Do you need a finger guard?

Juha Perttula

Juha Perttula

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Mar 27, 2013
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Traditional puukko has no finger guard, for that reason it may be dangerous for the user. However, I have learned that you can stab safely if you put your thump on the butt of the handle. And if you push by the blade, then you must support the butt on the palm of your hand. I have used traditional puukko for 50 years and never got a bad wound, but despite of that, I think that a knife with good finger guard could be better. I would like to hear your opinion, can a knife without finger guard be safe ?

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"Do you need a finger guard?"

No. I don't do anything with knives that requires stabbing motions.
 
Depends more on the user, IMHO. Then again, I do manage to test my blades on myself fairly frequently:D.
 
A knife with no finger guard is not dangerous but it requires more focus and attention. I prefer my knives without guards but appreciate a finger notch or any other tactile signal (palm swell, beaked pommel,...) that lets me feel where the knife sits. Is a finger guard an added safety ? Sure ! Just like a locking folder is safer than a slipjoint. Do you need it ? Depends entirely on what work you do with your knife and how you do it. American hunter knives traditionally have a guard : it's appreciated when the knife gets slippery with blood and body fluids (and you're in a hurry to harvest your meat before the flies rush in). On a side note : the Scandinavian hunting and fishing knives generally have no guards (maybe you know the Norvegian joke about the knives with guards... It's a Northern vs Southern thing). I have never injured myself with a slipjoint or a guardless knife. But that's just me : I tend to be slow, careful and concentrated when I use edged tools. I learned painfully (with hammers...) that hasty and over busy does not work well.
 
No, you dont necessarily need a guard on knives meant for slicing and cutting as opposed to stabbing materials.

I like.both my working knives sans guard and those of my knives with a guard.
 
Yes. My hands are always dry, making smooth handles slippery. Nearly sliced my hand open a couple of times.
 
I'm ok with anything that makes a knife safer. If a knife doesn't have a deep choil, finger guard, or grippy G-10, I am much less likely to purchase it. My yard/biking knife is the Mora with the finger guard.
 
I use plenty of knives with no guard without any problems, but I don't mind having a small guard or finger groove. Sometimes an extra bitnof safety is needed (tricky cuts outdoors with very cold or wet hands, on something that's moving, etc.).

Most of my knives have no guard or a very small one, so that it doesn't get in the way.

I also like knives with the edge lower that the handle axis (think cheff knives), that creates a guard of sorts. Rings can work quite well, too.

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I like some kind of guard or indent to provide tactile feedback as to where my hand is and to give something close to a safety on a knife. Even folders can be problematic without a guard (see: Gayle Bradley 1) if there isn’t enough of a gap or barrier between the handle and blade.

It seems even more necessary on a fixed blade, as those are the only variety of knife on should feel comfortable making a stabbing / jabbing motion with into resistant materials. I realize that Puukos are more oriented towards woodcraft and that you don’t typically stab a stick to whittle it, though, so it may be permissible or even desirable for that extra 1/4” or so of grippable handle.
 
The upper, stag handled, is a very nice knife. It definitely looks like a very efficient user for small tasks.
 
Juha Perttula said:
Traditional puukko has no finger guard, for that reason it may be dangerous for the user. However, I have learned that you can stab safely if you put your thump on the butt of the handle. And if you push by the blade, then you must support the butt on the palm of your hand. I have used traditional puukko for 50 years and never got a bad wound, but despite of that, I think that a knife with good finger guard could be better. I would like to hear your opinion, can a knife without finger guard be safe ?

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No. I do not need them. I especially do not like one on a traditional puukko.

Zieg
 
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