Hello everyone!  Welcome back to another entry in the blacksmith blog!

Today’s Topic: Knife Points!

Knives are one of my favorite things in the world.  I have collected them for my entire life and own dozens upon dozens.  Of all the knives I own and all the ones I have made, I have a few favorite styles that I enjoy making time and time again that i could talk about for days!  For now however, I'll give a brief description of the main types of knives tips out there. This will not include swords because that is a whole post of its own.  Also just a reminder that slicing and chopping rely on the grind more that the profile of a blade; however some blade styles lend themselves more to one than the other.

The first knife I would like to cover is the tanto.  The tanto is a simple very simple blade to forge. It is a simple straight blade with, like most knife designs, a unique tip.  The tip of a tanto doesn’t curve, but cuts up at a sharp forty-five ish degree angle.  This shape is very simple to forge as it is the basis of most other knife tips when forging.  These blades are great combat knives and have a very strong tip; however, because they lack a belly, they are not good at slicing under most circumstances.

Next there's the clip point.  Clip points are often used on bowie knives and hunting knives.  They have a point that drops and then either goes straight to or curves to a point in the middle.  These are called straight clip and curved clip respectively.  Clip points are my personal favorite types of knives as they have a good profile for slicing and stabbing.  If a clip point is poorly made i.e. poor heat treat, to long, or to drastic, then the tip has a very high chance of bending or breaking.  So overall this could be a very good knife that will perform well in most day to day activities if properly made.

Finally there is the drop point. This is a blade that as a straight spine for around ½ - ¾ of the way up the blade, after that it begins to drop down and comes to a point in the middle of the blade.  These blades make great multipurpose knives and can perform most tasks to an acceptable degree.  They can slice well, chop well and stab well.  Overall these knives are a jack of all trades and will suit anyone just fine.

This was just a quick overview of the three knife points that I have found to be most prevalent and there are many more out there each with its own advantages and disadvantages. If this topic has interested you, then I encourage you to look into the different types and share your findings with me! I always love hearing from people and I would enjoy seeing what everyone has to say!  As always please leave any questions or suggestions you may have for me in the comment section below and may your forges keep burning long into the night.