Could someone explain the Parata to me?

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
User avatar
jdw
Member
Posts: 1583
Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2016 6:10 pm
Location: Red Dirt

Could someone explain the Parata to me?

#1

Post by jdw »

I like the design aesthetics but what is the design actually for that it needs such a 'fat' blade? Is there some real geometric design theory behind the blade design other than a uniqueness factor? I would like to try one when they drop but I received knife after knife from Seki last year that frankly the quality sucked. I wish that this one was coming out of Taichung.
Last edited by jdw on Sun Apr 07, 2019 4:51 am, edited 3 times in total.
Do right always. It will give you satisfaction in life.
--Wovoka
Thunderpants
Member
Posts: 174
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2019 10:26 am

Re: Could someone explain the Pratata to me?

#2

Post by Thunderpants »

There are times when a wide blade is a good thing - slicing food thinly, you might not want the sliced piece drooping down and sticking to the bit underneath.
But in this case I would guess the guiding principal behind the design is simply that it looks cool.
Marulaghost
Member
Posts: 332
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2019 8:02 pm

Re: Could someone explain the Parata to me?

#3

Post by Marulaghost »

I believe a few factors could play into the design aesthetics of this knife, a lot of it being Paul Alexander's taste, but i can see why they would be chosen.
1) this blade has some belly to it
Usually for a blade edge to have this much curve to it, you get a Persian style blade where the tip is very upsewpt. This in turn can change how you handle and manipulate the blade.
2) ultimate finger choil!
Keeps fingers safe, makes sharpening a little easier, encourages a grip that's supposed to work better for hands and wrists, and gives the knife room for a stoplock.
Finger choils are easier to make on a tall blade. Otherwise you need to think about chimping in places.
User avatar
youmakemehole
Member
Posts: 227
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:42 am

Re: Could someone explain the Parata to me?

#4

Post by youmakemehole »

For a full flat grind, the taller your blade is the more acute of an angle the primary grind will be , and with a small angle there it makes your blade easy to slice and slip through things you are cutting.
"Sometimes I think that we're all little kids trying to act like grown ups, in our parents clothes. ;) "

-sal
User avatar
paulwa
Member
Posts: 168
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:53 pm

Re: Could someone explain the Parata to me?

#5

Post by paulwa »

Howdy jdw,

The short answer is: the blade shape is most conducive to skinning tasks (the hunting community at Shot were intrigued by it), but would also be handy in the kitchen for similar tasks and slicing. And the large, forward finger choil gives you a lot of control to aid in these sort of precision tasks.

In reality, some of the drive behind the design was to give customers a more unique product... and part of me wanted to do a more unconventional blade shape to go along with the stop-lock. At one point there was some discussion about a name change because of the similarity in sound to the Pattada. I submitted the ‘Potamus’ as an alternative, partly because of the slight resemblance the blade has with a hippopotamus head, but mostly because of the big belly. I also came up with a little story to go along with it that made me smile - I started to think of it as the perfect spey blade for folks in hippo husbandry. :)

So with that, I can’t really say there’s a good explanation for the Parata...

- Paul
Thunderpants
Member
Posts: 174
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2019 10:26 am

Re: Could someone explain the Parata to me?

#6

Post by Thunderpants »

Fantastic to hear it from the man himself!
And fun to hear the background story about the name. Cheers!
User avatar
Wartstein
Member
Posts: 15042
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:06 am
Location: Salzburg, Austria, Europe

Re: Could someone explain the Parata to me?

#7

Post by Wartstein »

youmakemehole wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:01 am
For a full flat grind, the taller your blade is the more acute of an angle the primary grind will be , and with a small angle there it makes your blade easy to slice and slip through things you are cutting.
Exactly, though to be overly correct one could add: The thickness of the spine also plays a role in how acute (or not) the primary grind is. But of course at a given spine thickness the primary grind will be the more acute, the taller the blade is.

The effect that a taller blade (and thus more acute primary bevel) has on slicing-performance shows quite well in the Shaman imho.
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
User avatar
Evil D
Member
Posts: 27147
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:48 pm
Location: Northern KY

Re: Could someone explain the Parata to me?

#8

Post by Evil D »

The tall blade works well with the choil/guard being ground into it. It makes a blade that can do cutting board style cuts without your knuckles hitting the cutting surface (think about the shape of a typical chef's knife). I think all of that is partially to do with working around the lock mechanism inside the handle, and making the most of that situation.
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
hambone56rx
Member
Posts: 226
Joined: Thu May 18, 2017 1:15 am

Re: Could someone explain the Parata to me?

#9

Post by hambone56rx »

WHEN WILL THIS COME OUT!!! THE ANTICIPATION IS KILLING ME!!!!!

Looking forward to it Paul!

Hamilton
hambone56rx
Member
Posts: 226
Joined: Thu May 18, 2017 1:15 am

Re: Could someone explain the Parata to me?

#10

Post by hambone56rx »

Sal and Paul,

Any updates?

Hamilton
hambone56rx
Member
Posts: 226
Joined: Thu May 18, 2017 1:15 am

Re: Could someone explain the Parata to me?

#11

Post by hambone56rx »

Nick Shabazz is carrying one today! I'm assuming Spyderco sent this to him directly, so it should come out soon!!! Keeping my fingers crossed! Anyone else excited about this release? I think Doeswhateverasydercan has shown some hype around it!

Hamilton
Post Reply