Knife

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Knife (disambiguation).
pattern-welded
steel

A knife (pl.: knives; from Old Norse knifr 'knife, dirk'[1]) is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools.[2][3] Originally made of wood, bone, and stone (such as flint and obsidian), over the centuries, in step with improvements in both metallurgy and manufacturing, knife blades have been made from copper, bronze, iron, steel, ceramic, and titanium. Most modern knives have either fixed or folding blades; blade patterns and styles vary by maker and country of origin.

Knives can serve various purposes. Hunters use a

steak knives), weapons (daggers or switchblades), knives for throwing or juggling, and knives for religious ceremony or display (the kirpan).[4]

Parts

Main article: Knife making
See also: Kitchen knife § Nomenclature, and Blade § Knife patterns
Different parts of a knife indicated with numerals
Characteristic parts of a knife

A modern knife consists of:

  1. the blade
  2. the handle
  3. the point – the end of the knife used for piercing
  4. the edge – the cutting surface of the knife extending from the point to the heel
  5. the grind – the cross section shape of the blade
  6. the spine – the thickest section of the blade; on a single-edged knife, the side opposite the edge; on a two-edged knife, more toward the middle
  7. the
    fuller
     – a groove added to make the blade lighter (optional)
  8. the ricasso – the flat section of the blade located at the junction of the blade and the knife's bolster or guard (optional)
  9. the guard – the barrier between the blade and the handle which prevents the hand from slipping forward onto the blade and protects the hand from the external forces that are usually applied to the blade during use (optional)
  10. the hilt or butt – the end of the handle used for blunt force
  11. the lanyard – a strap used to secure the knife to the wrist (optional)

The blade edge can be plain or serrated, or a combination of both. Single-edged knives may have a reverse edge or false edge occupying a section of the spine. These edges are usually serrated and are used to further enhance function.

The handle, used to grip and manipulate the blade safely, may include a

Sorocaban Knife
, which consists in riveting a repurposed blade to the ricasso of a bladeless handle. The handle may include a bolster, a piece of heavy material (usually metal) situated at the front or rear of the handle. The bolster, as its name suggests, is used to mechanically strengthen the knife.

A Gerber-made full-tang survival knife. The metal from the blade extends into the handle.

Blade

Main article: Blade
Morakniv carbon steel knife
Seated female workers making knives on machinery with large spinning drums
Knife blade mass production

Knife blades can be manufactured from a variety of materials, each of which has advantages and disadvantages.

Laminated blades use multiple metals to create a layered structure, combining the attributes of both. For example, a harder, more brittle steel may be pressed between an outer layer of softer, tougher, stainless steel to reduce vulnerability to corrosion. In this case, however, the part most affected by corrosion, the edge, is still vulnerable. Damascus steel is a form of pattern welding with similarities to laminate construction. Layers of different steel types are welded together, but then the stock is manipulated to create patterns in the steel.[5]

Titanium is a metal that has a better strength-to-weight ratio, is more wear resistant, and more flexible than steel. Although less hard and unable to take as sharp an edge, carbides in the titanium alloy allow them to be heat-treated to a sufficient hardness. Ceramic blades are hard, brittle, and lightweight: they may maintain a sharp edge for years with no maintenance at all, but are as fragile as glass and will break if dropped on a hard surface. They are immune to common corrosion, and can only be sharpened on silicon carbide sandpaper and some grinding wheels. Plastic blades are not especially sharp and are typically serrated. They are often disposable.

Knife blades have different profiles

Steel blades are commonly shaped by

heat treated. This involves heating the steel above its critical point, then quenching the blade to harden it. After hardening, the blade is tempered to remove stresses and make the blade tougher. Mass manufactured kitchen cutlery uses both the forging and stock removal processes.[6]
Forging tends to be reserved for manufacturers' more expensive product lines, and can often be distinguished from stock removal product lines by the presence of an integral bolster, though integral bolsters can be crafted through either shaping method.

Knives are sharpened in various ways. Flat ground blades have a profile that tapers from the thick spine to the sharp edge in a straight or convex line. Seen in cross section, the blade would form a long, thin triangle, or where the taper does not extend to the back of the blade, a long thin rectangle with one peaked side. Hollow ground blades have concave, beveled edges. The resulting blade has a thinner edge, so it may have better cutting ability for shallow cuts, but it is lighter and less durable than flat ground blades and will tend to bind in deep cuts.[citation needed] Serrated blade knives have a wavy, scalloped or saw-like blade. Serrated blades are more well suited for tasks that require aggressive 'sawing' motions, whereas plain edge blades are better suited for tasks that require push-through cuts (e.g., shaving, chopping, slicing).

Many knives have holes in the blade for various uses. Holes are commonly drilled in blades to reduce friction while cutting, increase single-handed usability of pocket knives, and, for butchers' knives, allow hanging out of the way when not in use.

Fixed-blade features

Fixed-blade knife with wooden handle on a table, next to a molded plastic sheath
cKc pen knife

A fixed blade knife, sometimes called a sheath knife, does not fold or slide, and is typically stronger due to the tang, the extension of the blade into the handle, and lack of moving parts.

Folding blade features

Folding pocket knife with multiple exposed tools
A Swiss Army knife
Main article:
Pocket knife

A folding knife connects the blade to the handle through a pivot, allowing the blade to fold into the handle. To prevent injury to the knife user through the blade accidentally closing on the user's hand, folding knives typically have a locking mechanism. Different locking mechanisms are favored by various individuals for reasons such as perceived strength (lock safety), legality, and ease of use. Popular locking mechanisms include:

Another prominent feature of many folding knives is the opening mechanism. Traditional pocket knives and

Swiss Army knives
commonly employ the nail nick, while modern folding knives more often use a stud, hole, disk, or flipper located on the blade, all of which have the benefit of allowing the user to open the knife with one hand.

The "wave" feature is another prominent design, which uses a part of the blade that protrudes outward to catch on one's pocket as it is drawn, thus opening the blade; this was patented by Ernest Emerson and is not only used on many of the Emerson knives, but also on knives produced by several other manufacturers, notably Spyderco and Cold Steel.[17]

Automatic or switchblade knives open using the stored energy from a spring that is released when the user presses a button or lever or other actuator built into the handle of the knife. Automatic knives are severely restricted by law in the UK and most American states.[18]

Increasingly common are

assisted opening knives which use springs to propel the blade once the user has moved it past a certain angle. These differ from automatic or switchblade knives in that the blade is not released by means of a button or catch on the handle; rather, the blade itself is the actuator. Most assisted openers use flippers as their opening mechanism. Assisted opening knives can be as fast or faster than automatic knives to deploy.[19]

Common locking mechanisms

In the lock back, as in many folding knives, a stop pin acting on the top (or behind) the blade prevents it from rotating clockwise. A hook on the tang of the blade engages with a hook on the rocker bar which prevents the blade from rotating counter-clockwise. The rocker bar is held in position by a torsion bar. To release the knife the rocker bar is pushed downwards as indicated and pivots around the rocker pin, lifting the hook and freeing the blade.

When negative pressure (pushing down on the spine) is applied to the blade all the stress is transferred from the hook on the blade's tang to the hook on the rocker bar and thence to the small rocker pin. Excessive stress can shear one or both of these hooks rendering the knife effectively useless. Knife company Cold Steel uses a variant of the lock back called the Tri-Ad Lock which introduces a pin in front of the rocker bar to relieve stress on the rocker pin, has an elongated hole around the rocker pin to allow the mechanism to wear over time without losing strength and angles the hooks so that the faces no longer meet vertically.

The bolt in the bolt lock is a rectangle of metal that is constrained to slide only back and forward. When the knife is open a spring biases the bolt to the forward position where it rests above the tang of the blade preventing the blade from closing. Small knobs extend through the handle of the knife on both sides allowing the user to slide the bolt backward freeing the knife to close. The Axis Lock used by knife maker Benchmade is functionally identical to the bolt lock except that it uses a cylinder rather than a rectangle to trap the blade.[13] The Arc Lock by knife maker SOG is similar to the Axis Lock except the cylinder follows a curved path rather than a straight path.[14]

In the liner lock, an L-shaped split in the liner allows part of the liner to move sideways from its resting position against the handle to the centre of the knife where it rests against the flat end of the tang. To disengage, this leaf spring is pushed so it again rests flush against the handle allowing the knife to rotate.[8] A frame lock is functionally identical but instead of using a thin liner inside the handle material uses a thicker piece of metal as the handle and the same split in it allows a section of the frame to press against the tang.[8]

Sliding blade features

Main article: Sliding knife
An OTF knife, showing the sliding blade being extended from the handle

A sliding knife is a knife that can be opened by sliding the knife blade out the front of the handle. One method of opening is where the blade exits out the front of the handle point-first and then is locked into place (an example of this is the

OTF (out-the-front) switchblade, which only requires the push of a button or spring to cause the blade to slide out of the handle and lock into place. To retract the blade back into the handle, a release lever or button, usually the same control as to open, is pressed. A very common form of sliding knife is the sliding utility knife
(commonly known as a stanley knife or boxcutter).

Handle

Main article:
Handle (grip)
Minsk folding knife with articulated frame grip

The handles of knives can be made from a number of different materials, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. Handles are produced in a wide variety of shapes and styles. Handles are often textured to enhance grip.

  • Wood handles provide good grip and are warm in the hand, but are more difficult to care for. They do not resist water well, and will crack or warp with prolonged exposure to water. Modern stabilized and laminated woods have largely overcome these problems. Many beautiful and exotic hardwoods are employed in the manufacture of custom and some production knives. In some countries it is now forbidden for commercial butchers' knives to have wood handles, for sanitary reasons.[citation needed]
  • Plastic handles are more easily cared for than wooden handles, but can be slippery and become brittle over time.[4]
  • Grivory, are reinforced with Kevlar or fiberglass
    . These are often used by major knife manufacturers.
  • Rubber handles such as Kraton
    or Resiprene-C are generally preferred over plastic due to their durable and cushioning nature.
  • Micarta is a popular handle material on user knives due to its toughness and stability. Micarta is nearly impervious to water, is grippy when wet, and is an excellent insulator. Micarta has come to refer to any fibrous material cast in resin. There are many varieties of micarta available. One very popular version is a fiberglass impregnated resin called G-10.
  • birchbark
    in the same manner.
  • Skeleton handles refers to the practice of using the tang itself as the handle, usually with sections of material removed to reduce weight. Skeleton handled knives are often wrapped with parachute cord or other wrapping materials to enhance grip.
  • handwear
    in (very) cold climates.
A traditional knife handle made from buffalo horn (Tasikmalaya, Indonesia)

More exotic materials usually only seen on art or ceremonial knives include: Stone, bone, mammoth tooth, mammoth ivory, oosik (walrus penis bone), walrus tusk, antler (often called stag in a knife context), sheep horn, buffalo horn, teeth, and mop (mother of pearl or "pearl"). Many materials have been employed in knife handles.

Handles may be adapted to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities. For example, knife handles may be made thicker or with more cushioning for people with

palmar hyperhidrosis
.

