Why can't I get into the Wharncliffe?

Woodrow F Call

Woodrow F Call

Joined
Jan 3, 2013
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I've debated getting a wharncliffe knife for quite awhile. With all the knife options available, I can find the excuse to not have one. Still, whenever I’m thinking about it, this is where I go:

1. It’s a good looking pattern for sure.
2. A spey will give me the long straight edge and a belly with a stronger point.
3. A Sheeps or Lambs foot will give me a straight edge with a stronger point.

That’s about as far as I get whenever I think about it. I then go on. I still keep coming back thinking…. “Man, the SBJ is a good looking knife”

Where am I wrong? Convince me I want a wharncliffe.
 
The spey or lambsfoot may have stronger points, but they are less useful than the one found on the wharncliffe.

Besides, what do you need a stronger point for? This is a slipjoint we're talking about, not a Strider.

- Christian
 
The more I use a warncliffe the more I like it..... Then again, the more I use a warncliffe the more it looks like a zulu spear! ;)
 
kamagong said:
The spey or lambsfoot may have stronger points, but they are less useful than the one found on the wharncliffe.

Besides, what do you need a stronger point for? This is a slipjoint we're talking about, not a Strider.

- Christian
Click to expand...

Excellent point about it being a slipjoint. How is it "more useful" than the others?
 
I take it that you've never tried a proper wharncliffe? What about an Xacto #11? The fine point and thin cutting tip give you unmatched control and sharpness for detail work. You don't want to dig out a splinter or cut out a hangnail with a blunt-tipped sheepsfoot.
 
Planterz said:
I take it that you've never tried a proper wharncliffe? What about an Xacto #11? The fine point and thin cutting tip give you unmatched control and sharpness for detail work. You don't want to dig out a splinter or cut out a hangnail with a blunt-tipped sheepsfoot.
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You can dig those out?!?!?!??! I always just lopped off the finger using a Sheepsfoot!!!!! :p
 
For precise "in line" cutting, a wharncliffe is really hard to beat - much like an Xacto knife, as Aaron said. I also really like it for scraping/shaving tasks, as you can get contact with the full edge over a maximum area - something you can't do with a knife that has belly.

I really think that the blade combo on the "improved" #48 is going to be hard to beat...
 
I was going to say I don't have one either and will have to get one before I criticize it, but I just remembered I do have one. A blue bone Case with a wharnie main that I bought because it was pretty and have never used. Guess I should give it a try.
 
scrteened porch said:
I was going to say I don't have one either and will have to get one before I criticize it, but I just remembered I do have one. A blue bone Case with a wharnie main that I bought because it was pretty and have never used. Guess I should give it a try.
Click to expand...

My thread really isn't meant to criticize the wharncliffe. I just keep talking myself out of getting one and wonder if that should change.


Great posts so far!
 
I'm not on the Warncliffe band wagon either. The blade shape does nothing for me aesthetically, and it seems to be of limited use. I like a little belly on my blades. Just one opinion.
 
I like the look of the Wharncliffe a lot & find it all round useful.

If you get one then I'd recommend two options: the SBJ is small but very tidy & it comes with a longish Pen blade too. GEC's Houndstooth is an outstanding pattern giving a long decent sized Wharncliffe with most comfortable frame.

I've got a Northwoods Norfolk en-route so I must be a fan! Not for everybody of course the Wharncliffe, but well worth a try, and they're keenly snapped up in the 2nd hand market. So you can't lose....
 
Planterz said:
...The fine point and thin cutting tip give you unmatched control and sharpness for detail work. You don't want to dig out a splinter or cut out a hangnail with a blunt-tipped sheepsfoot.
Click to expand...

Smithhammer said:
For precise "in line" cutting, a wharncliffe is really hard to beat - much like an Xacto knife, as Aaron said. I also really like it for scraping/shaving tasks, as you can get contact with the full edge over a maximum area - something you can't do with a knife that has belly...
Click to expand...

Both great points, (pun intended) what do you or did you do for a living? As a Mechanic/Millwright/ (insert almost any trade here) I find it an indispensable pattern for cutting gaskets, trimming pvc pipe, stripping wire... Pretty much any work requiring a precise tip for cutting out a straight edge for scraping, works great for making stencils.

