Why so many recurves lately?

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it all got to do with the end of the world being very very f***ing nigh

and zombies offcourse!

:D
 
The recurve on my Emerson Mini-Commander is a bit too much for me. The amount of recurve on my BM 710 and Kershaw Lahar are about just right for me.

I think the Emerson Commander and Cold Steel Vaquero Grande probably started the trend in recurved folder blades.

Regards,
3G
 
yoda4561 said:
The shape helps to dig in and force the edge through some materials. An example is thick poly rope. Straight edges often have a tendency to slide if they aren't perfectly sharp, the recurve can get away with a slightly duller edge. It makes the cut easier and more controlable.
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JTR, to add to what he said, the recurve actually forces the material being cut into the edge in the front section of the recurve. If you look at what we typically think of as a "skinner" with a pronounced belly, it's very much the opposite. It's purpose to slice, yes, but to make a shallow cut. As opposed to the recurve, the material being cut is actually being pushed away from the edge instead of into it due to the blade's shape.
Unless you're using the knife for cutting thicker material, or something hard or slick that makes the edge want to skate across rather than dig in, you may not see a big advantage in a recurve. I used to be nuts over them because they were significantly better on materials that I frequently cut at work. A couple of years ago, I changed job positions, and no longer had a lot of tough cutting for my knife to do. I haven't carried a recurve since, because it was no longer "better" for most of my knife use.

I imagine their current popularity is based on appearance more than anything. Recurves are eye-catching. I've always thought balanced and well ground recurves were gorgeous, especially on large knives(even though I don't care to have much or any recurve on a big knife).
 
At first I really didn't like recurves, but I'm getting to like them more lately. They can act like a half serrated for folks who don't like a half serrated but want that little extra help for stuff like a poly rope (as an earlier post mentioned). They cut meat pretty well, and you can rock the front curve on a cutting board and get better food prep action than a straight edge with a handle that won't let you bring the blade all the way down (which is most folders). Recurves are not so good for things like sharpening sticks or cutting up apples; they seem generally worse for really precision cutting. And recurves generally don't seem so "pointy" as a straight edge. And I'm not so sure you can get them as sharp as a true full flat straight edge. But in general, I'm starting to come around. Maybe it's because my favorite knife is a Skirmish, though.
 
psy-ops said:
JTR, The rise of recurves can be explained in 2 words: Eye Candy!
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Im not sure how long Randall has been making the Sasquatch but Ive wanted one for a while now.:) This one is in the $1600 range on the bay.:(
As far as a folder for edc I would be hesitant, but I do like the way they look.

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For draw cuts material is fed into the edge and bevel from the concave portion of the blade. Draw cuts approximate stabbing the material with a deep bellied blade but with more precision and allowing for much longer cuts with little effort. This 'feeding of material' provides an advantage over straight blades as the material is forced higher into the bevel with little chance of the edge sliding over anything. It basically provides a lot of the benefit of serrations but allowing for cleaner cuts.

For push cuts strongly recurved knives make less sense as there is less edge/blade presented to the material the a straight blade.* It would be like using only the belly of a straight bladed knife. This would become a more pronounced disadvantage in chores like food prep that require essentially long and repeated push cuts. Ughh for dicing...

Pronounces recurves can only be sharpened using thin rod type sharpeners. Less pronounced can be sharpened on flat stones, but even then, these stones will need to be fairly narrow.

* Certain designs of recurves do a decent job to mitigate some of the push cut disadvantage. Kershaw's Speed and Spec Bumps, and to a slightly lesser extent the titanium versions, have a significant portion of the blade that is in effect a straight blade.
bump.jpg
Looking at these pictures you can see, if you angle the handle up ~20 degrees, the first two inches or so are in a Sheep's Foot or Wharncliffe shape. For comparison of this check out the Needs Work, http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=385 The bump series also provides a very strong but still relatively thin tips.
 
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GarageBoy said:
Because they're something different
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And it sells, apparently.

Fashion and trends are everywhere. Sometimes they don't make a ton of sense, sometimes they're based on well thought-out designs that work well.

And sometimes they're knock-offs of well made designs that don't work out so well.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of recurves, but I can see why people like them. I for one cannot make a straight cut with one over any large surface.

It depends what you're using it for. If you tend to cut a lot of rope, cable ties, things of that nature you'll probably love recurve blades.
 
I've never found a use for 'Warncliff' or a 'Sheepsfoot' but a slight to medium Recurve makes most cutting chores a breeze.
 
mhawg said:
I've never found a use for 'Warncliff' or a 'Sheepsfoot' but a slight to medium Recurve makes most cutting chores a breeze.
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Oh Man!Those are two of my favorite blade styles....different strokes for different folks,I guess.:D





Thanks for the extra info OwenM & everyone else for their feedback:thumbup:
 
I hate 'em. PITA to rebevel, (without completely scarring the blade face) and I don't like being dependent on a "sharpening system", I'm a stone and sandpaper kinda guy.
 
samhain73 said:
I hate 'em. PITA to rebevel, (without completely scarring the blade face) and I don't like being dependent on a "sharpening system", I'm a stone and sandpaper kinda guy.
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me too i guess, i've never gotten myself to buying such a system yet

a spydie sharpmaker costs 60 euro or something
i can buy a leek for that money! :o

so, i allways postpone buying one
 
I asked a pretty popular knife maker from Hawaii (forgot his name and no it's not Ken Onion)
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Chad Los Banos?

My only recurve is a Buck Mayo Hilo.It's a Chinese made model, similar to the much mor expensive TNT. I like the recurve for cutting cord and rope.
 
Tom Mayo is from Hawaii, and makes awesome knives.

I happen to like some recurves.
 
Kaizen1 said:
I think the popularity of recurves has more to do with aesthetics than anything else. I remember being at one of the local knife shows and I asked a pretty popular knife maker from Hawaii (forgot his name and no it's not Ken Onion) who does a lot of work with recurves (he has beautiful knives) why he made recurves. I asked if they had any special funciton. His answer was pretty simple- "I dunno." Not trying to make this seem negative at all, his knives were incredible. But to me this helps support my opinion on this.
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Scot Matsuoka?

http://www.matsuokaknives.com/images/blade07_1.jpg

If so, I love his work. Those hawiian knife makers seem to have an oceanic appeal to there lines. In my opinion it is the stunning work of such makers that has people looking for recurves.
 
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