How to choose the right blade style
If you want to carry around the 10 blade trapper pictured above you'd havethe perfectblade for every situation. You'd also have one blade tolop off eachfinger because there are no blade locks. Having a different knife blade for each situation isn't necessary or even practical. Most people have one or two blade styles that they adapt tomost uses. Having the bases covered with a couple of trusted favorites, you can buy a knife with a specific blade that is best suited for a particular task,profession or hobby. This guide on how to choose the right blade style is one in a series of guides, each focusing in detail on one aspect of a knife. Feel free to bookmark this page for future reference and don't forget to vote if you thought it was helpful.
The first thing you may want to ask yourself is, "Self, what the heck does 1stopsurplus.web know about knives, besides the fact that theyve got a lot for sale?" Well, I worked in a sporting goods store for quite some time and after a couple years of studying manufacturers specs, researching online, talking with customers and playing with every knife in the case I became affectionately known in the department as, "The Knife Guru". If anyone had a question about a knife they couldnt answer, they came to me. Now that Ive got the horn tooting done lets get on with the guide.
Below is a list of gemon blade styles and their intended uses. This information should help you choose the proper blade stylebased onwhat you use the knife for most. Have questions? Ask The Knife Guru by sending me a message through okay.
1. Chisel Point - Like a droppoint with the end chopped off and sharpened. Used for digging or prying. Found in some dive knives.
2.Clip Point - Along with droppoint, probably the most gemon blade style today. The sharp point is effective for detail work, but is not as strong as a thicker blade.
3. Coping - Featuresa narrow blade with a sharp, angular pointdesigned to be used for cutting in tight spots or curved patterns, much as you would with a coping saw, only without the teeth.
4. Dagger - Similar in design to a spearpoint blade, but with both edges sharpened. Created for one reason and one reason alone, as a weapon.
5. Drop Point - This blade has a gentle, sloping convex curve to the point without the concave curve of the clip blade. Its thicker point is stronger for heavier tasks. The thicker tip is a positive for abuse but a negative for easy penetration. A good choice for a skinning blade where you don't want to poke a hole through the hide.
6. Guthook - An excellent choice for skinning large game. If you've never used a guthook before, now is the time to try. It's like using a zipper to open up the hide. No more running your fingers along side the blade hoping you don't slice the innards. Hook can easily be sharpened using a serrated blade sharpener.
7. Hawkbill - Has a concave curved edgewhich providesadvantages in a push cutting motion. This type of blade is used for things like carpet knives or scoring blades.
8. Modified Tanto - Blade has a curved edge as opposed to a straight one of the standard tanto. Tip also is more pointed and not quite as strong.
9. Pen or Spearpoint - Spearpoints are more popular in Europe, while in America, the clippoint is the preferred option. Pen blades are usually on pocket knives as a handy, all purpose blade. It was originally developed to trim quill pens, and that name has stuck through the centuries.
10. Serrated - Makes easy work of tough stuff a smooth blade can't handle without several extra strokes and dulling to the blade. Some people avoid serrated blades thinking they will never be able to sharpen them. Manufacturers do make specific sharpeners for serrated blades now, but you don't have to sharpen them very often. If shopping for a fixed blade, a nice option is a blade with serrations on top so you get the ruggedness without taking up blade length.
11. Sheepsfoot - Got its name from the shape of the point resembling the hoof of a sheep. With its distinctive flat, straight-line cutting edge and rounded point it's well suited to giving you a clean cut, especially on a flat cutting surface.
12. Spey - As the name suggests, this blade was originally developed to neuter farm animals. The rather blunt point avoids poking through a surface by accident, and the overall configuration makes the speywell suited forsweeping knife strokes such as when skinning.
13. Tanto -A traditional Japanese design dating back to feudal Japan. The angled grind from the edge to the tip is much heavier and stronger than other blade styles. It is used for piercing hard or tough materials and for prying or scraping. Found on many tactical knives of today.
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