What kind of blade shape is the BEST in what situation? why?

J. Doyle said:
The human hand and mind are so versatile when it comes to tool use that one could be proficient at almost any task with any blade shape.

I've personally witnessed a professional hunting guide field dress an elk with nothing but an 8" rapala filet knife cleaner and faster than most could with a dedicated "hunting" knife.

Heck, for years I worked with a guy that would open dozens of cardboard boxes a day quickly and efficiently with his car keys.

I maintain that blade shape is almost purely personal preference and 98% of the time any advantage one has over another at a given task is pretty marginal.
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I can't core an apple with a spear point, leaf shape or clip point. And none of those exist in a professional kitchen. Specialized blade shapes are found in meat cutting plants and elsewhere.

To skinning a large game animal with a rapala, sure, but slicing is not the only function of a knife.
 
marchone said:
I can't core an apple with a spear point, leaf shape or clip point. And none of those exist in a professional kitchen. Specialized blade shapes are found in meat cutting plants and elsewhere.

To skinning a large game animal with a rapala, sure, but slicing is not the only function of a knife.
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I left a 2% window for certain tasks where certain blade shapes excel.

That said, I've spent my entire life in the outdoors.....camping, fishing, hunting etc. And not just an occasional weekend warrior. Never in my life, not once, have I ever had a situation where I couldn't efficiently complete a task with whatever blade I had.

In the outdoor arena specifically, I've heard ad nauseum the claim that a spear point "far outperforms all others at drilling holes in wood". You know how many times in my life I've ever had to drill holes in wood with my knife? ;):D
And IF I needed to.....it could certainly be done with my pocket knife or hunter.

As for coring apples....I've done many with a clip point. Its not any task to break down an apple with any blade type.

If a proficient chef had a spear point or clip point, he'd make do just fine.
 
Smatchet is best. :thumbsup:
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Tanto rules for scaping stuff, and secondary tip is also extremley useful to start the cut in the middle of something, like while unboxing, I won't even mention penetration if you need to stab something.
Drop point is jack of all trades, master of none though.
 
Drop point for me. I am not sure I can say why. It’s probably esthetics. I can certainly make a clip point or a spear point work as well. I have never been in the middle of a task with, say, a Kephart, thinking, “gee, I sure wish I had a drop point right now”.

For everyday use, however, I often find that a straight edge is most useful. If limited to a single blade, I would probably carry a sheepsfoot. The main reason is probably the angle of the point in relation to my hand. It is a lot easier to cut into a blister pack with a sheepsfoot than with a bellied blade, because I can hold my hand and arm at a more relaxed angle.

I have an aversion to trailing points and turned up tips, probably for esthetic reasons. I keep finding myself wishing my Buck 110 had a drop point. On my Opinels, I often drop the slightly trailing point with a file. The one exception is the Becker BK15. For some reason, I want that knife, the trailing point notwithstanding.
 
J. Doyle said:
....I maintain that blade shape is almost purely personal preference and 98% of the time any advantage one has over another at a given task is pretty marginal.
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I agree with you.

I generally am not a big fan of drop point blades. I like clip point blades, trailing point, and sabre shaped blades the best for most purposes. I personally think that you have the right slant on the entire blade design thing.

Skinning... drop point... nope and not for me or at least my first choice. I have one of GEC's more utilitarian knives with the drop point..... I carried it a while because everyone raved about them..... nope. I would take a basic SAK (spear point) just about anytime over this blade shape. This realization is one of the reasons I really like the Kephart style knife because it is useful for just about every purpose. But I would choose a different design if I were doing a lot of skinning or even field dressing of animals. That is where the thin muskrat style knives really work. You can translate these blade shapes to modern knives..... but frankly, there is little that traditional knives can't do very efficiently as long as you aren't hung up on locks.

I suspect other than kitchen use and opening packages or similar activities, most of us really don't use a knife all that much. I do every day, but in the total scheme of time, the use is sporadic. So, it just comes down to designs that appeal to people to sell them.

Wharncliffe style knives are very useful for general use. I like the sharp point and flat cut.
 
Kizer Cutlery said:
Yes, lets be the longest thread ever! And you have the point, a good knife should have all good stuff fits together. But this time we only talk about the blade shape for actual using, design or other stuff just take them as all prefectly fits the blade shape.;)
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I have a specific one that I have finally found and works for me perfectly. It’s under $20 and any big game hunter will recognize the basic shape. After using numerous different blades, plastic or aluminum razor blade zippers, gut hooks alone or on top of fixed blades, this simple Kershaw fits the bill, and it’s safe too. All the other options I’ve seen or used, you either need to pull back at you or lift upwards, blade side up. All of those can potentially bite you too, plus they all cut the hair (which I hate), because I’m meticulous about keeping game clean, especially large game, for butchering, which I do.

