When is it a.Seax vs Wharncliffe or??

[MTHall720]

Is blade length a.major factor? Example is Spyderco Yohimbo a Wharncliffe but if the blade is 8 inches it wouldn't be? Thank you

 

[Kettleman]

Is blade length a.major factor? Example is Spyderco Yohimbo a Wharncliffe but if the blade is 8 inches it wouldn't be? Thank you

That is a great question. Im following along to see the answers.

 

[David Mary]

It's arbitrary, if you ask me.

 

[Richard338]

Like the Bowie, these are loosely defined.
For me wharncliffe is a wide variety of blade profiles, mostly on folders, having in common a relatively straight edge.
Seax, to me, brings to mind fixed blades in the 6-10" range such as those found in the British museum. These share the straightish edge, but the signature to me is the profile which can be widest and thickest in the middle, as in the broken back versions, the long pointy tip, and the taper to a guardless handle.
Of course the are many modern variants that people refer to as a seax.

 

[toker]

All seax are wharncliffes, but not all wharncliffes are seax.

Wait, what?

 

[snuffle]

All I know is I find wharncliffes to be seaxy.

 

[stabman]

The folder is definitely a Wharncliffe.

The others are definite Seax blades, although the one I made with the antler handle is better than the Pakistan one bought off Amazon.

 

[stabman]

All seax are wharncliffes, but not all wharncliffes are seax.

Wait, what?

No.

Many Seax blades don't look like a Wharncliffe at all.
Many look more like a Bowie blade.

The one thought of as a Seax most often is the broken back Seax, popular in England.
The Wharncliffe blade was also designed in England...coincidence?

Many surviving examples of the broken back Seax also have an edge that curves up towards the point rather than straight out like a Wharncliffe. But then again, others don't.

So I hope you are now thoroughly confused.

 

[ferider]

Depends who you talk to.

For traditional knife users/fans, the Wharncliffe blade shape is very specific, similar to what the Earl himself designed. Then, all other straight-edged blade shapes have to be called differently, Seax, reverse tanto, sharks foot, etc.

 

[David Mary]

I wonder if the Earl was opening a lot of packages...

 

[stabman]

Depends who you talk to.

For traditional knife users/fans, the Wharncliffe blade shape is very specific, similar to what the Earl himself designed. Then, all other straight-edged blade shapes have to be called differently, Seax, reverse tango, sharks foot, etc.

That would be a very complicated dance.

 

[Insipid Moniker]

I think it's best to think of those terms as broad descriptions with lots of wiggle room rather than hard, prescriptive categories.

 

[ferider]

That would be a very complicated dance.

Cheap shot.

Your Hinderer is definitely not a Wharncliffe.

 

[stabman]

Cheap shot.

Your Hinderer is definitely not a Wharncliffe.

But it says is is in the name of the knife.
Have I fallen for the twisted truth of advertising?

 

[toker]

No.

Many Seax blades don't look like a Wharncliffe at all.
Many look more like a Bowie blade.

I wasn't being serious...

 

[stabman]

I wasn't being serious...

We're posting about the minutiae of knives on an internet forum...nothing about this is serious.

I'm still waiting for the details of how to dance the reverse tango.

 

[Arathol]

The real Wharncliffe blade was invented by James Archibald Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 1st Lord of Wharncliffe in the early 19th century. It had a thick blade with a straight edge and rounded spine tapering to a point.

Real Wharncliffe blade

However, in 1997 or so two guys named Michael Janich and Mike Snoody re-invented the Wharncliffe for a tactical knife called the Ronin. It was sort of a Wharncliffe blade, but the spine was more angular than round. The folding version made by Spyderco was the Yojimbo, which was not at all like a true Wharncliffe blade, more like a modified coping blade. Ever since then, the straight edge broken blade look has been called a Wharncliffe blade.....

Not real Wharncliffe blade

 

[K.O.D.]

I prefer the whanto anyway.

 

[Arathol]

No.

Many Seax blades don't look like a Wharncliffe at all.
Many look more like a Bowie blade.

The one thought of as a Seax most often is the broken back Seax, popular in England.
The Wharncliffe blade was also designed in England...coincidence?

Many surviving examples of the broken back Seax also have an edge that curves up towards the point rather than straight out like a Wharncliffe. But then again, others don't.

So I hope you are now thoroughly confused.

Not really confused.....Thing is, the word seax has its roots in the Germanic languages. The word was used in many parts of Europe (Saxons, Celts, Germanic tribes, through Scandinavia etc) and means "knife", and doesn't actually refer to any particular blade shape.....

 

[stabman]

Not really confused.....Thing is, the word seax has its roots in the Germanic languages. The word was used in many parts of Europe (Saxons, Celts, Germanic tribes, through Scandinavia etc) and means "knife", and doesn't actually refer to any particular blade shape.....

Yep.

So the answer to "Is this knife a Seax?" is "Yes."