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Which came first, the handle or the blade?
- Thread starter Tai Goo
- Start date
james terrio
Sharpest Knife in the Light Socket
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I just wrote "Conatact Tai Goo" across the donor's card on the back of my driver's license. Whatever you end up making from me, please refer to it as a collaboration piece, m'kay.:thumbup:
Speaking of bible references, wasn't there one about the jawbone of an ass?
just kiddin bro. I couldn't help myself. 
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That Terrio guy..... he-aw, he-aw, he-awlays calls me an ass for no good reason.
Rick
Tai Goo
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I don't know if science can be applied to the question at hand.
Well said Lorien...
... although I'd be disappointed if they didn't keep trying! LOL
Just a guess on my part but I suspect those who smash hot iron into blades start with the blade first. This is probably the same for most stick tang knives. I think there is a different way of thinking (not better, not worse) when doing stock removal vs forging. I do stock removal.
My thought process is something like this:
1. What is the function of the knife?
2. What sort of blade will best accomplish it?
3. How can the handle be made to best enable the blade do what it's supposed to do?
The blade comes first when thinking about the overall concept of the knife but when I sit down to draw up a design it's always the handle that comes first. The shape of the tang determines to a great extent the shape of the handle, at least the profile. With a stick tang there are infinite profiles the handle can take. There is certainly room to argue that a full tang has infinite possibilities also, at least up until the scales are attached.
IMHO it seems to me that there are only so many ways that you can grind a piece of metal into blade. There are exceptions though. Some styles like the kukri, the Nessmuk, parangs, and other large machete type hackers have very distinctive blades. One might argue that they are more specialized blades.
So the answer is that the blade comes first when THINKING about the overall knife, but the physical design process of drawing a picture or some such activity, the handle comes first.
- Paul Meske, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
My thought process is something like this:
1. What is the function of the knife?
2. What sort of blade will best accomplish it?
3. How can the handle be made to best enable the blade do what it's supposed to do?
The blade comes first when thinking about the overall concept of the knife but when I sit down to draw up a design it's always the handle that comes first. The shape of the tang determines to a great extent the shape of the handle, at least the profile. With a stick tang there are infinite profiles the handle can take. There is certainly room to argue that a full tang has infinite possibilities also, at least up until the scales are attached.
IMHO it seems to me that there are only so many ways that you can grind a piece of metal into blade. There are exceptions though. Some styles like the kukri, the Nessmuk, parangs, and other large machete type hackers have very distinctive blades. One might argue that they are more specialized blades.
So the answer is that the blade comes first when THINKING about the overall knife, but the physical design process of drawing a picture or some such activity, the handle comes first.
- Paul Meske, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin