What exactly is a knife choil

Surfingringo

Surfingringo

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May 25, 2013
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Is there any definitive rule for what constitutes a choil and what doesn't. I thought I had it pretty clear until this thread. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1302795-Shadow-Tech-Alpha-WOW! I didn't want to clutter up that guys thread so I thought I would start a new one asking about this. I did some googling and there seems to be any number of opinions on the subject. Does anyone have an answer to this question with a legitimate reference?
 
I don't have a legit reference to hand, but as far as I'm concerned it is a cut-out an the "edge" side right where the tang is, usually to allow a finger to "choke up" on the knife for what might be termed "fine work" or better grip. I've never really needed it, per se, but this is what I consider a choil to be. However I haven't yet seen the thread you linked so I'll take a look. Cheers.
 
That strider to me has a sharpening choil as well as a finger choil. I have seen them referenced as such for so long i really dont care if its correct or not as everyone identifies them as such. I am not one to get super anal about such terms. I amount it to hipster knife snobbery. Kinda like a beer snob saying "its not a beer its an ale". Both of which i say whatever.
 
I could be completely off but I had thought the choil referred to the area where the blade meets the ricasso, regardless of whether there is a notch, indent for finger etc.

So the example knife has a sharpening notch at the choil but the finger notch is part of the handle. I think.

I can't remember where that came from but it made sense at the time.
 
I understand the terminology to be the same as chiral.grolim explained in the referenced thread and what many refer to as a finger choil is actually a finger groove.
 
The choil is a "cut out" portion of the blade and ricasso where they meet. Its usually a half circle type cut. As far as I'm aware the cut out portion has the name of the choil, not just the blade/ricasso junction in general. I could be off on that though.

[EDIT] After reading some of the posts in the linked thread, it appears what what I've been calling a choil is instead a "Spanish Notch", which usually happens to be located exactly at the choil. I learned something today :).

The choil is intended to allow you to sharpen the blade "all the way" back. However, for whatever reason enlarged "finger choils" have become popular. Those function as a place to rest your first finger that is closer to the cutting edge". This confusion has now led to some referring to the traditional choil as the "sharpening choil".

In my mind, finger grooves are part of the handle (as in, the groove begins and ends within the real estate of the handle), while finger choils span areas of blade/ricasso, and occasionally handle.
 
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Chris Larrikin said:
I could be completely off but I had thought the choil referred to the area where the blade meets the ricasso, regardless of whether there is a notch, indent for finger etc.

So the example knife has a sharpening notch at the choil but the finger notch is part of the handle. I think.

I can't remember where that came from but it made sense at the time.
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I tend to think this might be correct. And maybe that area often had a groove cut into it so over time people came to think of the groove as the "choil"? I don't know, just guessing here.
 
CapitalizedLiving said:
http://greateasterncutlery.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/knifeparts.png

A choil is a cutout at the base of the edge. It facilitates sharpening as it allows the base to be maintained as keenly as the rest.

Giant choils used for "fingers" are somewhat new to me and as far as I know are new in general. I don't believe classical knives were meant to have fingers above the guard or handle, but I could be wrong.
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The question is, if there is no cutout, is that portion of the blade still the "choil"?
 
Surfingringo said:
I tend to think this might be correct. And maybe that area often had a groove cut into it so over time people came to think of the groove as the "choil"? I don't know, just guessing here.
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Okay so here is one reference indicating the choil is the part of the edge closest to the handle. I'm not sure if it is THE Oxford Dictionary but if so it is probably technically correct, although the definition has pretty clearly evolved more recently.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/choil

This makes me wonder if the choil was considered part of the usable cutting edge.
 
Most easily put, (and someone correct me if im wrong), from the handle to the actual cutting edge, you have your tang (in the handle) leading up to your bolster/guard and then the "heel" of the actual blade where it drops down...

The unsharpened section then (if there is one) between your bolster and the "heel", or actual edge is called your ricasso, and if there happens to be a cut out there, before the edge of before the bolster, that would be your "choil. "

Some Knives don't have a choil.
Some Knives don't have a ricasso.
Some Knives don't have an actual "heel".
Some Knives only have one or the other.
Some Knives have all 3.
 
Thats it. From this day forth all cuts previously refered to as a finger choil will now be known as a flithim and a choil for sharpening will be known as a sacriflsm. Hey, these days are slim pickins for unused words. Or we can just go back to calling them choils and be corrected at various points in the conversation for what really is just a split hair.
 
PURPLEDC said:
Thats it. From this day forth all cuts previously refered to as a finger choil will now be known as a flithim and a choil for sharpening will be known as a sacriflsm. Hey, these days are slim pickins for unused words. Or we can just go back to calling them choils and be corrected at various points in the conversation for what really is just a split hair.
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Yeah, though I find it moderately interesting to figure out what is technically correct, I'd agree with the practical reality of your posts.
 
Surfingringo said:
The question is, if there is no cutout, is that portion of the blade still the "choil"?
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No.
I like a small choil(many call a sharpening choil), or a choil that's large enough to get your index finger into.
I have never figured out why some knives are made with a medium sized choil that's to small for a finger, yet larger than a sharpening choil needs to be. If I can't get my finger in it I want more edge there instead of a useless medium choil.
 
Ken44 said:
No.
I like a small choil(many call a sharpening choil), or a choil that's large enough to get your index finger into.
I have never figured out why some knives are made with a medium sized choil that's to small for a finger, yet larger than a sharpening choil needs to be. If I can't get my finger in it I want more edge there instead of a useless medium choil.
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Yup, i always found that an odd design feature too.
 
Exact same knife. One with finger choil one without

s7_zpsbb6ba2e1.jpg
 
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