- Joined
- Jul 31, 2002
- Messages
- 2,954
Here's a topic I've been thinking about for a while now.
I have seen a lot of modern makers who add a clamshell guard onto the guard of a large knife or hanger. I think it's neat that makers are willing to try different designs, but at the same time I sometimes get disappointed in the execution.
The guard was added to protect the knuckles. I've recently seen one knife where the shell guard laid flat against the ricasso, where it does no good. Now, it's likely the maker intentionally designed it for decorative purposes only, and I suppose that's also a legitimate reason. But personally, I'd rather not have any dead weight that ain't working for me on a big knife.
That brings me to my next point. I get tired of seeing shell guards that are nothing more than a thick plate of metal with a few grooves filed in the face, which misses the point. The original purpose of the grooves is not to make it look like a shell; they were forged in to add rigidity to a thinner piece of metal. This is the same reason we have corrugated sheet metal siding today, and also why flutes were added to armor of the period-
To make the metal rigid, without resorting to the extra weight of thicker stock. The fact that the finished design resembles a clam shell is coincidental.
A while back I finally found a great picture to illustrate this, but after going through hundreds of photos again, I can’t find it back. 99.9% of the time, the pictures do not show the underside/backside of the guard, which I suppose is where the confusion comes in.
Granted, there were lots of antiques made by filing rather than forging, as shown on this antique sword-
And some did not have grooves at all, so I'm not trying to pick on anyone here. I just want more folks to stop and think about design.
I have seen a lot of modern makers who add a clamshell guard onto the guard of a large knife or hanger. I think it's neat that makers are willing to try different designs, but at the same time I sometimes get disappointed in the execution.
The guard was added to protect the knuckles. I've recently seen one knife where the shell guard laid flat against the ricasso, where it does no good. Now, it's likely the maker intentionally designed it for decorative purposes only, and I suppose that's also a legitimate reason. But personally, I'd rather not have any dead weight that ain't working for me on a big knife.
That brings me to my next point. I get tired of seeing shell guards that are nothing more than a thick plate of metal with a few grooves filed in the face, which misses the point. The original purpose of the grooves is not to make it look like a shell; they were forged in to add rigidity to a thinner piece of metal. This is the same reason we have corrugated sheet metal siding today, and also why flutes were added to armor of the period-
To make the metal rigid, without resorting to the extra weight of thicker stock. The fact that the finished design resembles a clam shell is coincidental.
A while back I finally found a great picture to illustrate this, but after going through hundreds of photos again, I can’t find it back. 99.9% of the time, the pictures do not show the underside/backside of the guard, which I suppose is where the confusion comes in.
Granted, there were lots of antiques made by filing rather than forging, as shown on this antique sword-
And some did not have grooves at all, so I'm not trying to pick on anyone here. I just want more folks to stop and think about design.