Great blade for whittlin', cutting food, (steak and what not).
 
Sometimes when whittling, you might need to square up a corner or other detail and when you press the point of a Wharncliffe blade into the wood and then attempt to flick the errant piece of wood away, the tip of the Wharncliffe blade will snap off. This has been reported by quite a few people here and there is even a thread about it somewhere in "Search Heaven".

That's the only negative, physical, aspect of the blade I've heard about.

Personally, I prefer the Sheepsfoot blade or Coping blade. I've had a couple of knives with the Wharncliffe blade but they just didn't appeal to me (looks wise) so I gifted them to others.
 
I recently tried both wharncliffe and sheepsfoot blade, I find the wharnecliffe to be a bit delicate and prefer the sheepsfoot for my tasks. The blades I compared were the wharnecliffe on the new 48 "improved trapper" ant the sheepsfoot from the Tidioute 25. Both good for intended purposes, but the wharnie has a needle point and I cant help but think I will eventually break yhe tip.

Just get the wharnecliffe, you'll wonder until you try it!
 
IMGP7100.JPG


tip cutting is what i mostly use in city life (packages,labels,zip ties, etc)and narrow accurate wharncliffe tip excels at that

stop tormenting yourself and get one ;)
 
Woodrow F Call said:
I've debated getting a wharncliffe knife for quite awhile. With all the knife options available, I can find the excuse to not have one. Still, whenever I’m thinking about it, this is where I go:

1. It’s a good looking pattern for sure.
2. A spey will give me the long straight edge and a belly with a stronger point.
3. A Sheeps or Lambs foot will give me a straight edge with a stronger point.

That’s about as far as I get whenever I think about it. I then go on. I still keep coming back thinking…. “Man, the SBJ is a good looking knife”

Where am I wrong? Convince me I want a wharncliffe.
Click to expand...

Don't be fretting yourself, you like what you like. If it doesn't do it for you, so be it. :)
 
So are you saying that the gettings don't get good until you actually use one? I've been thinking the exact same thing myself. I love the way they look but something about them make me not want to get one, yet I am drawn to them.

I think its because everytime I see one its not a main blade. And the ones that I like who have a wharnie as a main blade are these gorgeous too pricey customs...I don't know what it is. If I got a Sebenza I know that I would run out my house go to the yard and start whacking away at things for fun. But some of these customs like the Menafee's and Oeser's are just too pretty to use! I know that a lot of you guys use them but I feel as if I would just let it sit somewhere and be a thinking stone you know.

blades&grace said:
The more I use a warncliffe the more I like it..... Then again, the more I use a warncliffe the more it looks like a zulu spear! ;)
Click to expand...
 
So, as must regulars know, this is my EDC pairing. Note the shape of the blade on the Micra. I've been moving it more and more towards something like thin spey or fat wharncliff.


EDC Pair by Pinnah, on Flickr

The reason for me is for carving and whittling. There are cuts that a small, pointy and flatter edged blade do better at.

One trick with Micra is to open it up full length, as shown at the bottom of this photo (compared to the Vic Classic). This gives me a handful of handle and a flat place for my thumb to guide pressure.


image by Pinnah, on Flickr

Most importantly, when playing around with stupid stuff like wooden chain (fail) and ball in a box (in process but failing), the small pointy blade is perfect for digging cuts and making clean end/stop cuts. All of this to say, I get the point (ahem) of the blade shape for this sort of cutting.

On the other hand, I totally don't get it for a main blade. I strongly prefer drop points or spear points for main blades.
 
Since you specifically mention the Case Swayback Jack: have you ever seen the top of the SBJ? The spring on the pen blade wraps around to the top and comes to rest near the tip of the pen blade. There is no large slot for lint and such to collect. This kind of quality and attention to detail is something I've only ever seen on custom knives, yet you can get it on the SBJ. Forget trying to be convinced of the utility of a Wharncliffe blade without actually using one day-to-day. You want this knife because it is made by the more experienced cutlers at Case, because it is Tony Bose designed, and because it has attention to details like the wrap-around spring.
 
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