Do you know the parts of a knife? CIMO Cutlery will teach you!

Junior Dorigatti 18 de May de 2023

Você sabe quais são as partes de uma faca? A Cutelaria CIMO te ensina!

With knives, there's much more than just the blade and the handle – although these are the two areas most familiar to the general public. Do you want to have more expertise when analyzing, buying, and using your favorite pieces? To do this, knowing what each part of a knife is called and how it is constructed is essential.

In today's post, we will show you in a didactic way how to identify and name every detail of the utensil, in addition to commenting a little on its functions. Stay with us, prepare your pen and paper to take notes, and increase your knifemaking knowledge!

Getting to know the parts of the knife

So that you can absorb everything in a very didactic way, we will deal with the parts of a knife. For this, we will divide them into two sections: parts of the blade and parts of the handle.

Before starting, we remind you that there is no general consensus on the nomenclatures we will use here. These names can vary greatly between countries or even between regions – so don't be surprised to find specialists using very different names.

The important thing is to focus on the practical aspects, those that affect the knife's functioning and can even make you able to differentiate very similar models. Ready? Check it out:

Parts of the blade

Intuitively, you already know this part: it is the metallic portion used for cutting or piercing. The curious thing is that, in this region, even the most subtle changes can completely transform the piece. See:

Spine:

The area of the blade opposite the edge. This is the most structural and most relevant region for the piece's resistance, providing strength against twisting and impacts. It may or may not have special details such as serrations, very common in camping and fishing knives.

Grind:

This is the part of the knife that defines the blade's geometry. It starts at the spine and goes to the edge, tapering more and more towards the sharpening area. To help you understand better, think of the meaning of the name. It comes from the verb "desbastar", which means "to clean by removing excess". This is the area of the blade that has been sanded so that the edge could exist. As you have already seen in CIM O products, there are several types of grind.

Tip:

The unmistakable part responsible for piercing. There are infinite types of tips, and some examples are the clip point, drop point, and spear point. By the way, a complete post just on grind types and tips would be interesting, wouldn't it? Tell us in the comments!

Edge:

This is the "sharpenable" part, the main region responsible for cutting. It extends from the ricasso to the tip. It can exist on both sides or only on one side of the blade. Want to know how to sharpen your knife? We have a complete post: "How to sharpen your knife? Practical tips and suggestions"!

False edge:

Some knives and pocket knives have a false edge on the spine. Its function is merely to intensify the penetration potential, without actually cutting. In the case of daggers, however, there are edges on both sides – and the spine is then called a central ridge.

Fuller:

This is a concavity found on the spine of heavier knives. Its function is to reduce the weight of the blade by removing material from the region. It can also increase resistance.

Ricasso:

The initial part of the blade, visible just after the handle. It does not undergo any type of grinding or cutting and offers much more resistance to the piece as a whole.

Parts of the handle

We've reached the part of the knife where we hold it. It should be comfortable and ergonomic, so that you can handle the piece safely. See how important each part of the handle is:

Tang:

This is the connection between the blade and the handle. It can be described as the region of the blade that extends to support the handle materials. Again, there are several types of tangs, and the most common are the full tang (where the tang occupies the entire length of the handle), partial tang (the tang is shorter than the handle), and extended tang (the tang goes beyond the handle, showing a little at the back of the knife).

Guard:

This region has a self-explanatory name, and its function is to protect the hand of the person who is holding the knife, so that it does not slip and get cut by the blade.

Pommel:

The widest part at the end of the handle. Its function is to give the handle a more ergonomic and secure shape, as well as to protect the hand of the user. It can also provide a counterbalance to the knife and be a great aesthetic addition.

Pins or rivets:

These are the metal rods that attach the handle to the tang. They can be solid or hollow. Hollow pins, in fact, can be used to insert paracord or a lanyard.

We hope you enjoyed this great lesson in cutlery anatomy! For more posts like this, be sure to follow our blog. We have new articles every week, without fail.

And of course, we couldn't help but invite you to follow our page on Instagram, which is already an incredible meeting point for the cutlery community. On our profile, we post store news, tips, and photos. Stop by!

Until next time, knifemakers!