Why Spearpoint?

[gardenvalley]

 This recent thread on what tools Victorinox could or should add to a SAK (http://forum.multitool.org/index.php?topic=49695.0)
showed quite a lot of support for the inclusion of blades other than the traditional spearpoint, such as sheepsfoot or hawkbill.
Given that blades like the spearpoint, clip and drop are meant for piercing and thus more suited to locking/fixed blades, why is the spearpoint so popular on a folder like the SAK?.
 I recently acquired an Electrician and really like the small sheepsfoot and intend to get both a Harvester and Pruner because of their hawkbill blade which I would use before the bigger spearpoint. Most people use their SAK for cutting/slicing rather than piercing which a sheepsfoot can do equally well, so, why spearpoint?

[NutSAK]

I find that the spearpoint is a much better slicer than a sheepsfoot on a knife that does not have an offset handle.  The belly and upswept tip keep the tip from grinding straight into the cutting surface as the handle is raised during the slicing motion. 

This is hard to explain...  If you slice with a SAK on a cutting surface, your knuckles will hit the cutting surface before the blade cuts completely through, requiring you to rotate the tip of the knife downward to finish the cut.  If you were to do that with a blade that is not upswept at the tip (such as a sheepsfoot), you would be wearing down the tip of the blade.

Does that make sense?

To me, the spearpoint is the perfect blade profile for all-around use.  It's a great slicer, decent at piercing, and has a stronger, more well-supported tip than a clip blade, especially if the blade is thin.

[styx]

A simple reason would be that it's a jack of all trades. Won't do most things as the absolute best but it will do 'em all fairly well.
as a side note, I'm a fan of the older Wenger clip point knives as I personally prefer 'em

[Zed]

I guess allso you have more chance snapping the tip off a clip point blade than a spear point ,

[Fattsgalore]

Spear point???
Wouldn't both front edge and back need to be symmetrical? (like arrows and spears, old school bayonets. lends it's self to piercing)
Mind you that's my opinion, if Vic calls it a spear point... I'm still calling it a drop point. That's not a spear point. Not the proper geometry.
 
I would how ever like to see more belly on the Vic blades, similar to Wenger blades.

[JAfromMn]

Spear point???
Wouldn't both front edge and back need to be symmetrical? (like arrows and spears, old school bayonets. lends it's self to piercing)
Mind you that's my opinion, if Vic calls it a spear point... I'm still calling it a drop point. That's not a spear point. Not the proper geometry.
 

I agree with Fattsgalore 100%

[ColoSwiss]

On a spear point the spine forms a curve that meets the edge at or slightly below the centerline. The drop point is a modified spear point where the spine meets the edge somewhere above the centerline.

(adapted from "The Working Folding Knife",by Steven Dick.)

The spear point has been widely used on pocket knives for centuries. The drop point is apparently a fairly modern design first used on fixed blade hunting knives.

[Fattsgalore]

On a spear point the spine forms a curve that meets the edge at or slightly below the centerline. The drop point is a modified spear point where the spine meets the edge somewhere above the centerline.

(adapted from "The Working Folding Knife",by Steven Dick.)

The spear point has been widely used on pocket knives for centuries. The drop point is apparently a fairly modern design first used on fixed blade hunting knives.

I don't want to argue...butt I'm gonna.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade
A drop point blade has a convex curve of the back towards the point. It handles much like the clip-point, though with a stronger point less suitable for piercing. Swiss army pocket knives often have drop-points on their larger blades.

A spear point blade is a symmetrically-shaped blade with a point aligned with the centerline of the blade's long axis. True spear-point blades are double-edged with a central spine, like a dagger or spear head. The spear point is one of the stronger blade point designs in terms of penetration stress, and is found on many thrusting knives such as the dagger. The term spear point is occasionally and confusingly used to describe small single-edged blades without a central spine, such as that of the pen knife

So yes, but actually no.

"A spear point blade is a symmetrically-shaped blade with a point aligned with the centerline of the blade's long axis." Multiple sources, all sources (lets be honest Wiki is not the end all of sources it was just best described their) agreed on this one point at least. Vic blades don't fit the bill.

May also have to do with marketing as well. I think anyway. Maybe another manufacture called it something else.

[ColoSwiss]

"The term spear point is occasionally and confusingly used to describe small single-edged blades without a central spine, such as that of the pen knife"

Not occasionally. Almost always for pocket knives. Check out any old catalogs. Start with the Remington above. They were making the knives and they called that blade pattern a spear.

