Wharncliffe vs. Quasi-Sheepsfoot (Utility, Not Tactics)

The blade shape in question is great for utility IMO. The tips pierce things easily (just at a different angle), and it’s nice being able to cut with any area of the edge without trying to find the “sweet spot”. It’s all sweet spot. 😄

Plus they’re dead stupid simple to sharpen.
 
The blade shape on my Watu is one that's been a little tougher to pin down exactly. I've even seen it referred to as a clip point but I disagree with that entirely. I'd probably consider it a slightly modified wharncliffe. What do you think?

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Keeping with the aquatic theme, sailfish sailfish , it looks like a duck. :cool:

Yeah, it's got elements of a (quasi) wharncliffe with some belly at the tip...and a clip but it's clearly not a traditional version of either. Looks like it could be a useful companion.
 
I don’t often carry it but I love my Cold Steel Tuff Lite. I use it frequently to cut leather for sheath making and the geometry of the tip and thin hollow grind make it an amazing leather knife. In general though I’d take a knife with belly for general utility...
 
other than cheapo utility knife blades, a yojimbo 2 was my first wharnecliffe blade, didnt think id like the shape for an every day type knife.

ended up loving it.

and im prepared to fight ninjas or pirates if the need arises.

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People often say that the pointy tip is for "detailed work". The question is then, WTH do they actually mean by that? One example of detailed work when you really do benefit from having a really pointy tip is when you're cutting wood and you want to make a precise cut at a hard to reach spot. The narrow tip can be really useful then.
That's necessary mostly if you're into advanced woodworking or bushcrafting though. If you want a knife for general use (again, whatever the h*** that means), you might be better off having a stronger tip instead.
 
This thread caused me to think long and hard about the reasons I like straight edges on my knives. The obvious conclusion is they just work well for most tasks. But why do they work well?

As much as I hate recurves it is tough to deny the efficiency of a karambit or even a hawkbill knife for utility work like pruning branches picking vegetables or opening blister packs.

Those hooked blades allow better control of the material being cut. keeping the material from sliding off the tip as its being sliced. My conclusion is the straight edge of a sheepsfoot or wharncliff retain some of that ability while still being easy to sharpen and more compact.

Also don’t overlook the effect of the blade to handle angle. Look at the KA-BAR TDI it has a straight edge with a pronounced handle angle making it perform somewhat like a Karambit. While obviously an extreme example any change in that blade to handle angle makes a big difference in performance.

Other than for skinning in my hand the straight edged blades handle most tasks better.
 
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Of the 4 posted in the original post the first one is by far my preference.

The other three lack the advantages of the straight edge and lack a truly useful belly IMHO.
 
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Dr Heelhook said:
People often say that the pointy tip is for "detailed work". The question is then, WTH do they actually mean by that? One example of detailed work when you really do benefit from having a really pointy tip is when you're cutting wood and you want to make a precise cut at a hard to reach spot. The narrow tip can be really useful then.
That's necessary mostly if you're into advanced woodworking or bushcrafting though. If you want a knife for general use (again, whatever the h*** that means), you might be better off having a stronger tip instead.
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In my use it tends to be things like stripping wire sheathing, especially low voltage control wire.
 
DocJD said:
I honestly don't think that it's that easy to distinguish a decent utility knife from an effective SD / fighting knife .

Except maybe for double edged , narrow blade dagger stabbing blades , there is a great amount of overlap between effective SD and regular utility , IMO .

If a fighting blade is effective for both stabbing and slashing / slicing , then is will probably work as a utility knife also . ;)
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My point is that this is not "practical tactical" and this discussion is regarding utilitarian purposes for these knives. No one is contesting that virtually any tool can be used as an offensive or defensive weapon.

However, we are not discussing that usage here. I hope that makes my point clearer DocJD DocJD . If you feel the need to discuss this further, shoot me a PM rather than comment here in the thread.

That's enough about that.
 
Working in my shop, Maker Space or house, I have found I need a tip capable of piercing material and not breaking. I think any of those pictured in the first post would do. I can live without a lot of belly on the blade unless I am field dressing or skinning animals.
 
For me, the point on the Hinderer performs better on draw cuts, edge oriented downward, point trailing <or leading>-- and also on push cuts, edge oriented upward, point leading <or trailing>.

Stringy material or material that tends to bunch up will be kept on the cutting edge better than on a blade with a little belly.

Straight edged knives are also a joy to sharpen on guided sharpening systems, imho.
 
My biggest concern with Wharncliffe blades is that while I agree they would be very useful for much of the EDC cutting I do all the wear would be at the tip, instead of distributed across more of the blade.

Anyone have any long term experience on how the blade shape handles a lot of use?
 
J.Mattson said:
My biggest concern with Wharncliffe blades is that while I agree they would be very useful for much of the EDC cutting I do all the wear would be at the tip, instead of distributed across more of the blade.

Anyone have any long term experience on how the blade shape handles a lot of use?
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I find that using a bellied knife for point-intensive tasks wears the point just as much since the belly really can't substitute it anyway. I use the entire length of my straight edges enough though that I really don't feel like I'm "wasting" blade when it's time to sharpen or anything. Often the point just makes an initial puncture then the edge does the rest of the cutting.
 
J.Mattson J.Mattson If the tip wears a little, sometimes I’ll file the end of the knife to bring the tip back. Making it just a little shorter. Rather than sharpen the edge.

For real utility stuff, like cutting insulation against a concrete floor there is no substitute for a Stanley knife. I prefer the fixed blade models.

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I’ve often thought that the invention of the disposable blade utility knife coincides with the decline of popularity of the sheepsfoot rope knife type utility knives as a ubiquitous tradesman knife.
 
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It’s been mentioned how easy these straight edges are to sharpen, yet literally every used one I buy looks like a recurve spear point. Lol.

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This is the same blade after I “fixed” it. The tip is not quite right but it will be after a couple of sharpenings.
 
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I've seen the same phenomenon on several old knives as well eveled eveled but I think it's more from the usage and how the owners sharpened their knives than anything else.

Clearly we can maintain a straight edge pretty well by taking care how we lay the blade on the stone, and the direction of sharpening.

It's nice to have options...and the right cutting tool for the job we intend.
 
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