Science Fiction Knife Advice

abbydaddy

abbydaddy

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I am asking on behalf of a friend, who came to me asking what kind of knife would be appropriate for the spacers in a story he is writing. Here was his original question:

"What would a knife look like, if it was meant to be a multipurpose tool for poor, run down space peoples in [this imaginary universe]? I'm thinking an 8" blade with a tanto point, saw edge back, and a smaller hilt. Main uses are stabbing and jamming, some sawing, lots of prying, and not a small number of fights with other species and humans. Coated in a non conductive material, these would be one of the most important things a human owns. Since I know less about knives, I ask you what you think the design should be, and what the most common uses would be. Thank you for help!"

So those are his basic guidelines. There was more discussion, and additional guidance he provided, but I am hoping that others might have ideas, so I want to keep it open.

The primary goals of this imaginary knife design, as I understand it, are:
1. General Utility
2. Stabbyness
3. Prybar capability

So what kinds of designs do you think would be best for those goals. Feel free to have fun with the idea, or to be very serious.
 
Whatever it is they'll probably be produced from salvaged spacecraft parts
It'll probably be made of carbon steel (the easiest material to use which some gears..ect will have still been made of ) and won't need a blade coating because things not rusting in space and with so many things on their ships being metal reflection wouldn't be an issue either.
What on a spacecraft could they possibly need to pry that an effective knife would be strong enough to pry ?
I'm thinking they might be a simple maybe Ontario psk style tanto with aluminum handles and an aluminum scabbard.
You gotta tell him that as a knife person you can't help him design an even fictional knife that really couldn't be effective if trying to do all of these things.
 
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look at Strider knives, fixed blade maybe with a wrench cut in the pommel. chop stab pry cut. Titanium with tungsten edge?
 
If the sci-fi universe is to be realistic, or based upon our own potential future, I would try looking back through history to see the designs and styles of knives that have been popular and common throughout time. In the tens of thousands of years that humans have used knives, we have pretty well found out what works and what doesn't in terms of blade shapes and ergonomics. So using enduring design elements but with futuristic materials is the most practical and realistic path to take. No need to reinvent the wheel just for style points as so many movies and stories tend to do. After all, if these people are struggling day to day, they would put function before form in a second, as I believe everyone would.

As for the design itself, I would recommend a drop point or flat spine blade (like the shape of a Mora knife) as these have the most general utility while still being able to fight when needed. A flat spine would also work best with a saw on the back.
A blade length somewhere between 5-7 inches long would be ideal I think, 8 could work but most all-purpose belt knives aren't that big as they can become impractical to use for smaller, more detailed tasks.

For the stabbing aspect, American style tantos have strong, thick tips but the tradeoff for that thickness and abrupt angle change is that they don't actually pierce as easily or deeply as many other designs.

Regarding prying with the knife, perhaps adding a pry-bar shaped tip to the butt of the knife to act as the prying and scraping part. This would allow the characters to preserve the tip and edge of their knives from damage which would be important for people who used this knife as their main tool.

The thickness and strength of the knife is arbitrary, but with assumed advancement in metals and the like in the future, your friend could say that there happened to be a metal created which suited all of his needs. I don't think anyone would question that.
 
I could see two types of blades. A small belt knife for detail work and food prep. Another for field use and defense. Maybe something like an Egyptian Khopesh. Part axe, part sword.
 
Can you imagine a writer that can not imagine an imaginary knife?
To answer you q: "Steve Ryan Knives"
 
Since you used the word spacer that means using it in and around spacecraft right?

I'm guessing it would be a fixed blade with a slightly oversized handle (you might be wearing a space suit, so it must work with thick gloves.) The handle would be electrically shielded from the blade and the blade might even be made of something non-sparking for use in a pure oxygen environment.

Pick one of today's ASEK knives, scale the handle up a little, and maybe even change the blade to a non-sparking alloy and you'll be close.
 
If it's generally used for self defense + some utility stuff every now and then, maybe a spear point fixed blade? With one edge being half saw cut half edge, and the second edge being a full cutting edge. Maybe throw is a unique looking fuller, maybe rectangularly cut, or trianglular.

On the other hand if it's salvaged why not just a crudely sharpened piece of scrap.
 
Light Sabres are awesome, but they make lousy prybars. :D

Perhaps a "vibro-blade" or knife with a mono-molecular edge? Come up with a high-tech sounding name for the material. Plasteel, or some such nonsense.
 
Poor people use machetes, parings, bolos, etc, likely made of salvaged material combined with natural materials. probably need to be thicker for dealing with modern environments.
 
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