Anyone else dislike belly in their blades?

[vivi]

Over the years I've noticed I prefer no, or little belly in my blade shapes.

There is absolutely nothing I do with my knives outside of the kitchen where I find belly beneficial. I don't hunt hardly at all, so skinning game is not a concern when it comes to my EDC. I use a chef knife in the kitchen, so I really don't care how well an EDC knife dices onion.

For me the wharncliffe is the ultimate blade shape.

If nothing else, it's the easiest blade shape to sharpen by a long shot. Rods, stones, mousepad and sandpaper...doesn't matter. No specialized equipment needed like with recurves and hawkbills, no trying ot follow the curve of the blade like with a bowie.

They excel in utility use. Curved blades have a tendency to allow materials to slide off the edge of the blade more frequently. Hawkbills and wharncliffes do a better job of controlling the material being cut, and keeping it under the cutting edge.

And, in my opinion, they still work fine on cutting boards. Would I ever purchase a wharncliffe chef knife? No. But I've used my Ronin 2 in the kitchen and at the camp site enough to know it's a non-issue if I'm prepping a small meal. Try slicing some stuff on a cutting board with a really sharp wharncliffe. Even if you're angling the knife so only the tip is making contact, it's still going to cut through most materials if its properly sharp.

I use a wharncliffe paring knife, and aside from my 10" chef knife it's the only knife in my kitchen. I have no issues slicing things on my cutting board with it. Would something with belly do better? Maybe. But the wharncliffe, for me, does so many other tasks better than typical blade shapes, that I don't mind if I lose a little efficiency with one specific style of cutting when it still gets the job done without unnecessary effort.

I've tried a huge variety of blade shapes. Everything from Spyderhawks to Chinooks and everything in between. I can't say that I have ever found an appreciation for the effects belly has in a knife. Even comparing a Matriarch to a Spyderhawk, I see no benefits to the reverse S VS hawkbill.

In fact, I actively dislike belly in a knife blade, and have consciously avoided designs I otherwise like because the blade has too generous of a curve. Pocket knife, chopper, fixed blade, folder, camp knife, office dress up knife....I don't want any belly in any of these categories. If it's not a chef knife, give me a straight edge.

Anyone else?

[zhyla]

The wharncliffe has its downsides like any blade shape. The point tends to wear more than the rest (so I’ve heard at least). But I tend to agree, as a utility knife it’s very usable.

I cleared out all my plain edge knives over time and one of the reasons is serrations just hold stuff better and prevent the slippage you mention. I think serrated knives in pretty much any of the common shapes work well.

And then a couple weeks ago I picked up a Positron. Plain edge and a medium amount of belly. Having a hard time getting it to cut. Part of it is I’m just not used to a knife slipping out of the cut.

[JD Spydo]

Don't mean to be disagreeable nor do I mean to stir anything up against the grain of your thread. But I actually like some models that have a fair amount of "belly". Take one of my all time favorite Spyders ever as well as being one of my all time favorite knife designs overall>> I'm speaking of Spyderco's C-60 Ayoob model. I find the "belly" in that model to be advantageous in both plain edge and Spyderedge and it's one of the few models I can make that statement about.

Now don't get me wrong because I like a wide array of blade designs. I do like many of the Wharncliffe designs that have no "belly" at all and there are two other blade designs that are mainly straight overall and I'm speaking of Spyderco's older C-50 Centofante model that I found to be an extremely handy EDC folder>> and a design that was made by Benchmade and that being the Phil Boguszewski Spike models 640 & 650. Those two folders were kind of my beginning EDC blades that I started my adventures carrying premium grade, super high quality folders.

Hey there really isn't a right or wrong answer and all of our cutting needs are different. What works for one guy won't necessarily work for a guy in another job or trade. That's the great thing about Spyderco's extremely wide selection of different blade types there is probably a blade design that will work for most any cutting job you can come up with.

[vivi]

The wharncliffe has its downsides like any blade shape. The point tends to wear more than the rest (so I’ve heard at least). But I tend to agree, as a utility knife it’s very usable.

I cleared out all my plain edge knives over time and one of the reasons is serrations just hold stuff better and prevent the slippage you mention. I think serrated knives in pretty much any of the common shapes work well.

And then a couple weeks ago I picked up a Positron. Plain edge and a medium amount of belly. Having a hard time getting it to cut. Part of it is I’m just not used to a knife slipping out of the cut.

I agree that serrations help hold material under the cutting edge. I've noticed this with my Pacific Salt, which is one of the things that sold me on SE in general.

