Whereforeart Thou, Wharnies?

CraigMang

CraigMang

Joined
Mar 23, 2015
Messages
458
So I'm a huge fan of the wharncliffe/reverse tanto blade shape. HUGE. Love it for utility work when it comes to killing boxes, fine detail stuff, all of that...it just makes sense to me from a physics perspective, as its blade is on a single plane and thus is easier to control. You get the same cutting power and geometry along its length and, it folds down along just one line, making it theoretically easy to design a handle around.

So...where are all of them? :confused:

It seems like almost every knife on the planet has an upswept tip. Drop point, clip point, spear point, what's the point? Okay, it keeps hides intact when skinning...other than that, and forgive me if I'm being a rube, but why the incredible demand for this design? I get having some belly for roll cuts, and food preparation, etc., but most folding knives aren't used in the kitchen, right? Straight edges are good enough for utility blades, razors and saws, bahgawd! :D

Please don't misunderstand, I enjoy many styles and shapes of knives, and to each their own with peace; but I would just like to see more of my favorite, or find out if I'm not seeing something you all are. The quintessential example of a pure wharncliffe blade, IMO, is the Hinderer one. Besides that, where can a wharnie addict find a fix these days? Preferably with a full flat grind for some length-of-the-blade cardboard slashing goodness, mmmmmmm...
 
Here are some folders with Wharncliffe, Reverse Tanto and Sheepsfoot:

  • Boker Haddock
  • Benchmade 940
  • Benchmade 950
  • Benchmade 810
  • Spyderco Des Horn
  • Spyderco Yojimbo 2
  • Hogue EX-04 Wharncliffe
  • Brous Silent Soldier
  • Marfione Sigil
  • Andre de Villiers Butcher
  • CRK Sebenza Insingo
  • Hinderer XM-18 Wharncliffe
  • Zero Tolerance 0392WC (coming in 2016)

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Gizler00 said:
Buy the XM-18 wharncliffe!! Awesome knife.
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Totally itching to! Just hearing so many inconsistent reports about the detent and flipping action...I like me a good detent and some snappy flipping, no wrist action required. But I dig the royal blue scale and as I mentioned, am a big fan of the blade shape, so...in time, I hope!
 
Tilt would be fun, but outta my price range...and Ram, thanks for the suggestions! Hoping that ZT will be somewhat reasonable, but as an LE I'm worried...

This thread was meant also as a discussion of why the blade shape isn't more popular overall, so are there any opinions in that regard?
 
The Cold Steel Tuff Lite is cheap and awesome. I carve with them all the time, and it's one of my all-time favorite knife models at this point.
 
Straight wharncliffes tend to have just the very top of the edge used for a majority of cutting tasks. That causes a lot more top wear than on the rest of the blade. When you have a curved edge, you get more useful blade to work with.
 
I love them to! Top one is my EDC.


This is a JK Element in 01 I traded it but shouldn't have. Although it give me an excuse to get it redone in S30!



PS I have an alert on ebay for a Kershaw Random Task in CPM 440V but I haven't found one at a price that didn't make me want to throw up.
 
Scurvy092 said:
Straight wharncliffes tend to have just the very top of the edge used for a majority of cutting tasks. That causes a lot more top wear than on the rest of the blade. When you have a curved edge, you get more useful blade to work with.
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This can be true. That said, it is a very functional blade shape and if you don't mind sharpening they can be super useful. Lots of traditionals have a wharncliffe blade.

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I also enjoy them. Normally carry some form of slipjoint and for bigger tasks I have the Insingo. The other one pictured is my fathers EDC. He works in the printing industry and loves the blade shape for his uses.

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ZT 0808, GEC 47, a few bark rivers. Its not a bad time to be a wharncliffe fan.
 
And don't forget the customs. This one was $65 off the exchange here. O1 steel. I did the patina.

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CraigMang, our opinions on blade shapes could totally hang out. I love wharncliffes and sheepsfoots and it completely escapes me why they aren't more prevalent. They're crazy useful, easy to maintain an edge on, and are generally lookers to boot.

Quick and dirty picture of my wharnie / sheepsfoot knives that I currently own:

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Yes, that's another GREAT feature I forgot to mention...easy sharpening! The hits keep coming. And I get that a lot of wear can occur on the tip, but it doesn't seem like "well then curve it up so it's harder to use" is a great solution IMO.
 
I love them to. I'm a grocery store manager and I think they work best for my daily tasks.
Here is my Anthony Griffin custom he made for me to be my work knife.
 
I know it is an old photo, but it is the cleanest photo of it that I have.
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