Without doubt the knife must rate as one of mankind’s most versatile implements. In its most basic form, the knife is a low tech, utilitarian tool. At its most sophisticated a precision instrument reflecting a form and function akin to a piece of art. Be it in the home or the workplace, the field or the factory, from the farm to the suburbs and both commercially and recreationally, there are few spheres of human endeavour which do not embrace the knife as a tool of the trade.
More pertinently, the knife is an essential part of every hunter’s kit. Regardless of whether it’s a ‘universal’ camp knife capable of performing a range of tasks in a variety of circumstances, a more specialised blade designed for a specific usage, or one of a stable of knives taken in hand as required; every outdoors person can appreciate the need for and the value of a well-designed and keen-edged blade.
Anatomy of a blade
As with all things manmade, there exists an established and widely accepted technical lexicon to describe the components/characteristics of a particular tool, with the knife no exception. The blade is comprised of several clearly recognisable features which provide the basis for the identified form, dedicated purpose and practical performance of a knife. These