[vivi]

Don't mean to be disagreeable nor do I mean to stir anything up against the grain of your thread. But I actually like some models that have a fair amount of "belly". Take one of my all time favorite Spyders ever as well as being one of my all time favorite knife designs overall>> I'm speaking of Spyderco's C-60 Ayoob model. I find the "belly" in that model to be advantageous in both plain edge and Spyderedge and it's one of the few models I can make that statement about.

Now don't get me wrong because I like a wide array of blade designs. I do like many of the Wharncliffe designs that have no "belly" at all and there are two other blade designs that are mainly straight overall and I'm speaking of Spyderco's older C-50 Centofante model that I found to be an extremely handy EDC folder>> and a design that was made by Benchmade and that being the Phil Boguszewski Spike models 640 & 650. Those two folders were kind of my beginning EDC blades that I started my adventures carrying premium grade, super high quality folders.

Hey there really isn't a right or wrong answer and all of our cutting needs are different. What works for one guy won't necessarily work for a guy in another job or trade. That's the great thing about Spyderco's extremely wide selection of different blade types there is probably a blade design that will work for most any cutting job you can come up with.

JD, dissenting opinions are more than welcome, especially worded as respectfully as your post is. There are obviously many fans of belly, as its what sells best.

I think with designs like the Ayoob that have a generous negative blade angle, a little belly adds some versatility. It would be difficult to get a clean press cut on a flat surface otherwise. With my wharncliffes I can usually set what I'm cutting near the edge of the flat surface and make it work, but with the Ayoob I could see a wharncliffe cutting edge making that very difficult.

Looking at the Ayoob I have a feeling I would really like it. If they ever consider bringing it back I'd definitely be in for a pair.

[jpm2]

I find a very slight continuous belly works best for my all around use, and consider straight edges, SE's, and hawkbills more specialized. I've never wished for a straight edge when cutting with a bellied knife, but the opposite is not true. I actually find more uses with hawkbills and bellied SE's than straights.

[Jazz]

I need some belly in my carving knives, and just whittling, and the curve has lots of uses in every day life. However, my work knife is a different story. The wharnie doesn't slide off the thing being cut like a bellied blade would. Too much to say about it. There's a 30 something page thread about it.

[JD Spydo]

Hey Brother VIVI you wouldn't like the C-60 Ayoob you would absolutely love it!! I've only ever met one guy that didn't like the Ayoob and his issue was with the older almite handle that he didn't like because it didn't have the grip/purchase that he demanded in a folder. I do have a feeling that he would even now love the Ayoob in the G-10 handled Sprint Run we were blessed with in 2011. I sure wish I would have got more that 2 of those bad boys :cool:

When you consider the overall ergonomics of the Ayoob it's got a bit of "belly" that most knife users could get to like in a very short time.

Now I really appreciate this thread because in the past year I'm beginning to like Wharncliffe blades more and more especially after reading a lot of our good Spyder-Brother Micheal Janich's great articles on his Yojimbo 2. I would love to test drive a serious Wharnie in Spyderedge>> I would really like to have an older version of the RONIN in SE for sure.

One Wharnie that didn't last long in the main line up that I really loved when I got to check it out was the Des Horn model. If they would have made that blade in anything other than S30V I would have bought two of them. Even though it was a Wharnie it still reminded me a lot of the C-50 Centofante in several ways. Straight blades like Wharnie designs and those others that I've mentioned definitely have their place>> no doubt about it

[Evil D]

I prefer a minimal amount but I can tolerate about as much as a Military has. I've made exceptions but if I could change certain knives to have less belly I could.

[kwselke]

At last count I believe I had 32 assorted kitchen knives. I'll admit to owning 20 pocket knives. There is no question that some blades are better at specific tasks than others. The Wharncliffe design is good for power cuts, but a bit of belly on the blade helps when skinning a critter. I switch out knives during the day as I anticipate different tasks. I do not believe there is one best blade, but there are best blades for the task at hand. As a catch all everyday basic utility knife I'd opt for a 3" drop point blade. There are too many variables to declare one blade the best. Just my thoughts.

[The Deacon]

I think small wharncliffes are great for certain tasks, such as sharpening pencils, picking splinters, and cutting intricate outlines out of thin material. However for an "all purpose" pocket knife I think a blade that combines some straight edge near the handle with some belly toward the tip is the ideal.

[Nemo3000]

For pushcuts in wood I have found belly and S edges go deeper as it works like guillotine on wood fibers...
It happen with my Dodo first which was able to process wood with ease. Much ease than any other knives.
Now my Yojimbo 2 also is good in wood processing, especially rod making...
But my Millie, Paramillie and Sliverax are excellent.
Oh well, the Sliverax got the less belly of the three and perform better....

