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You don't make several thousand knives in a career without a lot of thought and details. So I've created a series of pictures and drawings to illustrate knife components, parts and anatomy. This will help with conversations, details, and education about common current knife components, and will lead to easier conversations about custom knives, their construction, shapes, features, and details.

I've sprinkled in a few large pictures of some knives I've made with general details and descriptions. Please enjoy my work!

Modern knife makers speak their own language, and if you hang around them enough, you'll pick up the terminology, and  soon be able to distinguish an uneven grind radius from a non-parallel spine flat. It seems every knifemaker has his own terms for his knives, and if you make knives long enough, you'll have to name those components somehow, just so you know what to call them! Most of these terms are pretty well established, but may not correlate with historical norms. For instance, the quillon (or quillion) of a guard is the horizontal bars that extend perpendicular to the axis of a sword or dagger, but nowadays the quillon also refers to the protuberances that stop your fingers from sliding forward onto the knife blade and cutting edge. I'll detail these points as I go along, and I'll also continually add to this page with sword and dagger definitions and details, terms and descriptions common to tactical or combat knives, and maybe even sheath, stand, and case parts, if you're interested!  I go into much greater description and detail in my upcoming book.

Click here to learn more about Izumi

The spine (also sometimes called the back) is the thickest, heaviest length of the blade and supports the entire blade. The wider and thicker the spine, the stronger the blade along its length.

The handle of this full tang knife is framed in by the front and rear bolster. The bolsters do exactly that, they bolster the blade's strength in the critical areas: the handle to blade junction, and the rear or butt of the knife where heavy blows or impact require reinforcement. The bolsters also help to protect and mechanically secure the handle.

The pattern used for illustration here is my Cygnus-Horrocks design.

The front quillon (or quillion) stops the hand from sliding forward on the blade, and in this knife pattern, the hand is locked between the front and rear quillons. The rear quillon also aids in removing the knife from the sheath. The handle belly makes many knives more comfortable to hold. The handle scales rest between the bolsters and should be pinned, riveted, screwed, or mounted with mechanical as well as adhesive means.

The pattern used for illustration here is my Cygnus-Horrocks design.

Click here to learn more about Pherkad

The choil is considered the start of the cutting edge. In days of old, the choil was perpendicular to the edge, and is often still described as the lower part of the ricasso, the part that is unsharpened and at the full thickness of the blade. In the modern knife, it can be carved, fluted, fileworked, and a separate feature of a fine knife. It's purpose is to have a definite location to start the sharpened edge of the knife.

It's interesting to note that for nearly all United States locations, laws state that blade length is not the length of the cutting edge, but the length of the blade from the tip to the front bolster face.

In this drawing you can see why this rear quillon is often called a hawk's bill.

The pattern used for illustration here is my Cygnus-Horrocks design.

Note the shape of the front bolster face. It is curved inward, concave, so that strength and coverage of the bolster to tang junction is increased. Note also the lanyard (or thong) hole is milled through the rear bolster and knife tang for great strength. A short lanyard (length of cord) is often used to assist locating the knife in the dark, or underwater, and to aid in pulling the knife from the sheath. It can also be used as a security measure wrapping around the wrist, or be tied to the belt. 

You can see that the choil is more pronounced, and that a greater measure of security for the forefinger than a quillon is the full finger ring. Preferences vary and opinions differ about the finger ring. Disadvantages: it can trap the hand, it takes longer to thread the finger through, it adds to the width of the stock and weight of the blade. Advantages: unsurpassed security between the knife and hand.

Note the sculpted bolster face, an advanced feature on a custom knife.

Click here to learn more about this Bulldog

This knife has a tanto style blade, very popular in recent years. One of the reasons is that where the "Tanto Blade" arrow points in this drawing is a secondary point, and the hand can bear down on that point by applying pressure on the spine back and apply tremendous pressure in cutting.

Note the forefinger groove that is backed with a canted, deep back. This is to apply pulling pressure when the serrations are ripped through material. I call them "rip teeth" because that is ultimately what they do.

