Whats a Wharnecliff for?

What are Wharnecliff blades used for?

Bragging rights by the cognisotti ;), of course.

More seriously, they are useful for fine cutting tasks like whittling and such. And, due to the straight cutting edge they are easier to sharpen.
 
Commonly used for most any cutting task that doesn't require a belly (like skinning a deer). The pointy, edge forward tip gives you better control for fine detail work, and the whole blade excels at draw cuts.
 
Also useful for straight line tasks such as cutting paper or mats with a straight edge (my most common use).
 
Wharnecliff blades are good for most practical city use. The corner on the point allows force to be concentrated when cutting rather hard thin material. That fits a lot of packing materials like plastic or fiber-reinforced tape, vacuum bags, or blister packs. Basically they do well at the same types of things as a box cutter. They also work well making shallow straight cuts like an X-Acto Knife. Because they tend to make arbitrary straight cuts they are less ideal for skinning animals or separating animal tissues along their natural margins. The Wharnecliff will ignore the boundaries and cut across party lines. They are good for cutting around body openings for taxidermy work however.

They are less good than you might expect for self defense since they kind of bind if slashed across heavy material. That is another application that works better with a blade with belly.

The narrow tip is a little weak for my taste and I prefer a sheep's foot blade instead. I think of these flat-edged blade types as very good city utility blades.
 
From what I gathered the Wharnecliff blade was to sharpen your "quill pen" a couple centuries back - probably did a great job too!
Peace
Revvie
 
I prefer them for stripping wires and opening boxes at work. (electrician)
I use a Bark River Tusk usually.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top