[Doc Dan]

I want a bit of belly on my knives. A million years (well..) of knife evolution has shown that a bit of belly aids greatly in slicing. Of course, too much can be as problematic as not enough.

[gaj999]

I like Wharnies for EDC, but I don't mind a bit of belly. What I do mind is an EDC with a thick and/or blunt tip. I still EDC a stockman from time to time, and in many ways it's the best of all worlds. Clip point with a sharp tip for piercing, Wharnie for really bearing down on stuff, and the Spey blade for those few tasks where belly rules.

[Evil D]

I'm speaking of Spyderco's C-60 Ayoob model....

I think the Ayoob is in a class of it's own due to the extreme negative blade angle. If that knife were a wharnie it would be practically unusable for anything other than stabbing and slashing. Having the blade angle down so much makes having a belly absolutely necessary. If it didn't have that negative angle and still had so much belly sweeping upwards I think it would be just about as equally unusable as it would be with a wharnie blade. This knife is one that I would absolutely make an exception for, but it's still not the best utility type design where using the tip is important.

[Igi964]

Every blade type has it's pros and cons. For some kind of use I like Wharncliffe blade, or small hawkbill. (Air, Jazzelica,Ladybug Hawkbill, Dfly hawkbill..) Opening boxes, letters, plastic packaging.... For kitchen use, cutting on the board, blade with belly is a king. Military is excellent for food prep. Wharnie can do it too,but the tip dulls soon IMHO.

[vivi]

I like Wharnies for EDC, but I don't mind a bit of belly. What I do mind is an EDC with a thick and/or blunt tip. I still EDC a stockman from time to time, and in many ways it's the best of all worlds. Clip point with a sharp tip for piercing, Wharnie for really bearing down on stuff, and the Spey blade for those few tasks where belly rules.

Stockmans were always my favorite traditional pattern. I'd keep the wharncliffe super thin and as sharp as possible, then put a toothier edge on the spey and clip point blades. These days I tend to carry a thin, sharp wharncliffe and a SE Pacific Salt, with similar reasoning behind the choices.

I'm with you on thick points. It's one thing that drives me absolutely crazy about my most carried knife, the Pacific Salt. I refuse to carry one with a stock tip, I have to thin it out quite a bit before I'll EDC it.

[vivi]

Every blade type has it's pros and cons. For some kind of use I like Wharncliffe blade, or small hawkbill. (Air, Jazzelica,Ladybug Hawkbill, Dfly hawkbill..) Opening boxes, letters, plastic packaging.... For kitchen use, cutting on the board, blade with belly is a king. Military is excellent for food prep. Wharnie can do it too,but the tip dulls soon IMHO.

That's how I see it too. I'll take wharncliffes for basically everything I'll use my EDC for. If I know I'm going camping and plan to cook a meal or three while I'm out, I'll bring a knife with belly. My knives get used for misc utility work more than food prep though.

I've also made a point to try different blade shapes, edge types of knife designs in a wide variety of tasks. I've tried quartering an apple with a Military, Ronin 2 and Tasman Salt, for example. I've tried slicing bread with a PE Pacific Salt with a polished edge, directly comparing it to another Pacific Salt with a toothy edge, directly comparing both to a SE Pacific Salt, etc. I've found that while general wisdom often holds true, e.g. use serrations when cutting bread because it's easier, the less efficient method is often more efficient than I expected. Properly sharp PE knives have no issues slicing poly rope or cutting hard crusty breads, even if SE does it more efficiently. Ronin 2's have no issues slicing tomatoes or cleaning the fat off some chicken, even if belly makes it a bit more efficient.

To pull some numbers out of my rear, I'd say utility cutting makes up 90% of my pocket knife usage, while food prep makes up at most 10%. I'm willing to trade some efficiency from food prep to utility for that reason. Just like my chef knife is an example of trading utility efficiency for food prep efficiency :)

[ZrowsN1s]

I do prefer straight edges and hawkbills to bellies, but I don't *dislike* them so much as I just like the others a little more. Really looking forward to the Rhino actually, and that's all belly :D

[mattman]

The only one in my rotation that has a significant belly is the Slycz Bowie, I love the knife, but realized I would carry it much more, if it had less belly.

Most of my rotation is leaf shape, so maybe I've just become accustomed to that shape? It's certainly not a "deal-killer" for me on the Bowie, but I noticed it, and often dream of a different profile on it (everything else is just that good).