This knife also has a rear hook, or persuader. These protrusions of the rear bolster or butt of the knife are used in tactical knives to "persuade" an enemy or opponent along after capture, and as it is not sharpened, will not usually cause and open wound. It can also be used as a glass breaker, a point to hammer through tempered safety glass in an emergency. Other names used for this device are skull crusher (self-explanatory) and cat-scratcher. The reason for that name is that if the knife is handled frequently, and during tactical practice, the knife user's arms will often be marked with scratches from this protrusion resembling scratches from a cat.

Click here to learn more about this Sabatier and Chef's Set

Knife Blade shape photographs and descriptions

There are thousands of blade shapes, but most fall into several simple categories. Most modern names start with the description of the point. I'll add more details and descriptions, so please check back!

The views, sides, and names of locations on a knife

One would think that detailing the position and view of a knife would be a simple thing, but a number of terms have developed in the English language for areas, locations and views of a knife. Here is a photo set detailing those names and descriptions. The knife I chose for these descriptions is my "Allegre" pattern, a tough working tanto style blade, mirror polished high chromium stainless tool steel, sculpted stainless steel bolsters, and Polvadera Jasper gemstone handle. Open a window and read the testimonial about this great knife below by clicking here.

Obverse Side

Knife Anatomy, sides: This is a view of the Obverse Side. There have been many names developed for this side of the knife, and in my book, I detail where those terms came from. It is an interesting history, with ties to other metalworking trades and industry. This is the most commonly viewed (or observed) side of the knife nowadays, because it is the side that bears the maker's mark. So, it's also called the Mark Side. When the knife is held in the hand, with the blade pointed away and the edge down (always a good safety practice) this becomes the Left Side. Since it is mostly photographed, it's also the Display Side, and often the Decorative Side. It's also called the Front Side and Die Side. These terms may not be all this side is called, but they are the most common in our industry. This favored positioning is derived, I believe, from the majority of people being right handed, and I go into much more detail in my upcoming book.

Reverse Side

Knife Anatomy, sides: This is a view of the Reverse Side. Just like the Obverse side, there have been many names developed for this side of the knife. This is not the most commonly viewed side of the knife nowadays, because it usually bears no marks or identifiers.  It's also called the Pile Side. I won't tell you here why that is, that is a neat curiosity that I detail in my book. When the knife is held in the hand, with the blade pointed away and the edge down (always a good safety practice) this becomes the Right Side. Since it is the least photographed,   it's also called the Back Side, and also the Undecorated Side.

Spine Profile

Knife Anatomy, sides: This is a view of the Knife Spine, so named since the strength of the blade is derived from it. It's also frequently called the back, but this is an antiquated term that is best avoided, so as not to confuse it with the Back Side of the knife blade (above). In modern knives, this is a very important view to illustrate, as it shows the relative thickness, cross-sectional geometry of the knife blade, the bolster or guard profile, the handle thickness, and the tang geometry. In this photo, it is a full tang knife (a solid piece of steel from tip to tip) and the tang is tapered for weight balance and high quality construction. Note the dovetailed bolsters, for a rigid fit between bolsters and handle material. This view is also important to identify the edgework and filework, which has developed into one of the key indicators of fine quality knives made in modern times. More details on filework on my "Embellishment" page here.

Sheathed View

Knife Anatomy, sides: It's important in modern knives that have accessories (sheaths, stands, and cases) to include a view of those components too, and how they relate to the knife. For a sheathed knife, this view details the relationship in size between the knife and sheath, the position and extension of the protruding handle, and the handle components that will help a knife user extract (or pull) the knife from the sheath. Here you can clearly see that the rear quillon (or hawk's bill) aids in extraction. You can get an idea of how many fingers can be wrapped around the handle for the pull. This knife also has a lanyard hole through the bolster and tang, so by adding a short, stout lanyard, even greater ease of extraction and security can be gained.  I go into greater detail of knife sheaths on my "Sheaths" page here. Also relevant is the "Stands" page.