Birchbark knife handle

Types

Further information on the various types of knives: Blade § Patterns of knife blades

Weapons

A large traditional Tuareg knife
Knife from the stone age, Nok, Nigeria

As a weapon, the knife is universally adopted as an essential tool. It is the essential element of a knife fight. For example:

  • Ballistic knife: A specialized combat knife with a detachable gas- or spring-propelled blade that can be fired to a distance of several feet or meters by pressing a trigger or switch on the handle.
  • Bayonet: A knife-shaped close-quarters combat weapon designed to attach to the muzzle of a rifle or similar weapon.
  • Butterfly knife: A folding pocket knife also known as a "balisong" or "batangas" with two counter-rotating handles where the blade is concealed within grooves in the handles.
  • Combat knife: Any knife intended to be used by soldiers in the field, as a general-use tool, but also for fighting.
  • Dagger: A single-edged or double-edged combat knife with a central spine and edge(s) sharpened their full length, used primarily for thrusting or stabbing. Variations include the Stiletto and Push dagger. See List of daggers for a more detailed list.
  • Fighting knife: A knife with a blade designed to inflict a lethal injury in a physical confrontation between two or more individuals at very short range (grappling distance). Well known examples include the Bowie knife, Ka-Bar combat knife, and the Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife.
  • Genoese knife: produced from the 12th century with a guardless handle
  • Karambit: A knife with a curved blade resembling a tiger's claw, and a handle with one or two safety holes.
  • Rampuri: An Indian gravity knife having a single-edged blade roughly 9 to 12 inches (23 to 30 cm) long.
  • Shiv: A crudely made homemade knife out of everyday materials, especially prevalent in prisons among inmates. An alternate name in some prisons is shank.
  • mêlée
    combat and hunting.
  • Throwing knife: A knife designed and weighted for throwing.
  • Trench knife: Purpose-made or improvised knives, intended for close-quarter fighting, particularly in trench warfare; some have a d-shaped integral hand guard.

Sports equipment

Utensils

Table knives

A primary aspect of the knife as a tool includes dining, used either in food preparation or as cutlery. Examples of this include:

  • Bread knife: A knife with a serrated blade for cutting bread
  • Boning knife: A knife used for removing the bones of poultry, meat, and fish.
  • Butcher's Knife: A knife designed and used primarily for the butchering and/or dressing of animals.
  • hams
    , and other large cooked meats.
  • Canelle or Channel knife: The notch of the blade is used to cut a twist from a citrus fruit, usually in the preparation of cocktails
  • Chef's knife: Also known as a French knife, a cutting tool used in preparing food
  • Cleaver: A large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is used mostly for hacking through bones as a kitchen knife or butcher knife, and can also be used for crushing via its broad side, typically garlic.
  • Electric knife: An electrical device consisting of two serrated blades that are clipped together, providing a sawing action when powered on
  • Kitchen knife: Any knife, including the chef's knife, that is intended to be used in food preparation
  • Oyster knife
    : Has a short, thick blade for prying open oyster shells
  • herb chopper
    or for cutting other foods
  • Paring or Coring Knife: A knife with a small but sharp blade used for cutting out the cores from fruit.
  • Rocker knife is a knife that cuts with a rocking motion, which is primarily used by people whose disabilities prevent them from using a fork and knife simultaneously.[20]
  • Table knife or Case knife: A piece of cutlery, either a butter knife, steak knife, or both, that is part of a table setting, accompanying the fork and spoon

Tools

Three bolt equipment
Knives for cutting cheese

As a utility tool the knife can take many forms, including:

  • Jim Bowie
    .
A Head knife (Round knife).
A simple letter opener, or paper knife

Traditional and religious implements

  • Neopagan witchcraft. (see also Boline
    ).
  • Dirk: A long bladed thrusting dagger worn by Scottish Highlanders for customary and ceremonial purposes.
  • Katar: An Indian push dagger sometimes used ceremonially.
  • Kilaya: A dagger
    used in Tibetan Buddhist rituals.
  • Kakars
    )
  • Kris: A dagger used in Indo-Malay cultures, often by nobility and sometimes in religious rituals
  • Kukri: A Nepalese knife used as a tool and weapon
  • Maguro bōchō: A traditional Japanese knife with a long specialized blade that is used to fillet large ocean fish.
  • Puukko: A traditional Finnish style woodcraft belt-knife used as a tool rather than a weapon
  • Seax: A Germanic single-edged knife, dagger or short sword used both as a tool and as a weapon.
  • Sgian-dubh: A small knife traditionally worn with the Highland and Isle dress (Kilt) of Scotland.
  • Ulu: An Inuit woman's all-purpose knife.
  • Yakutian knife: A traditional Yakuts knife used as a tool for wood carving and meat or fish cutting. Can be used as a part of yakutian ethnic costume.

