Big Belly Blades

[Bolster]

Big Belly Blades...what do you use them for, other than skinning?

I've owned a Parata, Chinook, and Large Persian, but seldom found uses for them, other than looking at. I carry a Dialex Junior on occasion and it's great for spreading peanut butter, but at work, I find it more awkward to use than other knives. I will admit big belly blades look cool. (I realize the Chinook has a very specific reason for its large belly and hook shape, which I understand is used in a particular style of knife fighting...but I don't use it for that.) I even struggle with designs like the Subvert and the Slysz Bowie, with their large bellies and abrupt upturn.

Maybe they're very utilitarian and I'm just missing their purpose. Maybe I don't know *how* to use them. Other than skinning, for what tasks are big belly blades "the right tool for the job"?

[ladybug93]

they make the rockin' world go 'round.

[Sharp Guy]

they make the rockin' world go 'round.

[JRinFL]

Apparently, the other brothers can deny that Bolster likes big bellies.

[Evil D]

I use them for saving money

No real use for one personally, except maybe for an Ayoob or models that somehow keep the tip low in relation to the handle. I suppose a Military kinda has a lot of belly but negative blade angle keeps the tip low. I guess I have more of a preference for low blade tips and less disliking of actual blade bellies.

[JSumm]

I think low tip and minimum belly is great for most EDC tasks. I have found if you need to do any scraping or shaving of material on a flat surface a little bit of belly is nice. Wharncliffes would not work for scraping with the edge on a flat surface. If I'm working on a home project, I usually have my RJ and my Native 5 on me. Not that the native 5 has a huge belly, but usually just enough.

[yablanowitz]

I find them useful in repair work for removing texture around drywall repairs and removing old glue from formica edging, both tasks very similar to skinning. I find when working on large flat surfaces the belly keeps my knuckles clear, saving me some skin.

[Vamais]

Scraping, that's about it.

[DavidNM]

they make the rockin' world go 'round.

[HolySteel]

Scraping, that's about it.

Yes, but don't minimize the value of fine detail scraping. If you are scraping off some minute detail on a curved surface, less belly is fine, but when I recently had to take superglue residue off of a flat surface, a decent belly was invaluable. More belly would have been even better, but I was too lazy to go find the proper knife!

[JRinFL]

They are also useful for rocking type cuts, like kitchen work, but not limited to just the kitchen. Horses for courses.

[Tristan_david2001]

skinning and animal processing, maybe some fine detail wood carving, bushcraft work.. are all in pros of having some sufficient belly at the tip. But I can’t really think of anything else.

More Gradual curves from the hilt to the tip are gonna work better for food prep and a variety of different utility uses, which is what folding pocket edc knives are mostly intended for.

[ladybug93]

there's a video on youtube comparing the standard delica to the wharncliffe delica for food prep. it makes almost zero difference in cutting on a flat surface except that the blade makes contact in a different place.

[Tristan_david2001]

there's a video on youtube comparing the standard delica to the wharncliffe delica for food prep. it makes almost zero difference in cutting on a flat surface except that the blade makes contact in a different place.

Not that it can’t ever work but theres a big difference. Cutting foods on a cutting board with a wharncliffe is just going to be mostly pulling the tip and a little of the edge just before it through the food. That’s just a plain inferior technique. A blade geometry that can actually slide the length of the edge against board as it cuts through the material is what slicing is. the difference between cutting vs. slicing.

[ladybug93]

of course it all depends on how you tend to cut most often. i very rarely cut on flat surfaces, so the occasional cutting board cut is no big deal for me with a wharncliffe. if i did most of my cuts this way, i'd certainly want some belly and i'd agree that it's not optimal to use a wharncliffe blade.

[JSumm]

My RJ slices steak on a cutting board like no ones business, but I don't think that is the flat surface discussion being mentioned.

I have real hardwood floors that I installed in my entire house years ago. It is #3 grade so has lots of imperfections. But lots of character. Occasionally, I have to do repair work on it and scrape off a big splintering piece of wood. I can't get my Wharncliffe flat and edge parallel to the floor to cut it out without removing to much. I need some belly to scrape on the flat surface. I could go and run and fine a razor blade, but I really need a generous handle to apply pressure.

Another recent example was scaping off some glue from a piece of tile. My wharncliffe is not able to scrape that surface, but I managed it with my Native 5.

[ladybug93]

yes. whatever the case... it depends on what kind of cutting you do most often or what types of cutting you think you will encounter.

i typically carry a manix as my main edc. it's got a great all-around blade shape; low tip for better control and pressure, and a slight belly for anything that might require that.

i also typically carry a se pacific salt. i rarely encounter fibrous materials, but i know that, in an emergency, i'm going to want teeth and i'm going to want as many as i can comfortably carry. that's the primary reason i carry that knife, besides having a maintenance free blade on me at all times.

you have to think about what you need and carry accordingly. if most of my cuts were on a flat surface, or required the kind of maneuvering you're talking about, jeff, i'd never carry a wharncliffe. turns out i almost never have to use a knife for that kind of cutting or scraping, so i'd be fine with a wharncliffe.

all i was saying is that we need to evaluate what types of cut we're most likely to encounter and what types of cuts or usage we want to be prepared for and then adjust our tool carry to those uses. this is why i don't carry an ulu with me daily, for example.

[Evil D]

Food prep with a wharnie just requires that you drag the tip along the cutting board to finish the slice. A belly will have to do a similar action or you'll rock through the end of the cut. What would concern me about wharnies and food prep would be that a lot of wear gets focused on just the tip, while you could at least try to distribute it along a belly as much as the belly will contact the board.

[JSumm]

i typically carry a manix as my main edc. it's got a great all-around blade shape; low tip for better control and pressure, and a slight belly for anything that might require that.

I actually rarely cut like that too. Just giving an example of when belly may be needed. I am on the same page as you that the Manix shape is probably my favorite EDC blade shape. Endura's and Calys too! Just a tad bit of belly is all that is needed for most EDC type cuts.

[BornIn1500]

It's interesting that so many people think of a large knife belly as a skinner. Most of the people I know who skin lots of animals, especially furbearers, use something completely different with no belly at all. In fact, it's called a pelting knife.