Delica Wave Wharncliffe concept

[Ez556]

I’ve been on a search for the perfect back-up knife lately, something to carry in the left front pocket to supplement a pistol or primary knife on the right hand side. Something that would be somewhat compact with quick deployment and be effective at disabling and deterring. I really love Michael Janich’s idea of the effectiveness of a wharncliffe blade for slashing and disabling, but the Yojimbo is a little big and heavy for what I’m looking for. I know Michael carries a Delica Wharncliffe in his back pocket and I considered that, but I’m not a fan of the large hump for both pocket space and aesthetic reasons. Being right handed and having a past injury to my left hand, I wanted something with easy deployment so I don’t fumble with the knife when I need it, and for that I like the concept of the Emerson Wave. The blade shape on the Delica Wave isn’t what I was looking for however and the Matriarch Wave, while very impressive and no doubt good at slashing, is bigger than I wanted. I even discovered the Swick Wharncliffe which I immediately fell in love with, but the second hand market is a little crazy for that little fixed blade. Tasman, Harpy, Endura Wave, Ronin... nothing was sticking out as perfect to me. TL:DR After agonizing over the catalog, staring at the Delica Wharncliffe wishing they had a Waved version I grabbed a pencil and started drawing. This is what I came up with. Within the profile of the Delica Wharncliffe I slimmed the blade down into a sort of Reverse Tanto reminiscent of my KaBar TDI Hinderance and added a wave opener, more reminiscent of the shape found on actual Emerson knives rather than the deeper, bottle opener shaped waves found on Spyderco’s. I won’t be able to open bottles with it, but it is what fits best in the original profile. I love how it looks both open and closed. For me, it’s a perfect mix of Michael’s wharncliffe concept, the size and ambidextrous nature of the Delica as well as the fast and easy deployment of the Emerson Wave. What do you guys think? I’ve never considered reprofiling a blade, especially based on something I drew in a catalog, but I like this concept so much I think I’m gonna grab a Delica Wharncliffe on my next Spyderco order and hopefully find someone to make it a reality!

[p_atrick]

Knives Plus likes to modify Spyderco knives. I wonder if they would have interest in trying this out.

[Ez556]

I actually saw a Wharncliffe from them that was reground with much of the hump removed, but no Emerson opener. That’s actually what got me thinking about modifying an existing knife!

[Dodge]

Someone richer than me send me theirs and I’ll grind it like that.

[ZrowsN1s]

That would be real thin at the spine. But as long as your not using it as a pry tool you should be alright.

[awa54]

looks a bit like the Kahr exclusive

[Ez556]

That would be real thin at the spine. But as long as your not using it as a pry tool you should be alright.

I did have to change the angle of the spine multiple times to accommodate a deep enough wave as to be functional while keeping the knife as tall as possible for strength. It would definitely thinner at the spine, but I don’t think much more than say a Centofante 3, and for its intended use as a defensive tool for slashing cuts, it should be adequate. I mean look at the tip of the Civilian! That’s very fragile in relative terms.

[Ez556]

The other nice thing with the profile is it would likely be more effective at penetrating as well due to the reduced angle at tip and the spine being closer to parallel with the edge.

[Wartstein]

The other nice thing with the profile is it would likely be more effective at penetrating as well due to the reduced angle at tip and the spine being closer to parallel with the edge.

But on the other hand it would be worse in penetrating deeply into stuff, cause at some point the "spike" of the wave feature would stop the blade