentile recurve.
 
Got a couple knives with re-curve in 14c28n (you can guess the brands) and I find that they look real nice and I have zero issues sharpening them on a Lansky Master's Edge. For cutting rope the design seems to help a little but mostly it seems it's for looks.
 
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