Types of knives according to their shapes and purpose

  Today, the types of knives are so diverse that there are more than 200 of them. And each type, accordingly, also has subspecies. I would like to say that there are a lot of them today, and to describe all types of knives will take much more time and space than this one article. But we will try to talk about the most important uses of this unique item, the history of which begins with the "stone age". 

The history of the appearance and use of knives 

  The very history of the appearance of various types of knives begins with the Neanderthals. In the Stone Age, knives were made simply by taking large pieces of stone and breaking them into pieces. Silicon or obsidian blocks were best suited for this "knife making procedure". Due to their structure, they were split into plates and the most suitable ones were used as blades. But they were fragile, such a stone was rarely found and could not be sharpened. But if it successfully split, the cutting edge was very sharp. 

  During the Bronze Age, people learned to extract metal and blades of bronze and copper began to appear. At that time, iron was also known, but its extraction and processing was much more difficult and expensive. For this reason, the blades were made of copper and bronze. With the beginning of the Iron Age, blacksmithing began to develop. This age is considered the bloodiest and this, of course, is related to the development of knife making. All over the world and all countries learned to make such products, various types of knives appeared. 

  Knives were used quite widely: from kitchen utensils to the most brutal murder weapon. But in reality, millions and billions of people use them every day for peaceful purposes. To prepare a simple breakfast, cutting bread, cheese or sausage, you will definitely need a knife. 

Classification of knives by purpose 

  Each knife is unique in its own way. And in order to distinguish one product from another, a special classification of knives was introduced. The variety of knives is so great that if you don't organize their purpose, it will just be confusing. There are five main classifications of knives. You must understand that grouping them by purpose refers to the area in which the knife is used. The fact is that if you take a kitchen knife, it will have more than a dozen subspecies. 

Combat knives 

  Knives need to be very strong to perform their tasks. In the movies shown on the TV screen, we often see how the guards are "eliminated" with a combat knife. His main task is to hit the enemy in close combat. As a rule, such knives are made with a fixed blade. They have specific differences:

oval handle;

total length from 22 to 32 cm;

one and a half or two-sided sharpening;

easy removal from the case;

dark coating the blade to eliminate glare in the dark. 

  Yes, indeed, such knives can more accurately hit the enemy in battle, but practice shows that actually 6 knives are much more often used for other tasks. With the help of a tactical knife, you can remove any obstacles to the installation of a shooting site, cut tree branches and other obstacles. You can also use it for digging. 

Knives for tourism 

  Hiking is partly an extreme activity. Unforeseen situations may occur, an attack by wild animals or you yourself will go hunting for food. The knife must be a real universal "assistant". Tourist knives must have many features to solve any situation. They can cut tree branches, ropes and other things. To open any canned goods, the sharpening angle of the tip of the blade must not be sharp.
The handle must be made massive and durable to be used as a pickaxe. The blade must be wide to withstand such loads. It is better to choose a stainless steel knife. It is better if it is soft, such features will make it easier for you to sharpen your knife on a hike. 

Knives for hunters 

  It must be remembered that this may become the last chance of survival if there is a fight with a wild animal. Such cases are rare, but no one can be sure that they will not happen. Hunting knives are a fairly broad product group. They find their application in the respective hunting. However, such a knife can also be used at home, to cut carcasses or slaughter animals. And of course, a hunting knife must have the right features:

the handle is made only of wood;
adequate protection;
the blade is 10-15 cm long, the hardness should deinitely be at least 58 HRC.

In addition, the knife should fit comfortably in the hand, and the handle may have anatomical features. Not everyone can skillfully handle such a hunting weapon. Knives with a handle made of bone or animal horn are common among real hunters, and they are also often covered with various decorative pictures and inscriptions.

Kitchen knives 

  Kitchen knives are used to prepare food, the names of which come from the functions they perform. They can be found in any kitchen. There is no need to keep a set of 10-15 knives in the kitchen. Three different types of knives will be enough to fulfill all the main objectives. But they must be made of good steel and sufficiently sharpened. This is what these "three heroes" should look like:

The most important thing is the chef's knife, the length of the blade must be at least 20 cm, and the total length of the knife is about 25-30 cm. Its main purpose is to cut and butcher meat, but it can also be used to cut vegetables and fruits.

Another helper with which you can easily peel vegetables and fruits, and with the tip of the blade, you can quickly remove small flaws in the fruit. It should not be long and wide, but with a sharp end.

It is also important to have a bread knife. With this tool, it is quite easy to cut bread, the slices will be thin and the bread will not crumble.

This, one might say, is the minimum set of a housewife in the kitchen. In fact, you can now find sets of 6 or even 10 different tools. Such sets will already contain special knives for cutting cheese, pizza, butter, fruit or fillet, etc. The handles of such products are usually made of plastic, but there are also completely metal ones. Tip for housewives: glass cutting boards are very popular now. However, be aware that any blade on them will snap off quickly. Use a wooden or plastic board.

Recently, ceramic knives have also become quite popular, the advantage of which is, of course, long-lasting sharpness, but the disadvantage is fragility and they break easily. You won't be able to sharpen it at home. Common kitchen knives are made of carbon steel. They are quite durable, and sharpening at home will not be a problem. 

Special knife 

  There are quite a lot of their varieties. Special blades include products for narrowly specialized activities. For example: for handicrafts, bending, gardening, surgical applications, construction tools with interchangeable blades, shoemaking, diving, etc. 

Breakdown by production types 

  The type of construction of the knife itself plays an important role in the performance of the knife. With a very long history, knives have gradually evolved and acquired some distinctive features related to the construction itself. There are three main design features of knives today. Each of them is divided into smaller subtypes:

The most reliable design is fixed blades. They are considered the oldest knives and are the most widely used today.

Folding knives are also quite common, especially in tourist activities. The knife is very convenient to carry, takes up little space, but there are some minor flaws. If you press it hard, the blade may bend. Nothing lasts forever and the mechanism holding the blade loose.

Another type of knife design features a detachable blade. This category basically covers construction tools. In fact, the blade is separated from the handle and temporarily attached. As soon as they fail or become loose, the blade is removed and thrown away. 

Knife handles 

  The second most important element of a knife is the handle. The handle is attached to the blade in two ways. The first of them, called mounted, the handle is placed on the shaft of the blade with an internal hole. And the second method is called plate - when the handle consists of two plates and they are attached to the body on both sides, forming a handle. Both sides are fixed either with metal rings or rivets. 

Basic materials for the production of knife handles 

  The simplest version of the handle is a simple rope wrap. This option is suitable for knives made entirely of metal or tactical options. The main options are made of plastic, wood, horn or bone. For large-scale production, as a rule, plastic and wood are used. There is also a type of gum called kraton. Another unique material is fiberglass, which has high dielectric properties, moisture resistance and non-flammability, attracting many people.
And from more precious materials, such as horn or bone, at the request of the customer, craftsmen make one-piece handles. They are often decorated with carvings or jewels and precious metals. Quite often these are real works of art. In summary, it can be said that the handles are made of quite a lot of materials, according to everyone's taste.