This Kershaw is used to push away from you while it cuts, and best of all it doesn’t cut the animals hair while you open it up before gutting, keeping the hide apart from the body cavity membrane. The best design I have ever used to date, based on all my use of the other zipper & gut hooks on large game.

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Retired UPS Driver said:
I have a specific one that I have finally found and works for me perfectly. It’s under $20 and any big game hunter will recognize the basic shape. After using numerous different blades, plastic or aluminum razor blade zippers, gut hooks alone or on top of fixed blades, this simple Kershaw fits the bill, and it’s safe too. All the other options I’ve seen or used, you either need to pull back at you or lift upwards, blade side up. All of those can potentially bite you too, plus they all cut the hair (which I hate), because I’m meticulous about keeping game clean, especially large game, for butchering, which I do.

This Kershaw is used to push away from you while it cuts, and best of all it doesn’t cut the animals hair while you open it up before gutting, keeping the hide apart from the body cavity membrane. The best design I have ever used to date, based on all my use of the other zipper & gut hooks on large game.

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What model knife is this? The blade shape looks perfect.
 
unwisefool said:
I'm still partial to a good tanto
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I'm totally partial to a good persian... or a good gyuto... or a good santoku.... wait, wait... where were we ? The bestest blade shape ever : straight blade, slight (or ample) belly, pointy tip, straight handle, that does it for me. Not saying I wouldn't play with a Smatchet, but that would be just playing.
 
sabre cat said:
And I have found a drop point to be the most popular.

I wonder what statistics has to say.
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sabre cat said:
EDIT: after a small amount of research (and Siri’s help) the best info I have been able to find is that the drop point and clip point
are the two most common blade types sold. Nothing stated as to which one was the most popular.

If you consider how popular clip point blades are on traditional folding knives, it just may be the winner.
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I went through BHQ's 100 "most popular" knives, and this is the breakdown from most to least popular:
  1. Drop Point - 31 (4 are either Spyderco Tenacious or Bug Mini)
  2. Clip Point - 16 (9 are either Spyderco PM2 or Para3
  3. Tanto - 11
  4. Dagger - 10
  5. Spear Point - 10
  6. Wharncliffe - 5
  7. Sheepsfoot - 4
  8. Standard - 3
  9. Ballpoint Pen - 2 (Spyderco BaliYo)
  10. Hawksbill - 2
  11. Trainer - 2
  12. Chisel - 1
  13. Cleaver - 1
  14. Harpoon - 1
  15. Trailing Point - 1
Shorttime said:
Wharncliffe, Sheepsfoot, or Nessmuk-style blades work well for nearly every cutting situation in my life. But I'm a town boy, and paper, plastic, and cardboard take up 99% of what I cut. Maybe some styrofoam or fiberglass insulation finds it's way in there some times.

It would also be nice if it was between 2.875" and 3.25", with a convex zero bevel, and no thumb ramp.
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How would a convex edge help in normal EDC cutting tasks?
 
Does a drop point become a spear point when it reaches the centerline, or is it still a drop point unless a swedge is ground? Is the Skyline a Spear or Drop point? Is the Native 5 a Spear or Drop point? Is a Mora a clip point or a drop point? Is the Delica a modified Wharncliffe or a modified drop point? The lines are so blurry on modern knives.

I think my favorite general purpose knives are drop/spear points and wharncliffe type variants.
 
I am not really sure where this would fit in but, if I had to pick one blade shape to use the rest of my life, I would like to try an Insingo from CRK.

A drop point seems to make the most sense in my mind but, that Insingo sure looks like it would be a perfect trade off of features.
 
W. Anderson said:
What model knife is this? The blade shape looks perfect.
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Looks like it’s discontinued, but I see lots still available and some under $10 now.

Kershaw Lonerock Zip It Pro, SKU - KS-1894X- Price - $17.55.

Specifications
Overall Length 8.90"
Blade Length 3.38"
Sharpened Length 3.00"
Blade Thickness 0.12"
Blade Material 8Cr13MoV
Blade Type Stainless
Handle Thickness 0.57"
Handle Material Polymer
Weight 3.8 oz.
Sheath Nylon
Sheath Weight 1.75 oz.
Country of Manufacture China
 
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