But when it comes down to actual technical knife terms, what are some good parameters to distinguish the two, dagger vs spear point blade?
This also touches on a related subject: False Edges. For example: Spyderco had some Native models that had a top false edge. Would that be considered more of a spear point, or a dagger like knife, or something completely different?
I will post a picture of a Benchmade knife below, this is the model 530, one of the variations, designed by the knife maker Mel Pardue. Now, when you look at this, do you think "folding dagger" or spear point folder? That is why it gets a little confusing.
Would you say a good encompassing definition of a true dagger would be any knife in which both edges on both sides of the blade are fully sharpened, from the hilt/base of the blade, all the way to the point/tip of the blade, and, if there is any break in those twin edges, the knife ceases to be a true dagger, and is something else, perhaps a single-edged knife, with a sharpened false-edge?
This whole issue gets even more complex with this: I have seen knives that definitely have ONE sharpened edge, yet they have been called "daggers" or "dirks" by various people. Interestingly: An expert on Scandinavian knives (Finnish Puukkos, Swedish Moras, etc) has said that in Norway and Sweden and much of Scandinavia, any knife is called and considered a "Dagger" if it has an actual cross guard. They call knives with finger guards daggers, according to him, because the presence of the finger-guard allows you to safely put more pressure in your stabbing-motions, thus it is considered better-suited for combat. I found that to be an interesting definition. And so, even if the blade had one single sharpened edge, if it had a fingerguard, they would call it a dagger.
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- SpydercoNative4.jpg (8.95 KiB) Viewed 5735 times
And here is something else: I once got into a conversation with someone about the use of daggers vs non-dagger knives. My position is that double edged and single edged knives have their practical uses. His viewpoint was that daggers are ONLY made for and ONLY useful for one thing: Mayhem and meting death to combat opponents. He then said he believes single edged knives should be legal to carry but not daggers, because, according to him, a dagger is only meant for killing. I disagree with that. I have read and heard of and known of many situations in both modern and historically-ancient times when double-edged knives have practical uses. Look at the Sticking knives used by butchers and meat processers, as one example.
Sometimes it is better to have two edges than one. I once read where a survival expert claimed he would rather have a dagger than a single edged knife when out in the woods because he had two edges instead of one. However, critics of that may claim that you cannot baton a dagger as easily through wood as you could a single edged knife, and, with a single edged knife you can apply more detailed gripping positions safely with your fingers on the unsharpened section of the blade.
