guards on knives ?

[Robbi]

i seem to be moving away from the accepted "woody" shape / scandi like the ones below

to knives with guards on them like these,

not sure why really but they do feel slightly "safer" in the hand, without the possibility of slipping forward and cutting fingers etc.

any one else think like this ?

 

[rmbriar]

Held a few with guards before, I can relate to the safe feeling thing, I think they're more comfortable in general too

 

[Samon]

I do mate, I love the mild finger guard! the woody knives (and clones) just look like small kitchen knives to me. I'd go for a guarded classic any day

the first guarded blade looks sweet btw!

I don't like using the common 'bushcraft' knives and a new one in the hand makes me feel a bit unsafe compared.

Do you think it has something to do with our 'anti knife' time? the guard may make a knife look like a weapon?

 

[Robbi]

the first one is a lovely little bird and trout, very thin blade and oh so swet to use

you may have something there with the "weapon" perception, may be they look like more of a stabbing tool. I'm just finding that i'm moving towards the guard style more and more ( can't wait to get the little Ka-Bar 2225 )

 

[Samon]

Shame really, guarded knives look and feel better than these modern 'bushcraft knives'.

the puukko knives IMO look unsafe and ugly..(http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:15&biw=1024&bih=551) but I know they are good desings and are popular..but they aren't for me.

 

[Xunil]

Current trends notwithstanding, you'd have to go a long way to better a Loveless semi-skinned or drop point hunter as a working knife.

Guards - I like them

 

[Robbi]

spot on Xunil, there's 2 loveless styles above for you

 

[Robbi]

here's a better piccy of the Loveless style B&T

even my Mora has a guard

 

[satosato]

I too leaning towards the finger guard on my knives, safety is number one for me.

 

[Robbi]

three more guarded knives for you

 

[Retired Member southey]

Though I light the look of those knives, I can't get on with guards, find they get in the way if I'm holding the base of the blade, probably more of a psych thing than a real issue, but it still puts me of them.

 

[John Fenna]

I am not a fan of big guards on knives - I find they just get in the way too much!
Also - I was always taught "If you need a guard you are using the knife wrong" ...how often do you stab with a utility (as oposed to combat) knife ...so when is your hand going to slide down the handle and onto the blade?
For almost ever use I have for a knife a guard is just in the way and stops you using many grips for carving and general cutting!

 

[santaman2000]

I cain't think of any time I've ever used a fixed blade without a guard unless it was a filleting knife. Not in an outdoor context anyway. I suspect that's just due to my perception of what an outdoor knife is rather than any real, practical reason though.

 

[Xunil]

I think guards have their place in the right context.

I am not a fan of the double lugged guards commonly seen on military knives but a smaller single forefinger guard can look nice and work well, particularly if your hands are cold and wet/bloody. You don't have to be stabbing to slip.

I guess sometimes you can combine the aesthetics with the practicalities

 

[Sparrowhawk]

I find a small tooth-like guard such as found on the Woodlore and equivalents is more that sufficient to prevent my fingers from slipping forward. It also allows me to know which way the knife is facing if I have to find it in the dark or in my rucksack. Anything bigger just gets in the way when I want to choke up on the blade. I agree with the Fen Meister, if you find you need a guard to feel safe then try altering your style of working, as the chances are you're using it in an unsafe manner anyway.

 

[Robbi]

it's not so much an unsafe way of working but i use my knives a lot around water, fish prep, light chopping duties, nothing heavy duty at all but when my hands are wet and / or cold or both, i just find that the small guard as seen in the above piccys gives me an extra margin of safety, i can still choke up pretty well just by putting my 2nd finger at the guard instead of the 1st finger.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

I'm petrified of working with wet hands, once had a bad experience like that. I guess if you work on a fishing boat or something then different margins of error have to be considered.

 

[Siberianfury]

i not a fan of large guards, i dont realy like the look or the feel of them, i much prefer either a tooth guard or no guard.

 

[Robbi]

same here matey, i dont like the bigger guards but the smaller ones as seen in most of the above work very well.

 

[Siberianfury]

same here matey, i dont like the bigger guards but the smaller ones as seen in most of the above work very well.

yeah, just enough to stop your finger is ideal. if i where fishing i would want somthing with a guard and high friction grip.