Recommendation? Wharncliffe Knives

[Tommy-Chi]

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[gazz98]

I'll offer a few thoughts....

When cutting with a wharncliffe, most people just use the first half inch or so of the blade due to the angle in which they hold the knife to the material being cut. Take the standard utility knife (essentially a wharncliffe design). If you cut carpet with the utility knife, the knife is probably being held at a 20-45 degree angle to the carpet. You don't need a 5 inch long utility blade for this purpose. If you consider that many cities, states, and countries have a variety of different laws restricting size of blade length, it makes more sense for a company to make a more "generally accepted" 2-4 inch blade length.

As for self defense and stabbing...I don't know. I would think a double-edge dagger would do the most damage. My knife is a cutting tool. My 9mm handles the self defense role.

I'm no knife maker, tool maker, or industrial engineer but I would guess wharncliffes are as easy to manufacture as most other blades.

Fixed blades over 4 inches.
https://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/...e=&style=wharncliffe&min_blade=4&max_blade=50

Folders over 4 inches.
https://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/...e=&style=wharncliffe&min_blade=4&max_blade=50

 

[Cereal_killer]

Couple more budget folders (though not >/= 4")
Kiser Ki3480 rogue
Spyderco yojimbo 2
Kershaw Diskin Deadline
ZT0392Wc (disco so probably ridiculously marked up in secondary market).
WE 701A (is 4")
Apparently there's a new WE WC, the 705 which looks really nice!

Personally I say go ahead and pickup the crkt C/K Dragon, at $25 to experiment with, 9Cr18 steel and a serviceable sheath what's to loose? I don't leave the house without a wharny any more!

 

[FOG2]

I can't answer any of the technical questions but I do like the looks and performance of a Wharncliffe blade.
90% my knives are Wharncliffe.

Speaking on the longest Wharncliffe blades I would think that would be the Viking,s Seax. Unless I am incorrect they are Wharncliffe.

 

[ThePeacent]

I love me some wharnies! The best ones to me are, in short edge length:

CRKT Minimalist, CRKT SPEW (Fixed)
Spyderco Yojimbo 2, Spyderco Yojimbo, BlackHawk BeWharned (Folders)

and bigger sizes:

CRKT Dragon, Spyderco Jumpmaster, Spyderco Ronin, Cold Steel Boar Hunter, KaBar Johnson Adventure Wharncliffe (Fixed)
Cold Steel Frenzy for a big ass wharnie folder

 

[Razor]

Curtiss F3 is a good one!

 

[22-rimfire]

If stabbing is a consideration with a wharncliffe blade, I would look at the ZT 0770CF. It is a bit of a hybrid design from my point of view, but very useful.

 

[Lapedog]

I'm not a knife designer, but if looks dictate use, the wharncliffe blade excels at cutting and thrusting. Obviously not everyone agrees because most blades are not wharncliffe, unless there is another reason, and that is that bladesmiths do not want to sell them because they are dangerous weapons, like spikes, which also are not sold that frequently. (We're talking knives here...and I cannot think of any reason myself.)

Poking around looking at wharncliffe blades and I noticed that most are under 4 inches in length. That I could find, the longest folding blade was 4 inches long, by Hinderer for $600 (reasonable length, but the cost is steep) and I've not found any over 4 inches that are straight blades.
What is the longest fixed blade wharncliffe that you know of?

Are wharncliffe blades difficult to manufacture, and if so, what is the failure rate (a guess) of their manufacture and how does it compare to non wharncliffe blades? I'm assuming that manufacturers dispose of some percent of knives due to a failure of one sort or another.

Take a look at the Cold Steel Frenzy. That is a big wharncliffe.

 

[katanas]

Another vote for the CRKT dragon. I got mine when they first came out and really like it; at its present sale price (see above link) it is a steal.

 

[Groundhogsniper]

I like the looks of a wharncliff blade and own a few traditional pocket knives with them but have never carried one.
From what I've seen they are somewhat fragile. I have repaired two for other people that had broken tips.
It also seems that with constant use and sharpening, the straight edge would be hard to maintain.

 

[Scott321]

My limited experience... I like the Wharncliffe style for when I need to puncture and slice into flat material, like a box without a backing contacting the point.

I like the belly on a knife for carving things like wood, or cutting the skin off of chicken, where I want the small area of material in contact with the cutting edge, but not the point.

For cutting on a cutting board/block, the downside to a Wharncliffe style blade is that the point sees a lot more use and is worn down faster than the other parts of the blade (unless chopping). Since a box cutter has replaceable blades, I don't have to worry about the point being re-profiled, or sharpening off unused metal on the straight unused part of the blade after prolonged use. Just my opinion.

 

[22-rimfire]

My limited experience... I like the Wharncliffe style for when I need to puncture and slice into flat material, like a box without a backing contacting the point.

I like the belly on a knife for carving things like wood, or cutting the skin off of chicken, where I want the small area of material in contact with the cutting edge, but not the point.

For cutting on a cutting board/block, the downside to a Wharncliffe style blade is that the point sees a lot more use and is worn down faster than the other parts of the blade (unless chopping). Since a box cutter has replaceable blades, I don't have to worry about the point being re-profiled, or sharpening off unused metal on the straight unused part of the blade after prolonged use. Just my opinion.

I agree with this from my limited experience as well. If I am going to be using the point "that much" and it would be for something like boxes, I would just grab a utility knife for those more intensive knife use times.

The classic wharncliffe is not made for stabbing.

 

[Danke42]

I agree with this from my limited experience as well. If I am going to be using the point "that much" and it would be for something like boxes, I would just grab a utility knife for those more intensive knife use times.

The classic wharncliffe is not made for stabbing.

Yeah it's kinda a "no stab" shape.

 

[Low_rez]

I think the wharncliffe shape is the most useful of ALL the blade shapes. You are thinking about a sheepsfoot shape when you say a "non stab" shape. A wharncliffe will do just as much damage as any other popular shape if not more. The top is a wharncliffe and the bottom is a sheepsfoot.

 

[22-rimfire]

I would call the top knife kind of a modified wharncliffe. True wharncliffes can be seen on traditional knives The Spyderco Kiwi 4 is a good example of a wharncliffe blade shape on a modern knife.

 

[marthinus]

Good point on not many straight edge wharncliff blades in the 4 inch range. I personally do not carry a 4 imch blade that often and as the picture attached shows I tend to stick in the 3.5-3.6/7 range.

 

[Danke42]

I would still consider a wharncliffe more of a poker than a stabber. You still have to overcome the thickness of the spine/swedge in a big piercing cut.

 

[Scott321]

I don't think it's necessarily bad for stabbing, but the stabbing angle is different than on a knife with a point that is closer to the spine, or half way like a dagger.

Additionally, because of the point lengthening the cutting edge, if you make to much of an aggressive point on a Wharncliffe, the tip can be significantly weaker then the rest of the knife.

 

[gmorel1916]

Surprised the Ferrum Forge Master Blaster hasn't been mentioned yet. It was my first wharnie and before I got it I was very skeptical of the blade shape. Since though I've come to really love the utilitarian usefulness of the shape. Also, the Cold Steel Boar Hunter is a big 'ol wharnie if you're okay buying CS products.

 

[Pomsbz]

I like a modified wharncliffe for an everyday blade. It has the point for piercing but the belly for food, etc.