Let's discuss wharncliffe and sheepsfoot blades.

D

DoctorAutomatic

Joined
Aug 12, 2017
Messages
18
I'm relatively green in comparison to the membership here with regards to the finer details of pocket knives. This is sort of a summary of my thoughts on these two blade types and I'm looking to hear your thoughts & corrections.

At first I loved wharncliffe & sheepsfoot blades. I find most of my edc tasks don't really involve stabbing, they sort of maximize the blade for slicing tasks, string/twine/rope are easy to keep on the blade edge even when dulled, and a small bit of extra room for error before you accidentally poke yourself. Aesthetically, I like sheepsfoot/modified sheepsfoot blades. I'm somewhat indifferent to wharncliffe aesthetics, I find a decent amount of knives that have appealing overall design end up coming with wharncliffe blades so I've ended up with a few.

Then after a good while, I realized the point kinda gets in the way if you need to cut something on a flat surface but can't hold the knife parallel with the surface. I guess this is why people talk positively when describing the amount of belly a blade has? Is there some special technique I'm unaware of or is this a trade-off inherent to the blade design choice?

Are there other pros/cons out there regarding these two blade types versus drop/spear/clip point? I do still rather like "modified sheepsfoot" blades, with their slightly turned up point.

What about comparing wharncliffe to sheepsfoot? I know the difference in geometry, I'm talking about comparing use cases, advantages, etc.
 
I find both blade shapes to perform relatively the same for my uses.

I so appreciate the straight easily sharpened edge.

My day to day carry is a recurved ZT of some type. However, my weekend around the house carry is a simple GEC Beer Scout. The basic blade shape is perfect. Cutting open mail or boxes or freeing a toy from plastic ties, it's perfect.

If I were really forced, there isn't much I couldn't handle with just that little pocket knife.
 
You should handle a BM 550HG to get answers to all your questions. I think this knife embodies the best of all worlds, but YMMV.
 
I really prefer the Wharncliffle and Sheepsfoot to the spear and clip. I have a couple Beerscouts and a couple of the Northwoods with the Bohncliffe as it's been called. In the more modern blades my Yojimbo and my Spydiechef are favorites. Theres' supposed to be a Techno 2 coming from Spyderco that will have a non-pointy blade too. No for sure pictures yet though.
 
I see little functional difference between the sheepsfoot, modified sheepsfoot, and wharncliffe blade shapes. I like them, but I tend to prefer clip points overall if I had to go with one blade shape. I find them more flexible to use than say a drop point or spear point. My SAKs have a spear point blade. I like SAKs so I make do with that blade shape for regular carry and use. Spear points are stronger than clips generally speaking. But generally if I buy a new knife, it is likely to have a clip point if I have blade shape options in that model. That said, I like just about every blade shape.
 
I do a bunch of trace cutting at work so for me the sheepsfoot or wharncliffe is perfect. Settled on an insingo blade because the swedge that comes to the tip could be sharpened and used as a scraper.
 
I think that if they suit your needs then there are no cons to a real sheep's foot or wharncliffe blades.

Now this here is just my personal preference, so don't take it as a fact. It's the " modified " examples found on many modern folders that I find a problem with.
They don't really do what a normal sheep's foot or wharncliffe blades do, and don't really do what a normal clip, spear, or drop point does.
If people like them that's fine , I have just never found myself thinking " man I sure wish my sheep's foot blade gad a little bit of belly right now "
 
I like the straight edge and very sharp point.

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Straight edges definitely have their place. They are very good a push cutting and the certain types of cutting that require just the tip. Between the Wharnie and the Sheepsfoot, I much prefer the Wharnie. I find I sometimes need to pierce things rather than just slice them. As a result I only have one true Sheepsfoot in my collection and only because the knife, an Ontario Carter Prime, has such fabulous action for a sub $100 folder. Still, I sometimes consider modifying it into a Wharnie.

I think the only people who absolutely need Sheepsfoot knives are people like whitewater rafters who might need to cut an entangled line but can't risk piercing their raft or rescue types/farmers who can't risk accidentally piercing some flesh. :)
 
I love both profiles. Actually I don't think I've ever owned a sheepsfoot, but it's a nice design.
 
Love the tips of these types of blades for doing cutting of a piece of paper laying flat on a cardboard box. Tantos work good for this too, just use the secondary point.
 
Don’t forget first responders trying to cut clothing and not the people in the clothes. Sheepsfoot is preferred there too.
 
My favorite blade shape is a true Wharncliffe with a straight edge and a fine, tapered tip -- not a sheepsfoot, modified Wharny, reverse tanto or any of the dozens of other iterations of this classic blade profile. That being said, it is a specialized shape and I prefer to carry another more utilitarian blade along with any single bladed Wharncliffe.
 
I am all about Sheepsfoot and Wharncliffe. I love the look and they work for my knife needs.20171013_222933.jpgI started working on this one a few days ago.
20170915_180535.jpg
My Edc for now.20170602_181601.jpgAnd some other favorites altho the Case now looks like this20170620_110048.jpg It looks much nicer and the wood is a lot darker in person.
 
I've always viewed wharncliffe and sheepsfoot blades as the perfect UTILITY blade shape. They excel at cutting tasks that require little-to-no belly at all. I'm kind of partial to the sheepsfoot myself with an ever-so-slight rise towards the tip.

3cDhEsZ.jpg
 
Adam Buttry said:
I've always viewed wharncliffe and sheepsfoot blades as the perfect UTILITY blade shape. They excel at cutting tasks that require little-to-no belly at all. I'm kind of partial to the sheepsfoot myself with an ever-so-slight rise towards the tip.

3cDhEsZ.jpg
Click to expand...
That is a beauty!
 
I like straight edges. They tend to resist allowing material to slide off the edge during the cut. They do not grab what you are cutting like a hawkbill but they also don't allow the material to slide off as you draw the cut towards the tip. They also provide the full force of the cut and the full cutting potential all the way to the tip. Their main drawbacks is that they do not excel at cutting board type cuts or skinning and carving type cuts. They are easy to sharpen on bench stones too.

As far as sheepsfoot vs wharncliffe I prefer wharncliffe. Mainly because I like to have good piercing ability as well as the ability to get the tip into tight places. A sheepsfoot has a safety factor that can be useful in certain scenarios like on rocking boat or cutting material like a seatbelt in a rescue situation. Sheepsfoot blades also have more durable tips.
 
I love sheepsfoot first, then wharnies. Most of my collection are those or a modified version of them (BM sheepsfoot, Insingo, cleaver style, etc.). Lately I am leaning towards the less traditional ones to keep things new and interesting. Here are my current faves.

IMG_3356.jpg IMG_3357.jpg
 
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