Mack the Knife

Man, I love my knives and I’ve got several. Now before you go thinking I’m one of those crazy-eye, redneck Rambos with a ten inch combat knife on my belt, I’m not and in my opinion that’s not a knife is a short sword. I just believe a good knife is an essential tool to have and the job I’m doing defines what a good knife is. I don’t concern myself with the handle size or shape; I can replace that if I choose. The length of the blade plays a part but not as big a part as some would think. For me it’s all about the cutting edge or “business end” as my father would say. When it comes to the blade of the knife, I have found, with one of three blade styles, I can perform any task requiring a knife.
The first blade style is thin steel with a single bevel. Examples of this type of blade are; utility knives, surgical tools and my all time favorite, the original Swiss Army Tinker. The back of the blade is at most 1/16” wide but usually much thinner. This means the steel tapers down from back to edge with not steep angle change. What does this mean as far as cutting? Well, there is almost no drag from the back of the blade and since you start and finish the cut using the same angle there’s no fiber pull or forcing the blade into the material. I use my Tinker for high detail work such as wood carving, whittling and other tasks where you have to be precise in what stays and what goes. I can’t imagine trying to carve Santa’s nostrils out with a Rambo knife.
I do a lot of activities that I wouldn’t let my precious Tinker near. So, I reach for my splicer. The splicer style of blade is good for more abrasive and repetitive works. I’ll use it if I’m cutting rope, opening cardboard boxes or making impromptu tent stakes and marshmallow sticks. (Rope and cardboard are both horribly destructive on knife blades.) The splicer blade at the back end is maybe 1/8” at most and angles down toward the edge. Before it meets the edge it changes the angle five to ten degrees. This puts more meat in the cutting edge allowing the blade to stay honed longer and lets me put more force behind it. The down side to this is that I spend more time sharpening this knife due to the tasks I use it for.
The last and least used blade style is the chisel blade. This blade has the shape of a wood chisel but not such a steep angle. It is completely flat on one side of the blade and tapers down to a razor edge on the other side. Most blades of this style have a serrated edge and I can’t figure out why. If your knife is sharp you shouldn’t need the serrations and if you need the serrations, get a saw. But the shape of this blade is ideal for cutting or shaving something off the surface without digging into the body of the material. I used this style of blade to shave while on Army field exercises, it will cut the hair off but due to the flat side it won’t dig into your skin. I’ll also use it occasionally if my wood carving has gotten moist or sat too long and developed fibers on the surface, this will take them off without cutting the actual carving.
Ok, I admit, not all of the knives in my possession are good knives that fall into one of the above three categories. I’ve received several knives as gifts from friends and family all with good intentions. I’ve won some as prizes and even bought a few in a “pinch” situation. But those knives are all corralled in an ammo can in the back of my shop and probably won’t see the light of day for a long time. Why? They’re not the right blade for any job.