First of all I know nothing about knives. Now that we have that out the way. This man lives in NM and makes very nice knives. I lost his card and my mind before that. So I don't recall his name. I ask him why do you put the notches in the back of the blades. He told me this was knife art that went back to Toledo, Spain and sword making.
These notches will relive the strain on a blade and keep it from breaking as quick under stress. Take this for what its worth I don't know. Nifeman 45 Cal. Joined Jul 23, Messages Reaction score 0. MikeC said:.
The origins of the so-called Spanish notch go back to the days of the rapier early 's and the use of an off hand knife, which could be a dagger often a main gauche style or the sword catcher, which was a thick, heavily bladed knife with several notches along both edges.
A narrow blade rapier can not only be held, but they can be snapped off short with a sword catcher knife. This style of sword fighting with the rapier in one hand and a knife in the other was widely used in Spain during the sword fighting eras.
What has come to be known as Spanish notches are decorative "relics" of the notches used on the sword catcher blades. All of the above is based on period documentation.
And yes there is lots of folk lore about what they Spanish notch was developed for: It was developed for things such pulling in fish line I reckon those folks have NEVER hand lined a fish - holding a sharp knife while doing such is NOT recommended , splitting sinew that's a new one! As for file work on the back - it was developed originally as a thumb grip and later became decorative.
Joined Jun 29, Messages Reaction score 1. Most of the notches are decorative, but they do hark back to earlier times when people did a lot of fighting - and dueling - with a sword and a knife.
The sword was your primary weapon, and the knife became your secondary weapon used to block and parry your opponent's sword.
Main Gauche or something like that was the term applied to it. When you blocked your opponent's sword and his blade slid down to your knife's guard and those notches, the edge slipped into that notch.
A slight twist or your knife then "grabbed" or "wedged" his blade in that notch, and you could then somewhat control his sword - or even snap the end off of it. And he could do the same to your sword when he blocked it with his knife. Various sword fighting techniques were developed to counter this. But this all goes back to those earlier times. The "style" feature or decoration just carried forward. Instead, the notch gives you a clear sharpening line. You can use the sharpening choil to sharpen a pocket knife all the way to the tang and the bottom of the edge in other knives.
Over time, this issue would cause the blade to wear out unevenly. Both the jimping and choils are good-looking features that make the knife look more professional. Because of that, people often make their own notches on the knife blade for purely decorative purposes. Two clear examples of decorative notches are the Spanish Notch and the Kukri knife notch. Both of these notches have a lot of history and symbolism behind them, and they look great.
One common misconception people have about notches on a blade is that their purpose is to prevent blood from running down to the grip, which would make the handle material slippery. A knife will function properly without a notch, but there are some things to consider. Without notches, the cutting edge of the blade will just end abruptly. Plus, the edge thickens out progressively while the bevel tapers off. Spyderco Knives is a classic example of knife makers that provide knives without a notch.
Other reasons why these notches are useful:. These are the most common:. A Spanish Notch is a circular cut-out located in front of the unsharpened ricasso of the blade. This type of notch is different from choils, and it serves other purposes. Nowadays, the Spanish Notch is more of an artistic feature. You can still see this type of notch on Bowie knives. To effectively use them, you must run the serrated teeth back and forth against the material you want to cut. This motion is similar to a saw, allowing the teeth to remove material and slice through.
You can use the serrated spine of a survival knife for:. If it is small, it acts as a stopping point to protect the handle when sharpening.
In comparison, if it is large, it works as a forward finger grip. Now that you understand why do hunting knives have notches, it is important to always watch out for them when you buy a hunting knife. If you need for any of the notches types, do your research before buying any hunting knife. Press ESC to close. What is the function of a thumb jimping on a hunting knife? Share Article:. Some hunting knives have notches for sharpening, notches to cut cordage and notches for extra grip, while others are simply decorative.
These notches are not essential on a hunting knife but do offer additional convenience for regular tasks such as sharpening fishing or skinning animals. Hunting knives can have notches of various designs and in different locations of the knife. For some of these notches, the purpose is clear, but on other notches, the intended purpose is sometimes not immediately obvious.
We will discuss the different notches on a hunting knife and give their intended purpose, some of which are useful when you are out on a fishing trip. Hunting knives come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and designs, and many knife makers will include some notches on the blade or leave them out completely. As we have already intimated, there are different notches in different locations on a blade, and each of them is for a particular purpose.
We will discuss each notch, its location, and intended function so that you can figure out which notches are appropriate for your needs in a knife and which ones you can happily do without on your knife. On some hunting knives, there is a notch on the sharp edge of the knife where the sharp edge meets the plunge line or the Ricasso of the blade.
The Ricasso of the blade is the flat part of the blade between the handle and the sharp edge. The purpose of the sharpening choil is to provide an endpoint at which the sharpened edge of the knife stops. It is often difficult to sharpen a blade all the way up to the plunge line since it is not always possible to get the sharpening tools all the way up to this point on the blade.
The sharpening choil is, therefore, a notch that is cut into the edge to give the sharpening tools a definite stopping place before the plunge line is reached.
Not all knives have this notch, but if it does have a choil, it makes the knife easier to sharpen, especially on a whetstone. Sometimes the notch is large and is termed a finger choil and provides a dual purpose of a place to rest the forefinger and to provide a designated stopping point for the sharp edge.
Thumb jimping is usually a series of grooves or notched on the spine of the blade of the hunting knife. These notches can be further down the blade if they are intended to be purely decorative, but when they are closer to the handle, they have a function. The thumb jimping close to the handle is intended for giving your thumb or forefinger extra grip on the spine of the blade when you are using the knife gripped in this fashion.
0コメント