Can any of you experienced users comment on the four blade designs offered by Ratworx? The blades offered are the Standard, Tanto, Reverse Edge (tanto style with a concave primary edge) and Recurve. I'm trying to decide which one to get and would like some opinions on which is most useful and any other input I can get. Thanks in advance...
The tanto blades provide a flat edge to cut with, useful as a chisel, and may provide greater thickness in the tip for increased durability when piercing/prying at the cost of penetration efficiency. There is also the secondary tip at the grind-transition, useful for shallow cuts, e.g. openning packages without damaging the contents.
Non-tanto, the belly has a continuous sweep so there is not secondary tip, a common preference for most cutting applications, skinning, carving, etc.
Recurve blades can be more challenging to properly sharpen as they require a narrow or curved hone, but that curve puts more of the blade in contact with soft, fibrous material like rope, and enhances the number of angles in the cut such that, on a slice or push, the blade grabs the material around the sides as well, very effective.
In my opinion, the standard or simply tanto blade shapes are the most useful for general cutting tasks and also the easiest to maintain. The recurve designs are more specialized. Also keep in mind that a tanto-style can be easily turned into a standard profile after sufficient wear to the grind-transition (i.e. "spanto") if it is desired. It would take more wear to turn the standard style into a tanto...