The knife has been used by man for several thousand years. It is hard to imagine life without this product, which has become an indispensable assistant. In the modern knife market, you can get a variety of samples of piercing and cutting products. There are elements in the structure of the knife, around the names of which there are disputes today. The reason for this is that the definitions that denote many parts and details in blades and handles are borrowed from other languages. However, according to experts, there are certain terms that are most often found in technical documentation. You will find information about the structure of the knife and a description of all the elements in this article.
Introducing the cutting product
The knife is a specially processed metal strip. The main element in the structure of the knife is the blade. This part can have any section and be flat, multifaceted and round. Multifaceted blades come in the form of a rhombus and a triangle. The choice of form depends onthe purpose for which the knife is intended, since such a blade can inflict a wide variety of injuries. However, you should not consider the knife as an exclusively melee weapon. It is considered a universal tool that will come in handy when solving completely peaceful tasks.
About design
In the structure of the knife, two parts are distinguished: the blade and the handle. In steel blanks, in addition to a blade of any shape and size, there is a shank, through which the knife is equipped with a handle. Specialists have developed many ways to mount the handle to a steel billet. The method of fastening becomes decisive for the shape of the shank and its name.
About blades. Description
In the structure of a knife, any blade is represented by the following elements:
- Flat or bare. This is the thickest part of the blade.
- Blade. It is a working cutting edge that extends from heel to tip. Some consumers who are far from the knife business, the term "blade" is applied to the entire working part of the blade, including the heel.
- Cars. By means of these two narrowest surfaces, the cutting edge is formed. These elements are formed during sharpening, when a blade is created under the influence of a sharpener.
- Heel or fifth. It is a non-sharpenable area and a continuation of the blade. The task of the heel is to increase the rigidity of the knife and prevent the handle from interfering with sharpening the blade. In the structure of the knife, the working part is formed from the heel and the blade.
- Butt. Represents the part opposite to the cutting edge. The butt is not subject to sharpening. As they sayspecialists, it is not at all necessary that this element be direct. It can take many different forms.
- Bevel. This term refers to the curved or beveled part of the butt. In order to improve the external showiness of the knife, the bevels are often sharpened. Due to the fact that this sharpening does not have the necessary sharpness at all, and therefore does not improve the functionality of the knife, the bevel is often called a false blade.
- Get up. It is a curve in the blade. Directed towards the axis of the knife.
- The tip. In this part, the rise and bevel or butt are connected to the cutting edge. Depending on the location relative to the butt, the tip can be “flying up” and “falling”. In the first case, the tip is above the butt, in the second, below its line. In table knives, there is a smooth rounding of the butt to the cutting edge, and the point of the tip is absent.
- Descent. It is a narrowing of the surface of the knife to the edge. Descents come in a variety of forms with their own merits. The most common form formed by milling is considered to be lenticular. With such a profile, a knife blade with a thick butt part is the thinnest. For this reason, it is also called shaving. Judging by the numerous reviews, most knifemakers equip their products with lenticular descents. The high popularity is due to the fact that the knife is obtained with a much reduced weight, without losing its rigidity.
- Dolom. This term refers to the recess on the surface of the blade. Due to the fuller, the knife has a reduced weight and improved rigidity.
- Rib. This element is in the form of a line, which is formed by the golomen anddescents. Due to the fact that the planes in the blades can be narrowed closer to the butt, the ribs are considered the thickest parts in the structure of the knife. Photos of cutting products - later in the article.
Many manufacturers brand their products by chemical or laser engraving, that is, they apply a marking by which you can find out about the grade of steel used and the method of its primary processing. According to experts, gilding, blackening and other technological methods are used to apply the factory article on the knife.
About the handle
This element is considered very important in the structure of the knife, as it allows you to securely hold it during operation. Shanks are made by knifemakers according to the type of the future handle.
They are type-setting, overhead or lamellar and mounted. Overhead handles are represented by two plates from a wide variety of materials, which are mounted on the shank using rivets. Riders are attached in two ways:
- Equestrian. A hole is drilled in a durable material (wood or bone), into which, with an effort, a shank is inserted. Hence the name of the handle. The installation site is additionally fixed with glue or resin.
- Through. Before fitting, a thread is made in the material, onto which all the components of the handle are tightened with a nut. In this case, resin or other adhesive mixtures are also used.
About the main elements of the handles
Knife handles consist of the following parts:
- Shank. It is considered the main part, since it is with it that the palm comes into contact.
- Back. This element has the shape of a barrel. Located on top of the handle.
- Abdomen. Represents the bottom. For a certain grip method, knives with various bellies are provided.
- Sub-finger notch or radius. In the form of a hollow for the index finger. When performing a thrusting blow, a knife with a radius provides the owner with an additional emphasis. There are two types of subdigital notches. The handles are mainly equipped with a radius, less often the blades themselves. In the second case, the heel is the notch.
