Why no guard on fixed blades?

S

SVC

Joined
Dec 15, 2005
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11
Maybe someone can help me figure this one out - why don't most knife makers put a (half) guard on their fixed blade knives? I've been looking for a nice small fixed blade knife since my great city (NYC) has declared war on most folding knives and I'm shocked that the best I can usually find on anything short of some sort of dagger/bowie knife/fighting blade is a rounded finger choil which doesn't really offer enough protection from sliding down the handle into the blade.

One of the main uses to which I put my knives are opening those infernal clam shell packages that everything you buy seems to come in and I don't want to end up in the emergency room because I tried to poke through the tough plastic and ending up slicing my finger.

Are guards more expensive? Too hard to fit? Or is it just a style thing?

I'd love to find a short (~3" blade) knife with a half guard, good modern steel (maybe S30V), and a nice G10 handle.

Any suggestions?
 
well you could try the mora 612, it has a half guard, use either 1095 carbon steel or 12c27n sandvik (pending your choice of blade steel) however it doesnt have g10 handles and the blade is more like 4in, but still its an amazing workhorse
 
Guards are on fighting knives because you are expected to stab with them. Guards are not on other knives because you are not expected to stab with them.

Get a fighter. Or some scissors. :)
 
i hate fixed blades without guards or at least a foward curve at the end of the handles. There might be some bark river knives that are small enough that have a guard.the busse sar3 & game warden are cool,too.you would just need a sheath....
 
marcinek said:
Guards are on fighting knives because you are expected to stab with them. Guards are not on other knives because you are not expected to stab with them.

Get a fighter. Or some scissors. :)
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Stabbing through packaging or boxes is something I find myself doing fairly regularly. Also, dressing out a deer requires carefully penetrating the tough hide.

If you're going to make a knife with a point, as opposed to a rounded rescue blade, you're designing the knife to do poking in some context. All the old Buck knives have half guards, how come it's so unusual now?

The Busse SAR3 is beautiful - I'd love this knife if it had a real guard instead of that rounded bump. :)

The Mora 612 has a great half guard (just the sort I'd prefer), but it's a little too big for a mostly city carried EDC. At least for me.
 
A Sar3 doesn't have enough guard? I was going to say it is hard to find a fixed blade knife without a guard, but apparently you are the worlds most careless knife user if normal guards are not enough to keep you from cutting yourself. Maybe some kind of D guard, or just duct tape the knife securely to your hand.
 
Although not a guard, that Spyderco Street Beat sure has a DEEP choil. Real deep.

I just can't think of smaller fixed blades with guards. Like you said, typically Bowies and Fighters.
 
I think big guards get in the way a lot more than they help, and most knives I'm familiar with aren't built strictly for fighting. If you stab something hard with a loose grip, guard or no guard you're going to be screwed. Especially for bush craft and even cleaning game, big guards get in the way. Look into the ESEE knives, they all have something to block your hand from going forward. ESEE 3, HEST, and even an IZULA II are around the size you're after, and all have a half guard to keep your hand from going forward. I know from use the Izula guard/choil works well in keeping your hand on that handle.
 
The 'perfect' blade for clamshell packages, IMO, is something like a sheepsfoot/wharncliff blade, such as might be found in a traditional folder (like a stockman). Cutting force, with such a blade, is applied downward (towards the edge), instead of pushing lengthwise into the plastic. The issue of your hand/finger slipping down the handle and into the blade is moot, with a blade like this.

The same could be applied to just about any small blade (like a pen blade in a SAK, for example) in a traditional folder. So long as the tip is kept sharp, the thin blade geometry makes a much better choice for a task such as opening plastic packaging.

A thick blade (1/8"), such as would be found on many fixed blades (even small ones), is generally going to have a fairly thick & blunt tip anyway. If you're trying to use it for pushing into & opening clamshell packs, that blunt tip is going to be the biggest problem, as opposed to the lack of a guard/choil.
 
just get something with a dropped edge. Large kitchen knives don't have guards because they don't need them.
 
Do not need guards for all the fix-blade knives. I guess there is good enough mix as it is now.
 
For fighting knives a true guard is no longer necessary. With an index finger hole, the front of the hole acts as a "guard" to keep the hand in place. Also, pretty much the industry standard for fighting knives now a days is to equip it with grooved micarta or G10 scales as opposed to the old school fighting knives that used oiled wood. You get much better purchase with micarta or G10 than wood.
 
Some grip profiles lend themselves greatly to negating the need of a guard. Case in point, my Coye Ridgeback in 154cm with OD-g10 on black g10 liners.

edc01.jpg
 
SVC said:
Stabbing through packaging or boxes is something I find myself doing fairly regularly. Also, dressing out a deer requires carefully penetrating the tough hide.
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And yet skinners don't have pronounced guards. You do realize that deer you're dressing out is dead, right? You don't have to stab him to death. He's not a enemy sentry for heaven's sake. :D
 
I agree. I've been dressing whitetail, muleys and elk for almost 50 years. I certainly wouldn't want a knife with a guard. It would just get in the way.
 
IMHO guards are bulky, and they get in the way, not to mention making the sheath weird. It is harder to choke up on the knife for delicate tip work too. And since you want a fixed for edc a slim, light versatile knife is what you want, and it will not have a guard. unless you are doing some serious stabbing you shouldnt need a one.
 
It's really personal preference and/or tradition. Finnish puukos, like the KP and assorted Kellams, traditionally haven't had guards, and those are working knives, sharp as anything. If you are careful you don't need a guard, and there are design alternatives to a guard if a guard would get in the way, but so many people prefer guards that now guards are being offered as an option even on KP traditional knives.
For a fighter I like a nice big guard, especially an s or even a d guard, but that's because my technique is lousy, not because they're essential.
 
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