What's with the Recurve?

2brothers

2brothers

Joined
Apr 22, 2007
Messages
6,151
Why does everyone (not everyone, you know what I mean) complain
about blades with a recurve?
Are they too lazy to learn how to sharpen it?
Are they whining about it out of spite?
Are they just jumping on the bandwagon to whine?

"Oh, I'd get one if it didn't have a recurve."
"Those recurves are hard to sharpen."
I bought my first recurved blade because it WAS recurved!

I don't want all of my knives to look like Benchmades or Spydercos (I own knives from both).
If I did, I'd only buy knives from one company.
I like knives that look different. Unique/Interesting designs intrigue the hell out of me.

I've gotten really good at sharpening the ones I have too. It took maybe
as long as it did when I started sharpening my own knives.

Is it really this big of a problem to have a recurved blade?
Look at all of the other blade designs out there. Is sharpening a recurved
blade the hardest? I don't think so.

end rant.

mike
 
Recurves, IMO, are a little harder to sharpen. I have to use the corners of my Sharpmaker rods to get contact all the way down the edge. That’s great for putting a good working edge on a blade.
I find that the problem comes in when trying to get that "scary sharp" edge. You can't really use the flats or a strop. I mean, you can, but you end up with an un-uniformly sharp knife.
I know there are ways to correct this (such as putting a rounded piece of wood under the strop), but I just don't experience the increase in cutting performance of a recurved blade to warrant the extra trouble in sharpening.
 
I personally like the shape of a (slight)recurve better too.
I normally sharpen my knives with a caramic stick, so a recurve is not a problem for me when sharpening that way.

But I've recently improved my freehand skills sharpening with a stone to a higher level, so I'm only able to sharpen the front part of my recurve with a stone to an extreme sharp edge(hair splitting in multiple parts), while the back is only shaving sharp.
I can get it to hair splitting sharp with the ceramic stick too, but only with some luck.

But that isn't really a problem, as it only makes me want to practice sharpening with the stick more to be able to have more consequent results.

ehm, I'm fading a bit away off topic, so lets resume::)
Although it is more difficult to sharpen them with a stone, I love recurves!
Their shape is just ideal to easily peel,whittle, ... (and other things I don't know the English words for )
 
redsst said:
Recurves, IMO, are a little harder to sharpen. I have to use the corners of my Sharpmaker rods to get contact all the way down the edge. That’s great for putting a good working edge on a blade.
I find that the problem comes in when trying to get that "scary sharp" edge. You can't really use the flats or a strop. I mean, you can, but you end up with an un-uniformly sharp knife.
I know there are ways to correct this (such as putting a rounded piece of wood under the strop), but I just don't experience the increase in cutting performance of a recurved blade to warrant the extra trouble in sharpening.
Click to expand...

I guess my question would be:

Is that what's claimed for recurved blades, that they cut better?

I thought it was just a stylistic choice, but compared to the rest of you, I'm a newbie at some of this...:)

Edit: ...and I do like recurves, by the way, especially the Bumps!

Ray ;)
 
Very nice rant, Mike. I have found myself asking these same questions about other people's thought processes regarding recurves. Personally, I like em!
 
reholli, when recurves first started to become popular, increased cutting performance was a main selling point. As time goes on, most manufacturers have moved away from that a just stressed the aesthetics.
 
redsst said:
reholli, when recurves first started to become popular, increased cutting performance was a main selling point. As time goes on, most manufacturers have moved away from that a just stressed the aesthetics.
Click to expand...

Thanks, reddst...:)

Ray
 
I also like recurves. I think that it adds a unique and functional edge to a knife. I don't find it too much harder to sharpen, but i've gotten pretty good with my sharpmaker, so the recurved shape doesn't bother me. I think that because it falls outside of the more traditional and long lived blade shapes, that some people may not be interested in them. I, personally like how they differ from straighter blades like spear point, clip point, etc.

