Wharncliff blade lengths

[Gary W. Graley]

I’ve come to the conclusion that for wharncliff blades I personally only care for either very short bladed ones for everyday use, or nasty long ones for self defense purposes, all the rest seem to have their points get in the way when using the knife.

For me the longest folder blade should be 2 7/8”
The ones I’ve had that were 3” and over just were aggravating.
My most recent acquisitions seem to fit right in line and I’m liking them both more and more;

Kershaw Double Cross with a nice small detail wharncliff blade.
I can easily trim down hangnails with it’s fine point, nice knife!
Plus I use it to trim off the threads when I’m sewing up a sheath, can get nice and accurate with a shorter blade to work with.

Spyderco Centofante with it’s flat ground blade. This replaced my William Henry Evolution, the Evolution was very good knife, just a tad too long, actually it worked well, but the Spydie with it’s shorter blade was put into use more.

BM is coming out with it’s Double Vision but with it’s blade at 3.3” I don’t know if I’ll give it a try, as nice as it looks!

I had one of Ed Schotts Lord Wharncliff’s Mistress with a whopping 9” blade that was crafted of CPM3V and mighty fine edged weapon she was!

So I wanted to share my feelings on wharncliff blade lengths, how does this measure up with everyone else’s take on wharncliff blades and their length?

On the POLL, the intent is to select the blade range you like, the upper number would be just shy of that length listed so 3" would be down where it starts at 3"...and so on...
G2

 

[anthony cheeseboro]

Gary, this is a hard question to answer because small wharncliffes (-2.5") handle completely differently than larger wharncliffes. I have a small Robeson half whittler with a 2" blade that is an absolutely perfect gem. I have seen and held larger wharncliffes like Klotzlis that work just fine.

 

[Buzzbait]

I prefer my wharncliffes to be just a tad bit smaller then Gary's preference. But this is probably just due to my newfound love of wood whittling. I love tiny wharncliffes. Any larger and I might prefer the dreaded sheepsfoot.

 

[WrayH]

The recent fortuitous acquisition of a William Henry S07 Evolution has convinced me that 3" is the perfect length for a wharncliff blade.

 

[dsvirsky]

Currently, I only own one knife with a Wharncliffe blade, a Whitewing Warlock. The blade is just under 3". IIRC, you sold yours because you found it a little too big; I like mine just fine.

However, for perfection, I had a chance to handle Bladezealot's small Wharncliffe TNT while I was at the Blade Show. Convinced me to email Tom and tell him that I wanted a Wharncliffe blade on the small Timascus TNT I have on order.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Originally posted by WrayH
The recent fortuitous acquisition of a William Henry S07 Evolution has convinced me that 3" is the perfect length for a wharncliff blade.

I'm glad it found a good home! And it is a very good knife, just wasn't bringing it into play as much as that Centofante...

I see by the Poll we are all over the place! Which is a good thing but surprising none the less.

Buzz, I'm with you actually, that wharncliff on my Kershaw Double Cross is 2 1/8" which is VERY handy and just about my favourite one in the wharncliff realm!

G2

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Originally posted by dsvirsky
Currently, I only own one knife with a Wharncliffe blade, a Whitewing Warlock. The blade is just under 3". IIRC, you sold yours because you found it a little too big; I like mine just fine.

However, for perfection, I had a chance to handle Bladezealot's small Wharncliffe TNT while I was at the Blade Show. Convinced me to email Tom and tell him that I wanted a Wharncliffe blade on the small Timascus TNT I have on order.

Ahhhh the Warlock! now there was one that was very nice, I sold it due to the need of funds, as it was almost the perfect size to me as well, but at the time the Home Theater virus was running rampant and no knife was safe in my safe!!! It is one that will be sorely missed to be sure!... thanks for reminding me, I must have blocked it's memory until now!


A Timascus TNT would be cool, though my latest dream, though the blade would be too long, but I'd probaby put up with it, would be for BM to take the blade from the new Double Vision and insert it into a format like the BM31...just using that blade shape and it's new steel, now that would be about the best FUN knife I could think of!!!

G2

 

[PhilL]

A year and a half ago when I was designing my first custom folder I decided a wharncliff was the perfect blade shape for my needs. A 3" blade length seemed just right and it's worked out to be perfect. Art Washburn was the maker and some guy named Graley made the sheath for it, both were perfect choices. This knife has been a joy and I carry it every day, and there's nothing I would change. I could see a smaller wharncliff on a multi-blade, in fact I'm talking to PJ Tomes about one.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Originally posted by PhilL
...designing my first custom folder I decided a wharncliff was the perfect blade shape for my needs. A 3" blade length seemed just right and it's worked out to be perfect... This knife has been a joy and I carry it every day, and there's nothing I would change. I could see a smaller wharncliff on a multi-blade, in fact I'm talking to PJ Tomes about one.

Yes indeedy that is a very nice folder with excellent grip as well!
PJ makes excellent folders also, you'll be well served by one of his I'm sure, don't forget pics when you do!


I see by the Poll that the 2.5 up to 3" is ahead right now...
G2

 

[Tightwad]

As a general size anysize between 2.25 & 3.25 would do 99.9% of
all utility tasks nicely. For fine detail an much shorter blade would be
needed with ,conversley, a longer blade for general use.

I agree with Gary on max blade length. Longer for a wharncliff is not
always the right answer when you consider all the work is at the point.
From that stand point 3.25" is really pushing it for general use.

 

[aXed]

i would go with a smaller size... like the CRKT Peck! i love that little guy... so handy, easy to use, and shaped so perfectly.

if a Wharncliff was anything bigger than... lesseee... 3" (?) it would have a totally dif look to it and therefore would be a turnoff for me.

aXed

 

[Starfish]

I haven't any experience with true Wharncliffe blades, only with a Spyderco Calypso (4") and a 940 (3.5") which have blade shapes approximating the true Wharncliffe style.

I voted for 2.5" to 3", since I do get a bit irritated sometimes when I want to use the tip of my 940 for more detailed work; it seems that the knife no longer feels like a natural extension of my hand. I imagine that closing the distance between my hand and the tip of the knife would alleviate that...

Good topic!

Matthew

 

[martin j]

Actually, when I think of production folders the 2-1/4 in.--just under 2-3/4 in. seems to be "no mans land," not many blades in this range, however, this size appears most ideal for draw cutting with wharncliffe, also for controlling tip for fine work. For drop pt, maybe 3 in.-4 in. is ideal to me.
Interesting topic, determining blade length appropriate to blade type!
Martin