Spyderco Forums

It seems that so many people hate and are afraid of double edged knives, the "scary name" "dagger". Is it because as someone pointed out previously, there is mental and emotional and historical baggage associated with stabbings, betrayals, and traitors "back stabbing" people and how the double-edged shape is associated with war and strife?


It is odd to me because sabers and single edged swords are very common in history and on battlefields, too, but for some reason the dagger has the connotation of death and destruction, whereas even in the eyes of some hoplophobes, the single-edged knife seems more "tame". Why is this?

With a dagger or double-edged knife you get:

1 Two edges instead of one. Buy one get one free :)

2 A symmetrical edged-tool that can be used for a wide variety of tasks and cutting applications.

I do understand that in some niche uses, you may prefer a single-edge because you can safely apply pressure with a finger or hand to the blunt or unsharpened edge of the blade, and you can baton with it possibly.

I like daggers very much. I only own one right now, a Hinderer Maximus. I have noticed that the knife doesn’t get much love online, even from pro knife folk. I guess because it seems like less of a useful tool and more of a weapon?

I like weapons though so oh well. Hahaha

Great point, Cobra. Exactly what I was thinking.

I was in a chat with some fellow knife collectors/users and sure enough, their consensus was that daggers= bad and single-edged = useful tools. And that was among pro knife people.

Fox Knives of Italy released a series of double-edged blades made with that N690 stainless steel.

I'm not sure about seeing hate for them. In many places that have fairly liberal knife laws double edge daggers are not legal and in some places will cause the owner to be charged with having or carrying them anywhere outside the house. They are seen primarily as weapons rather than tools. Because of that many just rule them out as practical tools for carry.

I don't find them real practical. It's not the double edge so much as the dagger shape. I have no use for it and couldn't legally carry it even in places where I can legally carry my Endura, Police, whatever .

Joe

One problem with the double-edged design (for everyday use) is that you can't put your thumb on the spine if you need some extra leverage while making a cut. And I frequently use this type of grip when using my knives.

I certainly wouldn't call it useless for EDC nor do I "hate" them, but the double-edged knife or dagger was primarily designed as a stabbing weapon: and all other considerations are necessarily subservient to the primary function. Doesn't mean that it can't function as an EDC but it does mean that it might not be an ideal EDC.

And two cutting edges just means twice as much sharpening to do.

Pretty useless for most cutting tasks... First the grind tends to be pretty obtuse, since stabbing penetration is most often the goal of a dagger, this means crummy slicing performance, unless the blade is twice as wide or half as thick as a single edge blade in order to get the equivalent grind. Second, blade control is usually poor for any sort of detail/precision cutting, since handles are often symmetrical, sometimes even round and blades are often fairly long and offer no way to choke up on them to gain better control.

In short, if I wanted to stab something (or someone) a double edged knife would be my go-to, but for my *real-life* personal use a single edge blade wins every time (except of course in my DE razor )

Laws prevent me from wanting to buy them. They're illegal pretty much everywhere I've lived or visited, and I try to keep my carry legal.

Aside from that, I'm not so sure I'd find them advantageous.

They penetrate things a little more easily, and there's certainly an argument to be made for having a back-up edge (possibly sharpened to a different grit). But being able to place me thumb or off hand on the spine for added leverage is more important to me.

I like to put my thumb on the spine of most knives.

I am not really into the weapon part of the knife world.

Daggers usually have inferior geometry. Narrow blades, thick stock and two opposing bevels with obtuse primary grinds. The blade shapes are often optimized for stabbing and not utility.

I want one just to eye ball it. Daggers are neat. But eh. I thought about buying a dohble edge microtech but when it came down to it I bought the drop point ultratech. If I want multiple edges I will carry multiple knives or a multi bladed knife like a stockman. I've been known to carry a 2 bladed jack, whatever main spyderco for the day, and whatever serrated knife, usually serrated wharncliffe delica. I absolutely do not like spearpoint knives.

Kind of like them myself. In fact, the only non-Spyderco knives ever carry are DE OTF autos. I find the esthetically pleasing, since a double edged blades can have a symmetry that no single edge blade can match and, in an DE DA OTF auto, the entire knife can have similar symmetry. There's also probably a fair bit of "because I can" involved since SC, unlike NY where I use to live, doesn't discriminate against them.

Other than as collector pieces and historical objects they are basically trouble. I suggest that if it came to having to defend oneself with a knife you would be much better off if you did not do it with a dagger.

The reason why people hate daggers is they are- primarily- designed as weapons. That colours attitudes.
You don't see double edged breadknives.

That said, I do love the symmetry of a dagger- and have a number in my collection.

However- the pretty much flat out suck for actual utility tasks for one reason or another:
-My Fairbairn-Sykes is way too slim and came with an edge not worthy of that name. The slim round handle is not great for cutting for any length of time.

-My Gerber Mk2 is pretty good after a resharpening but it's still pretty thick behind the edge and long. It's very clearly weighted for it's intended purpose but the handle is good.

-My SOG Pentagon is the newer model with the broader blade and if anything it's probably the most useful- sensibly SOG added a jimped thumb space on either side to give you some purchase, plus one edge being all serration and the other plain is really the best of both worlds. Also the soft kraton handle is really very comfortable.

None of them hold a candle to to a Spyderco Mule with G10 grips for proper utility cutting.

Where I live it's illegal.

Also sometimes i push on the spine.
That isnot possible with 2 edges

MichaelScott wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 02, 2018 8:09 am

Other than as collector pieces and historical objects they are basically trouble. I suggest that if it came to having to defend oneself with a knife you would be much better off if you did not do it with a dagger.

Perhaps, but I've heard the same thing said about using karambits, hawkbills, "scary" looking knives like the Civilian, and cases where either the knife or knife company's name evokes certain images for self defense. Hopefully, I'll never have to find out, as I'd only ever think about using a knife as a weapon if I ran out of ammo. :p

I still have a cheap dagger, from when UK shops would sell weapons to school kids (a very long time ago). I think it’s in the bottom of my car tool crate: this thread is reminding me to bin it, as it could still potentially land me in hot water and is of no functional value.

The US Army bayonet of the Vietnam-era was semi-double-edged (had a spine part-way down one edge).

Training at that time (at least) asked: “What’s the spirit of the bayonet?” Trainees were to answer as one: “To KILL!” (doesn’t matter here that the object of our wrath was some guy named Jody who was somehow stealing away each and every one of our girls...).

Today, what with my firearms collection, I just don’t have much need for an easily-weaponized double-edged blade, and for my general uses I don’t like its added risk to my safety.

I was obsessed with them when I was a kid, kind of ironic because now I have pretty much no interest in them. I have an old generic boot knife somewhere that's double edged but it's so thick it would probably be better zero ground if the mystery steel could support it.

My dad gave me a double edged knife this weekend.

It was the bayonet that my great grandfather carried in the Spanish American War.

I definitely don't hate it.

Nothing wrong with owning knives meant primarily as weapons. I carried a CS Safemaker, the old kind from the late 90s to early 2000s, with the 5" blade. They do have legitimate uses, it's just that we pray we never have to use it for it's intended purpose. It does help I lived in either NC or SC and neither have particularly strict knife laws, though NC may be different now. I've not lived there in over 10 years. The CS knife was also a handy apple cutting knife when away from the kitchen.

Why do you think people hate them? I have several tri-blade twisted spiral knives outlawed by the Geneva Convention. Why do people hate them so much they are outlawed? I say nay.

They truth is that they suck but look scary. Like an AR-15.