to recurve or not to recurve

N

Nebulae

Joined
Aug 24, 2009
Messages
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some like em some hate em. Why?
I keep pictures of knives I really like, to incorperate some desiegns into my futuer knives, and I was looking through them and I realized that they were almost all recurve, a criteria I didnt even realize I was selecting for!
So was wondering why some people don't like re-curves I'm of the opinion that a subtle re-curve looks nice, and creates a bigger belly for cutting.
and if it curve back to maximum width it should fit the sheath nicely
here are some pics of what I'm talking about
606965799_FZmkT-XL.jpg

02bo170.jpg
 
yes good point the concave part of the curve would be difficult to sharpen, which is probably why the last knife has serrations there
 
I like to sharpen on flat stones, and you can't do that with recurves. Otherwise I wouldn't mind them.

CE might not be that bad, though. If you look at that boker, it looks like you could sharpen the PE part with a flat stone, and the CE section you would have to do with a rod anyway. And I believe the 710 is the same way, although I could be wrong about both.
 
Recurve doesn't work very well if you tend to move the blade along the cutting material (is this called pulling cut?). For instance, when you start slicing the paper with the straight portion and move towards the recurve, it tends to get stuck and rip the paper as opposed to the completely straight edge.
 
A.L. said:
Recurve doesn't work very well if you tend to move the blade along the cutting material (is this called pulling cut?). For instance, when you start slicing the paper with the straight portion and move towards the recurve, it tends to get stuck and rip the paper as opposed to the completely straight edge.
Click to expand...

Maybe if its dull, I have always found re-curves to cut better the only down side is that they are not easy to sharpen.
 
A.L. said:
Recurve doesn't work very well if you tend to move the blade along the cutting material (is this called pulling cut?). For instance, when you start slicing the paper with the straight portion and move towards the recurve, it tends to get stuck and rip the paper as opposed to the completely straight edge.
Click to expand...

That's called the sweet spot and if it's sharp it won't grab. ;)
 
I avoid recurves, hollow grinds, metal handles,liner and frame locks. Still have examples of each in my collection, but these are things I tend to not like in knives.
 
I just don't find them useful when I'm cutting. I think it's like a combo edge, not enough curve to really help.
 
Ankerson said:
That's called the sweet spot and if it's sharp it won't grab. ;)
Click to expand...

Well, it's my ZT 350 and it's definitely not used enough to be dull.. Might be the thickness of the blade. It's not the most delicate slicer to start with..
 
A.L. said:
Well, it's my ZT 350 and it's definitely not used enough to be dull.. Might be the thickness of the blade. It's not the most delicate slicer to start with..
Click to expand...

If you still have the factory edge and you have used it at all then it probably has some damage plus the fact that factory edges are not really sharp to begin with.
 
phatch said:
I avoid recurves, hollow grinds, metal handles,liner and frame locks.
Click to expand...

Recurves, hollow grinds, metal handles, liner locks I can understand...but why the hate for the frame locks? It's my prefered locking mechanism and by a large margin :confused:
 
seeing as this has degenerated into specific pet peeves I'll ad one of mine: small folder w/ huge thumb hole. it makes tha knife so much bigger and clumsy looking I just hate the way it looks, and consequently dont like spyderco too much
 
IMO the recurve's potential benefits are outweighed by the increased difficulty in sharpening.
 
For me the recurve serves provides no benefit. It doesn't make anything easier and it makes sharpening harder.

So I won't buy one. It's a deal breaker for me.
 
I sharpen on a Lansky and have no problems at all. None.

That being said, I prefer a straigt edge but I find a slight recurve esthetically appealing. I have 3 knives with a recurve profile and like them very much.
 
You can get enough belly on a knife without recurving it. It doesn't serve a purpose functionally, and it is harder to sharpen, although the degree of difficutly depends on how much recurve there is.

Yes, you can use a round or curved sharpening tool, but the disadvantages outweigh and aesthetic appeal.
 
I love the way a recurve looks, enjoy the way it cuts, and sharpening them isn't that much more difficult IMHO. In terms of that ZT 0350, the factory edge on that knife, like my 0300, is awful, absolutely terrible. With a bit of work it gets hair popping sharp. I use a sharp maker and then strop it a good bit. I keep my leather strip wrapped around an Escrima stick which works out pretty well with the recurve.
 
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