What's the point of a sharp pointed knife ?

Pointy knives that have a belly (a clip point, for example) are good for peeling critters. Just think how many deer, rabbit, squirrel, pheasant, fowl, etc. a Buck 110, 113, 119, Western L66, Old Timer "Sharp Finger" (154OT?), Old Timer 7OT and/or 6OT have peeled over the last 50 plus years ... or the "trapper" and "muskrat" slipjoint patterns (among others) have field dressed and peeled over the last 100 plus years.

The sheepsfoot, lambsfoot, and (true) wharncliffe with an "straight as an arrow" cutting edge are versatile blade profiles. However, to be honest, with their distinct lack of a belly, they are not anywhere near "ideal" for skinning a critter, nor for butchering. It can be done, of course, but with a lot more effort/work not to slice the hide.

(Yes. People did and do use slipjoints and lockbacks like the Buck 110 to field dress and peel large game, water fowl, and upland game ... and to clean/fillet fish, come to that.) :)
 
//rant
Regarding defensive use of a knife - this is movie fantasy territory. In the historical martial arts I've studied, the training focus for shorter blades is on either formal duelling (where you both have daggers) or defense against an assault (where the attacker has a dagger but you do not). In talking with martial artists who study modern combatives, they seem to concede that there are few realistic scenarios where a knife can work defensively. While you're fidgeting around trying to get your knife out, the attacker has already stabbed you 10 times. A knife is a fantastic basic tool. As a weapon, it's mostly useful for sneak attacks, not for self-defense.

And all self-defense, armed or unarmed, is only as good as the training. If you decide to commit to knife-based self defence anyway, you better train hard and realistically and frequently. If you aren't training, it's comfort you're after, not self-defense capability.
rant//

I require some kind of point on my EDC knives. The main use, as others here have noted, is that it makes many kinds of cuts significantly easier. Have tried to EDC a pointless knife, never again. That's fine for certain specialty knives, but not useful for me as a general purpose knife.

-Tyson
 
A point is useful for all sorts of functional things, like puncturing a tough material, precisely cutting a fine detailed outline, carving in a small space, stabbing people who ask "why do you carry a knife" in the face repeatedly when they later ask to borrow your knife, and so forth.
 
Tyson A Wright said:
//rant
Regarding defensive use of a knife - this is movie fantasy territory. In the historical martial arts I've studied, the training focus for shorter blades is on either formal duelling (where you both have daggers) or defense against an assault (where the attacker has a dagger but you do not). In talking with martial artists who study modern combatives, they seem to concede that there are few realistic scenarios where a knife can work defensively. While you're fidgeting around trying to get your knife out, the attacker has already stabbed you 10 times. A knife is a fantastic basic tool. As a weapon, it's mostly useful for sneak attacks, not for self-defense.

And all self-defense, armed or unarmed, is only as good as the training. If you decide to commit to knife-based self defence anyway, you better train hard and realistically and frequently. If you aren't training, it's comfort you're after, not self-defense capability.
rant//

I require some kind of point on my EDC knives. The main use, as others here have noted, is that it makes many kinds of cuts significantly easier. Have tried to EDC a pointless knife, never again. That's fine for certain specialty knives, but not useful for me as a general purpose knife.

-Tyson
Click to expand...


Some good points, but I whole heartily disagree that knives aren't effective for self defense.
Next you will be saying that a firearm isn't good for self defense??? and That would actually make More sense.

Wrestling on the ground, bad breathe distance.... I can't think of anything better than a strong, fixed blade knife... That's I want for self defense. I certainly wouldn't be using a pistol in that scenario.

Most defensive situations are up close and personal (less than a couple feet away) It's Hard to take away someone's knife.
It's surprisingly easy to take away someone's firearm, fingers breaking in the trigger guard.

The "joke", bringing a knife to a gun fight...hahaha is Actually Good advice.

Most Quality instruction recommends carrying a fixed blade knife opposite of your carry piece, just for this reason.

I Do agree with realistic training.
 
Crag the Brewer said:
Wrestling on the ground, bad breathe distance.... I can't think of anything better than a strong, fixed blade knife... That's I want for self defense. I certainly wouldn't be using a pistol in that scenario.
Click to expand...

I think a gun is great for self-defense if you have good training and practise realistic scenarios regularly. No training, no practise? Much less valuable.

If you're rolling around on the ground, your knife is as likely to kill you as it is your opponent. At that point you need ground-fighting skills.

Sorry to get us so far off-topic.

-Tyson
 
Tomatoes - If the blade is too blunt to slice a tomato, use the pointy end.
Slivers - try to get out a sliver without a sharp and pointy tip.
That stupid packaging tape that sticks to your Blade. Use the pointy tip and you're good...
 
Tyson A Wright said:
I think a gun is great for self-defense if you have good training and practise realistic scenarios regularly. No training, no practise? Much less valuable.

If you're rolling around on the ground, your knife is as likely to kill you as it is your opponent. At that point you need ground-fighting skills.

Sorry to get us so far off-topic.

-Tyson
Click to expand...

It inevitably comes up and it's usually worth providing the reality check. The gun side of the EDC community tends to be better informed but there are still lots of people, including people who carry defensive tools, that don't have a firm understanding of how defensive encounters can unfold. There can be a huge gap between uninformed or media-informed expectations and reality.

Ideally, everybody would have access to good instructors. Everybody would have the time, resources, and dedication to take firearms classes, run weekly drills at the range, take world-ready martial arts like Jiu-Jitsu and boxing, keep ripped at the gym, etc. Of course, nobody would need that in an ideal world either. The reality is that most people either can't or won't do all of those things. It's a lot like the reality of EDC and preparedness in which most people are only going to lug around so much gear. That shouldn't discourage people from carrying a defensive tool. A little bit of training, practice, and research is certainly better than none. Especially in times of civil unrest, it could be worth pursuing at least that.
 
herisson said:
I tried the sheepsfoot, lambsfoot knives. I liked them but I just prefer my knives to have a piercing tip. This is what I carry constantly : knives with sharp, piercing tips, because I get more use out of them.
Three of my favourites, perfect examples, constantly in the rotation (they do it all while they're rather small) :
Ep937LK.jpg
Click to expand...
I have some of Dalibor’s work as well, and they are an absolute pleasure to use daily for just about everything.
 
Those that know self defense and knife fighting tell us that if you get into a fight with knives, you will get cut. The winner is the one that gets cut less and bleeds less. I prefer the gun more than the knife. I'm better with the gun than the knife.
 
Poking, penetrating, puncturing...equals stabbing to me.
The only other thing I could think of was Phillips head abuse. Torx or internal square in a pinch.
I was going to say used on an ice block but that's stabbing too.
Pointy knives are kinda like ice picks: you can use them for other things but really only good for one thing.
Maybe that Felix dude can come up with more pointy uses!
 
I gotta have a point. My favorite blade shape is a wharncliffe, and the pointy tips come in very handy in splinter removal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top