90˚ Knife II "The Domestic"

[sierra]

Dedguy - What you have brought to live here, imho, along with Spydercos white-hat knive reputation, could really have an impact on working knives.

Sal - what do you think so far?

[smcfalls13]

Sierra, you do have a point, in this configuration the handle provides much more control over the belly of the blade, I got sidetracked talking about bellied blades, and forgot about the actual design we're discussing. With this design, there won't be a need for an angeled wrist, and therefore, less fatigue.

I'm like a cat with a laser pointer, I'm easily distracted :p

But while we're on the topic of control...

I still think the blade angle should be opened up a little bit, if only to allow for slicing motions. I also think the ramp/guard on the top of the blade should be moved forward slightly. As it is now, the thumb is going to be too far back I think. With the finger choil where it is, that thumb ramp should be a little closer to the hold, so that we can choke up on the knife with the thumb stretched across the top of the blade.

With this setup, (using the upper left rendering in dedguy's most recent post) the knife is going to want to rotate on an axis somewhere near the pivot. With the blade being pulled into whatever it's cutting, the butt of the handle will drop, and the blade will want to pop up out of whatever it's cutting. By bringing the thumb ramp forward a little, we can allow for the thumb to maintain pressure on the blade, thus keeping it in the cutting medium.

Just some more thoughts, I'm still not an engineer, and this blade definitely wouldn't be for me, but I still like the concept of it.

And my screen name is simply my name and first initial, the number is my birthday.

[dedguy]

what do you guys think about placing the thumb ramp slightly behind the spydie hole? too far forward? i think it would look nice in that location but may bee a bit off as far as use is concerned.

[smcfalls13]

what do you guys think about placing the thumb ramp slightly behind the spydie hole? too far forward? i think it would look nice in that location but may bee a bit off as far as use is concerned.

That would be better functionally, in my opinion.

[dedguy]

i'm sure the handle will change a bit as well once i get the cardboard template made up. it's hard to figure those sorts of things out when you can't hold the thing you're designing.

[sierra]

I would like to see the thumb rest a little farther forward. I would like to see the rest with a gentler sweep; a little taller; and having the forward 'drop' just behind the handle side of the Spyderhole. This would keep the thumb in a more neutral position and provide the better leverage and control on the cutting edge.

Scott - good eye!

Dedguy - you will suprised with the mockup.

Sizing is an interesting topic. I have been thinking a 2.75-3.5 inch blade. If it is too short, then the handle is either too small for a working hand, or like the much loved DoDo - the blade to handle ratio is unbalanced (forgive me Eric - I know, blashphemy). I also think a working knife has to have a solid feel that fills the hand for a grip that does not get uncomfortable to use consistantly.

This is fun stuff. Any Spyderco hearin' this.....

[smcfalls13]

What size handle do you want? Build the handle first, so the ergonomics are right, then build the blade shape to fit the handle. The blade can always be adjusted to fit, but if we build the blade first, and make the handle to fit the blade, we're going to end up sacrificing the ergos.