Great article on the history of the tactical wharncliffe blade by MJ

[Liquid Cobra]

https://blademag.com/knife-collecting/o ... ical-knife

Definitely worth a read. Got me excited for the upcoming bladehq Yojimbo 2 exclusive.

[SpyderScout]

Interesting article, thx.
I knew some of it but certainly not all.

[JD Spydo]

We are so privileged to have Michael Janich here at Spyderville ( the king of Wharncliffe blades IMO). I usually PM him about 4 times a year when I got questions about tactical blades and about stuff he has written in magazines and so forth. He usually will always get back with me within 24 hours or less and he is very good about helping someone learn. He's a great addition to the Spyderco Staff and I hope he stays here from now on. He's a no-nonsense, No-BS type of guy and very helpful on top of that. And extremely knowledgeable about cutlery ( especially tactical stuff).

He also had an article in one of the past issues of OFF GRID magazine ( a very popular survival type magazine, actually one of the best too) and his article was about all the ways you could sharpen a knife during a survival situation and it was about the best I ever read on the subject. It was in the early spring and it might be available on the website for OFF GRID magazine. He also used to write great articles in TACTICAL KNIVES magazine and I dearly miss that publication and it was my favorite knife magazine period. I hope someone will bring it back at some point.

The Wharncliffe blade has a most interesting history to it. Even back in High School I had an old Ka-Bar twin blade hunting folder that had a clip point blade and a wharncliffe blade. I gave that knife to my nephew because he really liked it and now I regret doing it But with the newer steels we got now it's just kind of pointless to use that stuff from the 60s, 70s, & 80s. The advances in blade steel have made most stuff from those time periods practically useless

[SpyderScout]

But with the newer steels we got now it's just kind of pointless to use that stuff from the 60s, 70s, & 80s. The advances in blade steel have made most stuff from those time periods practically useless

Nah, we are just spoiled with todays blade steels.
I gladly use my knives from the decades mentioned.
Shoot, I use my WWII Cattaraugus 250Q in the woods on a regular basis. It works just fine and is certainly not useless.

But that was OT. Back to the excellent wharncliffe design, which I from now on will endevour to spell more consistently with an 'e' because Janich :D

[knivesandbooks]

Nah, nothing wrong with a good ht 440c or 420hc or 1095 in a traditional. I love wharnies. My two wharnie delicas are supreme and I have a 1095 GEC knife that I can't remember the name of but it has a liner lock wharncliffe and a second blade that hooks on the pants to open. Kind of an odd thing but I use it all the time. Also my GEC Beer Scout is phenomenal. I love wharncliffe blades. However, I'm not tactically minded. I prefer ~3" wharncliffes. I can't think of a day in the past few months that I haven't carried my serrated delica wharncliffe.

[JD Spydo]

But with the newer steels we got now it's just kind of pointless to use that stuff from the 60s, 70s, & 80s. The advances in blade steel have made most stuff from those time periods practically useless

Nah, we are just spoiled with todays blade steels.
I gladly use my knives from the decades mentioned.
Shoot, I use my WWII Cattaraugus 250Q in the woods on a regular basis. It works just fine and is certainly not useless.

But that was OT. Back to the excellent wharncliffe design, which I from now on will endevour to spell more consistently with an 'e' because Janich :D

Yeah you're probably right :o And yes I am spoiled :D But actually I wouldn't have it any other way. Just like the new Surefire flashlight I got today. When I got my footlocker opened that I store all my flashlights and other tools in I looked at one of my old Maglites :rolleyes: and I do feel that way about those old dinosaurs compared to the flamethrowers that Surefire and other high tech flashlight companies have blessed us with in the past 12 years or so.

It's funny you mentioned a "Cattaraugus" knife because I found two of them in a tote I had in my storage unit I found today. I also found a "Laguiole" and an old CUTCO as well. I could name a few more I found but you get the drift. And these were probably some great knives in their day I'm sure.

I cut my knife loving teeth on Ka-Bar, Buck, Case and Victorinox ( the old Swiss ARMY knives) and Old Timer by Schrade. But as long as I got stuff made by Spyderco, Benchmade, Boker and a few other modern knives I could mention that I've accumulated over the years it's just really hard for me to get excited with buggy whips so to speak when I've got state of the art new stuff that is far superior. But to me it's like "night & day" comparing some of this new stuff to the old.

[SpyderScout]

But with the newer steels we got now it's just kind of pointless to use that stuff from the 60s, 70s, & 80s. The advances in blade steel have made most stuff from those time periods practically useless

Nah, we are just spoiled with todays blade steels.
I gladly use my knives from the decades mentioned.
Shoot, I use my WWII Cattaraugus 250Q in the woods on a regular basis. It works just fine and is certainly not useless.

