Why don't we like recurve?

R

RedLynx

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Aug 5, 2011
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Hi guys,

Recently going through the forums I've seen there's a lot of dislike for recurve style blades, because they're apparently hard to sharpen.

I have a few knives with slight recurve and and although I use diamond stones for sharpening, it seems like they sharpen a recurve fine (albeit a slight one, perhaps a pronounced recurve would not fair as well). The stone gets the complete edge and it all seems to have been sharpened well once I am done (but I admit I still may not be sharpening a recurve "properly", but it seems to be alright).

But I see a lot of people who will avoid knives with recurve because they are notoriously difficult to sharpen, and there are a lot of tricks like sandpaper over an old soda can, etc... just wondering if I need to be using these methods or if there is one better way to sharpen recurve and if it is, truly, the dickens to sharpen that people make it out to be.

I used to think stones were really hard to use, getting the proper angles and degrees correct to sharpen a knife well, but now it is easy.
 
I have a tough time up near the handle if the recurve is too aggressive, I end up with a much wider relief edge because of it. More importantly, I just don't see a huge advantage to having a recurve to begin with.
 
onetrickpony said:
I have a tough time up near the handle if the recurve is too aggressive, I end up with a much wider relief edge because of it. More importantly, I just don't see a huge advantage to having a recurve to begin with.
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I don't necessarily know of any big advantage or not, it's just that a lot of knives I like the look of seem to have recurve and I hate to pass them up on that alone... sort of like pocket clips. I'm a lefty so I really don't like right-only carry, but I try my best not to let that stop me if I really like a knife.

What's an example of an aggressive recurve that'd be a pain to sharpen in your opinion? Just out of curiosity.
 
Many of the same people that claim to not like recurves also have difficulty sharpening traditional knives. I guess it's intimidating. However, owning a knife you must learn at some point how to sharpen them. It's like owning a car and being intimidated by having to pump your own gas.
 
RevDevil said:
Many of the same people that claim to not like recurves also have difficulty sharpening traditional knives. I guess it's intimidating. However, owning a knife you must learn at some point how to sharpen them. It's like owning a car and being intimidated by having to pump your own gas.
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I used to be terrible at and intimidated by and sort of sharpening, Devil. And that lasted quite awhile. However I had to get over it or get over knives. One was possible and one was not. ;)
 
Slight recurve can be handled on the edge of a stone or edge of a flat surface with sandpaper. More pronounced you want either a sharpmaker style setup or the soda can trick.

One of my favorite knives is a recurve.
 
I only have one recurve, a kukhuri. I will not ever buy a recurve knife, other than another kukhuri.

They are a pain to sharpen on wet stones (my only for of sharpening), and from using recurves before, they don't offer the benefit to cancel the cons.

Maybe they might have a specific purpose, I prefer all purpose straight blade.
 
HwangJino said:
I only have one recurve, a kukhuri. I will not ever buy a recurve knife, other than another kukhuri.

They are a pain to sharpen on wet stones (my only for of sharpening), and from using recurves before, they don't offer the benefit to cancel the cons.

Maybe they might have a specific purpose, I prefer all purpose straight blade.
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I do not yet have the skill to sharpen very large knives such as a kuk or a machete, so I envy your skill.
 
I like recurves, but I sharpened with rectangular whet and water stones, until I got my Sharpmaker. Used to be a PITA to sharpen in a uniform way, but the SM makes me want to go buy a ZT0200 and a Benchmade 710!
 
I only have one recurve Knife,but I havent skill to sharpen it.I got a spyderco tri-angle sharpmaker,I could sharpen the recurve a bit.
 
HwangJino said:
I only have one recurve, a kukhuri. I will not ever buy a recurve knife, other than another kukhuri.

They are a pain to sharpen on wet stones (my only for of sharpening), and from using recurves before, they don't offer the benefit to cancel the cons.

Maybe they might have a specific purpose, I prefer all purpose straight blade.
Click to expand...

I agree with everyone above. recurves are a bitch to sharpen. Just tried sharpening my utilitac II and the angle is very deformed. All i do is free hand sharpen with Dmt's Dia-sharp or dia-fold stones and strop afterwards but as of now bad edge on the utilitac. Still sharp enough to somewhat shave hair but edge is off in the middle right where recurve starts. Maybe i'll figure out a way but not to stoked on recurves becuase of that reason as of now nor maybe will ever be.
 
My solution to sharpening a recurve is to trade it away before I get a chance to use it. My Worksharp will do a recurve just fine, but it will be more trouble than it is worth to strop it compared to a proper knife (yes, I am calling a recurve folder an improper knife... hawkbill or straight, there is no middle ground on folders)
 
Other than the sharpening aspect, the recurve has that gimmicky factor on smaller knives. Than being said I really like the BM 710 , however I think the real benefit is achieved with large choppers. The re curve design does in fact deliverer more force and added blade surface, love my Randall Made Sasquatch and have toppled a couple 2 to 3 inch saplings very easily.
Good luck learning to sharpen them and if you like the looks of the re curve, carry and enjoy!
 
Hi folks. I am not trying to hijack this thread but could someone explain the "soda can trick" to me please. I do have a recurve but just got it so not had to sharpen it yet.
Thanks
Tar
 
I have no trouble keeping my knives sharp with a Ken Onion Work Sharp. It is a little pricy and it did take a little practice but no more than mastering a stone. Now it's producing razor sharp blades. Before that I used ceramic stix with excellent results.

I'd like to know about the soda can trick too?
 
The good thing about a recurve is how effective they are at cutting. It's a simple equation of force though. With a spearpoint at an almost flat angle, you have more of the blade in contact with what you're cutting. With a recurve, you have only the belly cutting at the same angle. As such, you're applying 5 pounds for an inch of blade edge, rather than over three inches. Generic figure, yes, but hopefully it will help you understand.

They do require more labor to sharpen, and more consistency. Some recurves are not as extreme as others as well, which can have a huge impact on smaller folding knives. I could sharpen a 6" recurve with a stone in no time, but my ZT 0350 takes finesse.

While considered "mall ninja" to many here, that same force multiplier of a recurve is what draws me to the American tanto. It's even more effective on most grinds as the "belly tip" of an American tanto is an even smaller area than the beer belly or a recurve. Add to that the straight belly and upsweep makes it the easiest knife to sharpen in my opinion. Then you also get a much pointier and precise tip (depending on grind) and I love them. Problem is too many get caught up in looks and generalizations to put any thought into comparing the utility of a recurve and applying it to an America tanto.
 
I love recurves. Can't sharpen a straight blade and sure as hell can't sharpen a recurve. I get by with ceramic rods to touch up the edge but forget about reprofiling. I just buy new knives :) (its not like I wasn't gonna buy more anyway). I need to invest in a guided system with narrow stones.
 
Soda can trick, I imagine its putting a piece of sand paper over can and then sharpening the blade. The curve will follow the recurve of the blade
 
I have a CS Rajah that i sharpen on one of those tristones. Compared to most recurves it is very pronounced but i have never had a problem with it. As for recurve style vs. performance, i believe recurves cut better than non recurves because, in my experience, it bites into a material instead of pushing away. But if someone has problems sharpening them i wont argue, its not quite as intuitive as other styles.

I have also never used a consistent angle sharpener, wicked edge/edge pro, but i suspect it will be problematic as a recurve will have two points of contact with the stone, one on each corner of the contact face.
 
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