Below is an old Wolstenholm catalog page, and a Western catalog page. Both call that pattern a spear. If you don't want to agree with the makers that's your business. I'll continue to call that pattern a spear blade.

[ColoSwiss]

Some more catalogs; an old Schrade; and an old 1930s Winchester with a half-dozen spear-bladed knives.

[nate j]

I have to agree with Karl that the style of the main SAK blade is correctly called a spear.  The convex spine and edge with point being essentially in line with the center line of the blade make it so.  See also http://www.agrussell.com/Knife-Encylopedia/a/134/

Getting back to the original question of why SAK main blades are spear points, the spear point is (with the possible exception of the clip point) probably the most popular and useful shape for a pocket knife main/general utility blade, and has been for a couple hundred years.  Both of these shapes feature a bit of belly while still maintaining a usable point.  The trade-off between the spear and clip is that the more acute point of the clip, while arguably an advantage for fine detail work, puts a smaller cross-sectional area of steel directly behind the point, thus making the clip (all other things being equal) more prone to breakage than the spear.  Considering the original SAK was developed for use by soldiers in the field, the more rugged spear point seems the obvious main blade choice.

[Fattsgalore]

I actually looked at some newer catalogs and to this very day some manufactures will still use "spear point" to describe a blade similar in shape to drop points.
Case knives in fact uses the term spear point and not drop point.
But...big butt; they have no modern designs. Their 2013 catalog could mirror their 1913 catalog. 

With that said the term "drop point" seems to be the successor to "spear point".

Many modern manufacturers will offer the same knife design with either a drop point or spear point (or clip point, etc)
But drop point being drop point and spear point being what I describe as symmetrical tipped blade.

Are those manufacture's wrong???

Look at modern catalogs, with modern knives.
Times and terminology change, the old becomes antiquated.
Heck the term pen knife doesn't even mean what it use to. Now it's just used to describe a small blade, not a knife for sharpening a quill.

I guess it's an old school versus new school thing. Feel like we should be having a break dance fight. A little dance off!

Like the wiki passage says it's confusing.
Lets never speak of this again.
This was fun colo. Gave me something to do for the last few hours.

No more post on my part.
Sorry for derailing things Garden. Won't happen again.

[ColoSwiss]

Most names for blade patterns and knife patterns go back a century or more. Some, such as Barlow and Wharncliffe, date back to the seventeen-hundreds.

If you're interested, see if you can pick up a copy of "Levine's Guide to Knives and Their Values", by Bernard Levin. The book contains a tremendous amount of information. Try and get the fourth edition; later editions were heavily revised without Levine's input or consent.

Steve Dick's book, mentioned above, is also excellent. Dick was editor of one of the knife magazines at one time.

[gardenvalley]

@ NutSak: Yes, that makes sense, thanks.

@ Fattsgalore: Derail? Nah, it`s all good

@ ColoSwiss: great info as usual.

I`ve had a closer look at the construction of a Pioneer and noticed that the profile of the main blade fits very neatly with the spacer between the awl and caplifter. If the main blade was a sheepsfoot it would have to be shorter or the entire knife would have to be longer.
It looks like the spearpoint-type is the best compromise between cutting efficiency, strength and best use of space and so it appears that I have answered my own question

[styx]

Derailing things here is what's called MTO happened. So no harm no foul

[dks]

Whatever it used to be, if you ask a knife person what is a spear point blade they just say "like a Swiss Army knife blade" It is a reference point and a good compromise.

An e.g. hawkbill blade will be more useful for many people than they realise.
It excels  at cutting plants, gutting birds, opening parcels/clamshells, has a point. It is not good for stubbing and not the easiest to sharpen.

[Wilfried]

I'm perfectly happy with the spearpoint or whatever the experts around here would like to call it.

I fail to see any substantial downsides to it.

I'm only giving my opinion for what it's worth, however...   

[Cupboard]

I like it too. The only one I like more is the Modified Sheepsfoot on the Benchmade Triage but I don't like that enough to want to spend that sort of money on one.

Tough, non-threatening with enough of a point to be useful but not enough of a point to be dangerous. Good belly for slicing. Perfect

[Sazabi]

I just liked the catalog pages of the various blades... 

[enki_ck]

I just liked the catalog pages of the various blades... 

So did I.

[splico]

I just liked the catalog pages of the various blades... 

So did I.

+1 

[Jothra]

I like the appearance of the clip point on my Wenger Soft Touch, but because of the cutaway on the front top of the blade, the nail nick is closer to the pivot, which makes it a little harder to flip open one-handed.