What is "Balance" in a knife?

L

loosenock

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Jul 10, 2002
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During coffe break last week one of my co-workers ask me what balances a knife. A discussion followed but no real concensus was concluded. I have given some thought.

I used to think it was a point at the hilt or bolster where the knife would balance on you finger. Actually every knife has a balance point some where. A large bowie will balance somewhere on the blade in front of the guard.

I have seen all sorts of throwing knives that claim to be balanced. By casually looking at the shape and estimate where the center of gravity would be, it doesn't seem that balance point is a precise science on these knives either.

I have (foolishly) thrown knifes of different shapes and balances at times and have never seen one bobbing up and down or boomeranging. I'm not a physicist, but as soon as you throw the knife it will rotate on an axis that is its center of gravity.

At one knife show I over heard a seller telling a propective customer how the knife he was holding was finely balanced like its was some kind of mystic power.

What is your opinion of balance?

Joe
 
On a standard using knife, I like to have it balance right between my index and middle fingers when I hold it at the front of the handle. I feel I have more control over it, as I use my first two fingers and thumb for control most of the time. For choppers or heavy duty knives, I like them to be slightly blade heavy. Feels like you get more power on the downstroke. This is just my preference. Balance is what feels right to you.
 
To me a knife feels properly balanced when it balances right where my index finger sits on the knife's handle when held in a hammer grip.
It gives the knife a kind of neutral feel in the hand. It's not heavy out toward the blade and the handle doesn't feel heavy in the hand.
 
It is common for the term "well balanced" to mean that the center of mass sits around your index finger so the blade induces little torque on your hand, this means it feels very light, and you can rotate it around your index finger very easily.

However this is a very biased viewpoint. Having the balance point further back towards the end of the handle makes the knife much more stable in hand, having it further out towards the tip makes it more powerful during a swing. It depends on what you want of the knife.

The other use of balance isn't common, but sometimes it means that overall functionality of the knife is high. Fowler for example will note "functional balance", this is in regards to many aspects coming together to make an overall quality tool; edge holding, cutting ability, durability and handle security and comfort.

-Cliff
 
How "finely balanced" a knife might be would also depend on usage style. Some people prefer the balance point to be at the second finger - as I do in a small utility knife - some the first finger, some in between, and for a larger knife designed to chop, it has to be out ahead of the first finger. I suspect different fighting styles may also favor different balance points. Some knife schools might prefer a balance further back, some further forward...

A good throwing knife is heavy period, and where it balances is not terribly important so long as it is somewhere around the center of the knife, or even in the center third. It is true though that a throwing knife balanced exactly in its center can be equally good thrown from handle or blade, while those that are not center balanced tend to be better at one or the other.

So the next time someone tells you his knife is "finely balanced", you can ask "for what?"
 
And ultimately, "balance" is a feel thing that goes beyond just where the thing's weight rests. You can have two knives that balance in the exact same place, but one feels lively and energetic in your hand, and the other not as much.

The Cold Steel Recon Scout feels like a dead piece of metal in my hand. The Trailmaster, which uses the same handle and stock thickness but is much longer, resulting in a balance further out over the blade and thus should feel even worse, actually feels more alive in my hand.

So there is a balance point, but that's not the whole story in how the knife feels in the hand, whether it feels as if it wants to jump out and cut something, or if it would perhaps rather sit on the couch watching soap operas and eating bon-bons.

Joe
 
Joe--You sound like you are personally acquainted with Peggy Bundy:D :D .
Balance, at least to me, is a very subjective concept. Do I want a very "forward balance" , as might be desirable in a chopping type knife? Or a very "neutral" balance, such as in the MT SOCOM Elite, where the knife feels virtually weightless in the hand? The "knife-needs" in both those examples are very different and the balance points differ widely.

Interesting thread.:cool:
 
Ebbtide's generalizations...
Chopper/Hacker BP in front of the guard.
Fast 'n Lively BP at the guard/index finger.
Utility...here's where I differ from the norm...BP well back towards the middle/ring finger. I want a little knife to sit in my hand if I relax the grip, not tip out of it. Just my personal preferance.
A second vote of 'good thread'
:D
 
Utility...here's where I differ from the norm...BP well back towards the middle/ring finger. I want a little knife to sit in my hand if I relax the grip, not tip out of it. Just my personal preferance.
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Actually, I like it there too, at least for a small knife - up to 3" or even 4". The only one I've actually got that really balances at that point is my Dozier K1. Everything else (small knives) usually balances somewhere between the first and second fingers, though this <a href="http://www.quine.home.sonic.net/mwknife.html" target="_blank">Wesolowski hunter</a> balances at the second finger when the first is in the choil, but that makes it less flexible. The Dozier doesn't need a choil to do that so there are many more comfortable grips.
 
Joe Talmadge :

You can have two knives that balance in the exact same place, but one feels lively and energetic in your hand, and the other not as much.
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Handle design can make a tremendous difference here, from the simple fact that a handle which is well shaped will spread the force out over your grip, to the subtle changes in how yor carry a knife (angle of the wrist), can be just as significant as the center of mass.

The Cold Steel Recon Scout feels like a dead piece of metal in my hand. The Trailmaster, which uses the same handle and stock thickness but is much longer, resulting in a balance further out over the blade and thus should feel even worse, actually feels more alive in my hand.
Click to expand...

Perception probably comes into play here. You know from experience that the Trailmaster is a much more powerful cutter on a chop than the RS, and thus this carries over into feel. For a fillet knife I like a very handle heavy balance for security, but for a heavy utility knife, I want it blade balanced for power. Each of these would feel very awkward and disfunctional if the balance was reversed.

-Cliff
 
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