Rituals and superstitions

sacrificial
knife.

The knife plays a significant role in some cultures through

neopagan witchcraft.[25][26]

In Greece, a black-handled knife placed under the pillow is used to keep away nightmares.[citation needed] As early as 1646 reference is made to a superstition of laying a knife across another piece of cutlery being a sign of witchcraft.[27] A common belief is that if a knife is given as a gift, the relationship of the giver and recipient will be severed. Something such as a small coin, dove or a valuable item is exchanged for the gift, rendering "payment."[citation needed]

Traditionally sharpening the knife in Nepal

Legislation

Main article: Knife legislation

Some types of knives are restricted by law, and carrying of knives may be regulated, because they are often used in crime, although restrictions vary greatly by jurisdiction and type of knife. For example, some laws prohibit carrying knives in public while other laws prohibit possession of certain knives, such as switchblades.[28][29]

See also

References

  1. ^ Harper, Douglas. "knife". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  2. ^ "No. 1 The knife". Forbes. 2005-08-31. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  3. ^ a b "Early Human Evolution: Early Human Culture". Archived from the original on 2007-05-12. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-89689-470-9
    .
  5. doi:10.5284/1034398
    .
  6. ^ "Restodontê | Tipos de facas e suas utilidades". Restodontê. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  7. ISBN 978-1-4402-3700-3
    .
  8. ^ a b c d Warner, Ken (1991). Knives 91. p. 31.
  9. ^ Dick, Steven, The National Knife Magazine, "The Chris Reeve Sebenza Folding Hunter", September 1993, pp. 16–18.
  10. ^ Lang, Bud, Knives Illustrated, "Chris Reeve's Classic 2000", April 2000, pp. 22–24.
  11. ISSN 1074-9152
    .
  12. ^ "Knife lock mechanism".
  13. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4402-1767-8
    .
  14. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4402-2429-4
    .
  15. ISBN 978-1-84013-694-4
    .
  16. ISBN 978-1-4402-3064-6
    .
  17. ^ Shackleford, Steve (1997). "Cutler of Fortune". Blade Magazine. 22 (10): 50.
  18. ISSN 0277-3066
    .
  19. ISBN 978-1-4402-0387-9
    .
  20. ISBN 978-1-4377-3563-5
    . p. 568.
  21. ^ "The Heroic Age: The Anglo-British Cemetery at Bamburgh". Archived from the original on 2007-04-17. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
  22. ^ "Bronze age grave goods from Bedd Branwen burial site, Anglesey :: Gathering the Jewels". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
  23. ^ "Ritual knife". Retrieved 2007-05-08.
  24. ^ "Howstuffworks "How Samurai Work"". 2004-04-16. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
  25. ^ "Hellenic Magical Ritual". Retrieved 2007-05-08.
  26. ^ "The Clavicle of Solomon, revealed by Ptolomy the Grecian. (Sloane 3847)". Retrieved 2007-05-08.
  27. ^ Iona Opie; Moira Tatum (1996). "Knife laid across – A Dictionary of Superstitions". Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2011-06-24. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
  28. ^ "Your Democracy – Restriction of Offensive Weapons Bill (from Lords Debates)". New Statesman. 12 May 1959. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012.
  29. ^ Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959: Short title, commencement, and extent, retrieved 30 October 2011

External links

  • Media related to Knives at Wikimedia Commons
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Knife&oldid=1214661498"
This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article: Knife. Articles is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; additional terms may apply.Privacy Policy