- Garda. Mostly the inhabitants so call the front limiter in the handle. Experts use the term "cross". The task of the guard is to prevent the hand from slipping onto the cutting part of the knife. Previously, the crosspiece was an element of the hilt and was used as a protection of the hand from oncoming blows. Guards are equipped with knives with mounted handles. The cross in the design is a separate part from the entire handle. Since it is too problematic to adapt a guard in lamellar cutting products, many knifemakers had to abandon this idea.
- Tilnik. This is the name of the back of the knife, with which the blade is removed from the cut. Butt pads are available in products with both mounted and overhead handles. In the first case, the back is a separate part, in the second it is just the back of the knife handle, which is also called the butt. Among Russian hunters, the backs are more often calledheads.
- Forging, or clip. This element is located between the handle, the cross and the back. It is presented in the form of a narrow damping and wrapping gasket. It is used as an annular enclosing fuse, the task of which is to prevent the handle from splitting from impact or drying out. Also, the binding can be a decorative element of the knife.
- Rivets. Used to mount shank trims in blade type handles. Rivets are made mainly of aluminum.
About balisongs
This is the name of cutting products, which are known among consumers as "butterflies". The Philippine Islands are considered the birthplace of blades. At the end of World War II, American soldiers began to import balisongs into the United States. Due to their simple and reliable design, butterflies have gained great popularity among bandits. Opening the knife is quick and easy even with one hand.
Using such a product is convenient for both right-handed and left-handed people. The structure of the butterfly knife includes:
- Blade.
- Handle consisting of two halves.
- Special latch.
- Two pins.
- Two axle joints.
Two parts of the handle are equipped with special grooves in which the blade is folded. In some models, the shanks are equipped with protrusions that act as limiters.
About folding knives
Classic buildingfolding knife allows you to hide the blade in the plane of the handle. There are also models equipped with an axis of rotation of the blade perpendicular to the plane. According to experts, such folders look much more impressive than classic ones, but are less reliable.
Mostly in folding knives, the blade in the open position will be in line with the handle. The fixation of the blade is provided by special structural elements - locks. In the very first folds, the latch was in the form of a special protrusion on the butt. The design of the knife was similar to a dangerous razor. Today, several types of locks have been developed. Only three are considered the most common of them: back up (the butt of the knife is equipped with a lock), liner lock (a lock in the form of a strip) and axis lock (a fold with an axial lock).
About structural elements
Most folding knives are equipped with a serrated blade. Translated from English, serrated means "jagged". Blades may contain sawtooth and wavy serrated sharpening. Often folding knives have one-sided asymmetrical sharpening. This element is also called "semi-serrated" because it occupies only part of the cutting edge.
Folding knives also have fullers. Both natural and artificial materials are used as overlays. Handles, or dies, folding knives can be made of wood, bone, horn, metal and plastic. Despite the reliability of the latches used in the folders, in order to prevent unplanned folding, the structure was equipped with special fuses.
In knives with a lock onon the butt, a place for a fuse - the cutout area of the locking lever, with a linear type lock - the front of the handle.
Knives are equipped with bronze, brass, nylon or fluoroplastic washers, the task of which is to prevent friction between the handle and the blade. By means of bushings and spacers, the dies are separated from each other. This creates a place for the blade.
The knife is opened by pressing the fin or flipper. According to experts, folders must be equipped with a steel spring clip, which is also called a clip. With it, the knife is attached to the trouser belt or to the pocket.
About blades for tourists
In the manufacture of tourist and special sports knives, the design of folding and hunting non-folding cutting products is used. Also, the base can be a survival knife. However, in tourist blades, other technical characteristics are applicable to reduce their combat properties.
In the structure of tourist knives there is a blade, a handle with sub-finger recesses, a limiter. In some models, there may be an additional blade and some other technical device on the back of the handle.
About the structure of the Yakut knife
This cutting product consists of a base, for the manufacture of which soft iron is used, and a hard part - it is also a knife blade. Blade sizes can vary from 80mm to 170mm.
These knives, according to experts,are considered economic. For applying chopping and poking blows, the Yakuts developed special combat ones, up to 600 mm long. The blades of Yakut knives are asymmetrical, with a straight and even butt and a very sharp cutting edge. On the right side of the head, they are equipped with a fuller that can stretch along the entire blade.
Some models have small grooves, which are also called yos. These recesses are already in the butt part, and expand towards the nose of the knife. Due to the presence of a fuller, the procedure for sharpening and editing is facilitated. In addition, the fuller blade is much thinner and sharper.
Sakha knife handles
Birch burl is used in the manufacture of handles of Yakut blades. This naturally very strong wood is additionally impregnated with oils. To prevent the handle from turning over in the hand during operation, the handle is shaped like an egg.
