Sawbacks, are they usefull?
The sawbacks have been around for a long time. They first started poping up in volume after the industrial revolution made production possible. If you look around carefully at a good collector show you might see a good sawback that pre-dates the Rambo inspired bunch by at least a century. At one time they were badges of rank worn by non-commissioned officers, or part of the uniform of artillery and pioneer units.
I love sawback knives, and have many sawback pattern knives in my collection. Many of these knives (Randall mod 14/18, Chris Reaves Project, Walter Brend model 2, etc.) are excellent field knives. In the military many sawback knives and bayonets remain standard issue items today. But, too many sawback knives and bayonets are poorly designed and executed fantasy pieces.
I like collecting this pattern because its the closest the 20th century has come to re-creating the level of myths and hype that must have surrounded the "Bowie Knife" almost 150 years before.
As to whether the knife is useful; well that depends largly on the user. Unfortunately, any discussion of the subject must be tainted by the vast amount of hype surrounding these knives. None of these knives make efficient saws, and they were never intended to be. The best of them are useful in Gnawing through tough substances such as plexiglass canopies, wet/frozen ropes, wood, and soft metals. Whether they are "useful" depends on the rest of your kit and, as is usually the case, on the situation which you expect to face.
As for the stress riser concern - its a real concern. But, the same could be said of many other practical and decorative features that we often find on knives. Like everything else its a feature that can often be implemented correctly and more often is implemented incorrectly.
