Symmetrical, single-edged fixed blades

PointedlySharp

PointedlySharp

Joined
Dec 24, 2020
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I started down a bit of a rabbit trail the other day looking for symmetrical, single-edged fixed blades, and discovering that they're rather uncommon. Aside from the traditional sgian dubh (and a few modern derivatives like the Cold Steel Secret Edge), I found only a handful of (usually low-end) single-edged boot knives, the Spyderco Nightstick (which is really just a dagger with an unsharpened edge), and the single-edged version of the tiny Fox Aka.

This process has left me with two questions: First, what are some other examples that I missed? Second, why are there comparatively so few symmetrical, single-edged fixed blade knives out there?
 
Why would you want a knife like that; isn't the whole point of making a knife symmetrical to have a double edge? Otherwise it could be kind of confusing to use. Also, you would give up the better slicing performance that comes with a higher grind on the blade for no reason.
 
Tsujigiri said:
Why would you want a knife like that; isn't the whole point of making a knife symmetrical to have a double edge? Otherwise it could be kind of confusing to use. Also, you would give up the better slicing performance that comes with a higher grind on the blade for no reason.
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A blade can be symmetrical in shape without being dagger ground (the Secret Edge and Aka I mentioned being two examples.)

I've found many knives that have essentially symmetrical blades with full flat grinds, but they usually don't have symmetrical handles. Conversely, there are knives with symmetrical handles (some puukkos for example) but they don't typically have symmetrical blades.

I blame the new Condor Bushscot for starting me down this path... It puts a scandi grind on a symmetrical knife. Leave it to Joe Flowers.
 
PointedlySharp said:
A blade can be symmetrical in shape without being dagger ground (the Secret Edge and Aka I mentioned being two examples.)
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Oh I see what you mean, apparently there are two versions of the Aka. It's still kind of an odd design decision since it makes it easy to incorrectly index the blade. I think the few examples that do exist are probably meant for people who live in areas where double edged knives are illegal but still want something that looks like a dagger. IMO the main reason for a symmetrical grip is so you can cut with the spine of the knife; either due to it being double edged or a sawback.
 
Tsujigiri said:
Why would you want a knife like that; isn't the whole point of making a knife symmetrical to have a double edge? Otherwise it could be kind of confusing to use. Also, you would give up the better slicing performance that comes with a higher grind on the blade for no reason.
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The legals. Some places you can't have daggers.

 
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