But that was OT. Back to the excellent wharncliffe design, which I from now on will endevour to spell more consistently with an 'e' because Janich :D

Yeah you're probably right :o And yes I am spoiled :D But actually I wouldn't have it any other way. Just like the new Surefire flashlight I got today. When I got my footlocker opened that I store all my flashlights and other tools in I looked at one of my old Maglites :rolleyes: and I do feel that way about those old dinosaurs compared to the flamethrowers that Surefire and other high tech flashlight companies have blessed us with in the past 12 years or so.

It's funny you mentioned a "Cattaraugus" knife because I found two of them in a tote I had in my storage unit I found today. I also found a "Laguiole" and an old CUTCO as well. I could name a few more I found but you get the drift. And these were probably some great knives in their day I'm sure.

I cut my knife loving teeth on Ka-Bar, Buck, Case and Victorinox ( the old Swiss ARMY knives) and Old Timer by Schrade. But as long as I got stuff made by Spyderco, Benchmade, Boker and a few other modern knives I could mention that I've accumulated over the years it's just really hard for me to get excited with buggy whips so to speak when I've got state of the art new stuff that is far superior. But to me it's like "night & day" comparing some of this new stuff to the old.

On the MagLites we agree :D
Interesting, how they once ruled the roost and what else is available today.
A McGizmo is a far cry from a AA Mag.
I wouldnt pack any of my old MagLites today either.
Ive seen people retrofit LED in the old lights and toyed with the idea of reviving my old D-cell. Cant really be bothered though. Not with all the relatively affordable quality lflashlights out there.

Nice knives you found. A Cat 250Q is always nice to have.

[JD Spydo]

I had friends that lived close to where they made those Cattaraurgus knives. There was also a river in that part of Upstate New York with the same weird name. I think I heard that name is in relation to a group of Native Americans in that region from years past. There were a lot of knife companies in New York state at one time. Just across the state border (New York, Pennsylvannia) in the town of Bradford PA is where the CASE knife factory is still located. There was even a huge article years ago in "Knives ILLustrated" magazine about the rich history and all the knife factories that were in the state of New York from the late 1800s till the early and mid 1900s.

Another item of interest about those Cattaraugus knives>> there is a giant antique market close to where I live called the "Brass Armadillo" and it's only about 3 miles from where I live. It's really huge and people from several states come to it year round. The last time I went there I found a collector's guide, magazine on Cattaraugus knives and it had a huge list of the different models they made. I had heard they went out of business sometime in the 50s or 60s but that they had a huge number of collectors and admirers who thought they were one of the best knives made at the time. I did think it was kind of weird that they even had a collector's catalog on that obscure brand of American made knives.

I also thought it was very strange that the state of New York at one time was a knife making Mecca of sorts?

[SpyderScout]

The Cattaraugus name is steeped in tradition and they made some fine knives.
The company even employed/invited knifemakers from the 'the Old World.'

Im a fan.



Also a fan of the wharncliffE.
:D


I have no doubt, that its excellent for its intended purpose.
That its also excels at everyday tasks is just a bonus.
In case of the Yo2, I fits the hand in a most spectacular way. I wish we had more knives with this handle shape but it might be too alien for most.
A Ronin or aYo2 will win you over, if you try one out.

[bearfacedkiller]

Great read! I love my Yojimbo!

But with the newer steels we got now it's just kind of pointless to use that stuff from the 60s, 70s, & 80s. The advances in blade steel have made most stuff from those time periods practically useless

Useless is a stretch. I use 1095 all the time. I like the modern steels but I struggle with the concept that the new makes the old obsolete. We have been discussing cast iron on here lately and that is the very mentality that almost pushed cast iron into obscurity. There are still applications where older steels not only still work but where they may still be practical choices. There is a reason that the Spyderco Bushcraft fixed blade uses O1.

[mb1]

I enjoyed that - thx for sharing. What a great story of perseverance. Great story period.

Also, I have a hankering for a Ronin 2 now for some reason! The BHQ M4 news already stoked my Yo2 want.

[TomH]

Thanks for posting this article.

[KP]

Really good article. Not that one can expect anything less from MJ.

Not to steal his thunder, for those interested there was an article "The Wharncliffe Knife" by Neal Punchard in June 2018 issue of Knife Magazine. It deals primarily with the history of the design.

What I found interesting is that wharncliffe is not only a blade shape, but handle as well.

I have a hard copy, not sure if it's available in the electronic form somewhere.