I also bought my first recurve (Kershaw Spec Bump) because it was a recurve!
 
i like recurves ALOT. heck, look at my name and the look at the offset. you think i like em? lol

do i think that they are hard to sharpen? yes i sure as heck do. but i have a VERY good reason as to why. i suck at sharpening. i can sharpen to a working edge, and depending on how well that worked out, i can get it to shaving. thats only on straight knives.

case in point: i tried sharpening one of my blurs...............needless to say, it isnt to horribly sharp.

now for someone who can sharpen, then yeah, prolly aint the case.

either way, i am with you mike, why do these people complain? heck, those who say stuff like "if that wasnt a recurve i would buy it in a instant" in reguards to, say, the Lahar, are just compleatly not seeing the "class" of that knife (note im not saying anyone has, the Lahar is a recurve that is all).
 
Great topic. I do like recurves, I think they can excel in some cutting chores. I think the best ways to sharpen would be with a ceramic rod type sharpener or a spyderco sharpmaker, where it is easier to move the knife or the rod to sharpen proplerly. I think it gets a lot more difficult when sharpening on a benchstone. Another thing to take into consideration is sharpening a recurve blade with a convex edge. It seems the best way to sharpen a convex edge is with the sandpaper mousepad method. This can definately be a pain in the a$$ with a recurve. While some people are great at freehand sharpening, others (like myself) are only descent at it with a strait edge knife. This is where it can get even more difficult on recurves. That is what I would take into consideration before buying a recurve.
 
If you want to put a really thin razor edge on a recurved D2 or 154CM blade (which didn't come from the factory ground that way) it is a hassle. To do a real acute reprofiling job on those steels I would normally use my belt sander. That won't work neatly on a recurved blade. When I don't use my sander for reprofiling I usually use a flat diamond benchstone or waterstone. Those won't work on a recurve. So what I ended up doing was buying an oval cross-section diamond "steel" that fits into various recurves quite well. I used this to reprofile a D2 and a 154CM Camillus EDC.

I picked the EDC's because the comparatively wide recurved blade offered a lot of belly in a compact design. This was good for a small self defense blade or a hunting/skinning blade. Then I carried it around when I had work to do. I discovered that around town a blade with a lot of belly didn't actually perform well for my working tasks. A lot of what I really needed was a blade more like a box cutter. I wanted to be able to take a swipe across the surface of a box and penetrate hard plastic packing tape on the surface. The belly tended to skate across the surface. I decided that the design that I really needed was more of a sheepsfoot or warncliff blade shape. What I needed for town work was a Kershaw Leek. This is the exact opposite of a recurve. It happens to be simpler to sharpen, but that isn't why it works better. The straight front edge with sharp corner at the front of the blade digs in better for my box work. It is even better for opening letters. I can use it where I would use a box cutter or Xacto knife.
 
I love the recurve blades from kershaw--they look way too awesome! I don't have a problem sharpening them...
 
I have nothing against the recurve. I just like a traditional blade shape more. I hear they excel with certain cuts, like rope.
 
My lansky rod set up sharpens my Storm 2 with no problems and other blades I have with more of a curve.
 
Mike, the recurve is where it's at!! Actually when I think about it, it's kinda strange, my favorite blades are either recurves or wharnies, so I like em either with a little curve or NO curve at all. I find both of those shapes come in very handy in different situations, and with a bit of practice sharpening a recurve is not that difficult. I also find that the edge you can get by just using the points of the triangles on the sharpmaker is VERY VERY nice.

Cheers,
Jon
 
Recurves work great for many cutting tasks. You can really generate some force when cutting heavy materials. I would like to get a custom made someday with the Vaquero blade shape but with much better steel than CS offers. I own all types of blade shapes and have no problem sharpening any of them to a scary sharp edge. You just have to use different techniques. I love my Bumps and have an even edge along the whole length of the blade.
 
Thanks for the replies gang. That lil bit more info was what I wanted.
Instead of "I don't like them." answers.

Thanks!

mike
 
For 20 years I have used a Blackjack Mamba Lite (Folder)
If you get a recurve sharp, It'll cut a Volkswagen in half :)

Doc
 
Is someone deleting my posts!?!?!?!?:eek::eek: I would have sworn that I replied to this thread this morning. And that is not the first time this has happened. Could it be early onset Alzhiemers?, did I happen to do a give away for a nib Tyrade? Am I losing my mind? WHAT IS GOING ON!!!:eek::eek: Did someone say they won that Tyrade? Man oh man, what am I to do?????

Btw, I love the recurve and have no problems sharpening when I use my Sharpmaker, or a good round ceramic rod.:D:thumbup::thumbup:
 
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