Knife and Component Definitions

Definitions of knife parts and components  have varied through time, and you may see some commonly copied lists of knife definitions that have been borrowed, cut, and pasted on many internet sites. My list is not one that will be easily adapted for everyone's use (and this site is copyright protected!), but I'll do my best to define some standard knife terms from the viewpoint of a current professional knife maker, and stay away from vague generalities you'll see all over the rest of the Internet. Some of the terms listed above are not included here, as they are already defined in the above text.

I've started adding folding knife terms, so please be patient, and check back.

back

This term  is best avoided altogether. It used to mean the spine of the knife, but as you can see in the above text, it can also refer to the reverse side of the knife. In the past, the term back could refer to the flat edge of the knife that is not the edge, but because it is such a vague term, it's best not used, unless you're referring to the knife sheath, which almost always has a pronounced front side and back side.

This is the deeply convex-curved part of the knife blade, often seen on skinning knives, where a large sweeping arc is necessary to separate the skin, fat, and fascia from the body without presenting a sharp point that could pierce through into the internal organs, possibly contaminating the meat or ruining a hide. A large sweeping belly on the knife blade may be seen on any type of knife, including survival and even combat knives. In a tactical combat knife, the arc is advantageous in the same way that the sweep of a cavalry sword changes the angle of attack, leading to a slashing cut rather than a chopping or cleaving cut. I talk more about this geometry in my upcoming book. In other definitions here on the Internet, I've seen it stated that the blade belly contains serrations, but I've never seen a knife made this way and it is a poor idea, unless you are creating a saw. Even then, it's a ridiculous notion, because the human hand and arm utilize a back and forth linear sawing motion while using serrations, so having the serrations in a convex curve is not ergonomically viable. Typical internet hyperbole and misinformation. I've also seen it stated that the more curved the belly of the blade, the less sharp the point can be.... what? The point and the belly are different parts of the blade, if you want a more curved belly, and also a sharp point, the knife becomes a trailing point, with absolutely the sharpest point of any knife! It really depends on how the knife blade is profiled and shaped. 

The belly of the handle is the part that swells outward from the centerline of the handle, and creates a stronger profile that allows the forefinger and the smaller fingers to have a deeper placement on the handle, improving grip strength. This is due to the human hand physiology. When you make a comfortable fist, the musculature tends to push the middle fingers of the hand outward away from the palm, so this shape in the knife or tool handle is often more comfortable than a straight handle. But it is more expensive to machine and create on a knife, so you don't often see handle belly well-executed on factory or mass-produced knives.

This is another general term that is best avoided. This term is often used by factories to describe their grind, such as "flat bevel" or "hollow ground bevel," or "taper bevel." The truth is, anything can be beveled on a knife, from the grind, to the tang, to the handle, to the sheath thickness. In modern times, there are much more descriptive and accurate terms. Quite simply, a bevel is defined as the slant of a surface or line. It is also defined as the tool used to mark, measure of indicate a bevel. So, a bevel can help create a bevel- You can see how confusing, vague, and non-specific this term is. Try not to use it, unless you're talking about that specific angle, such as "the bevel of a bolster dovetail."

A general description of the rear of the handle of any knife, sword, or dagger. You might read here on the internet that it refers to Bowie knives only, or that it's also the pommel, and both of these definitions are  incorrect. Every knife handle has a butt, but the term is just the general location. On the butt, you might have a rear bolster, a skull crusher, a pommel, or a lanyard ring. A pommel is NOT the butt; it is simply located at the butt of the handle.

On hollow hidden tang knives, this refers to the component that caps (covers, tops, or terminates) the opening. It is not a pommel. It may also be applied and mounted to the butt of a knife handle for strength, for a surface to apply pressure or impact, for a surface to engrave or embellish, or to prevent wear and splitting of the handle material such as wood, horn, or bone.

A very interesting word indeed. The definitive origin is unknown, but there is an interesting similarity of the word to the Nepalese word "cho," that I talk about that on my Khukri page here. There is a lot of misinformation about the choil, but it is simply defined as the area between the cutting edge and the tang. It may be an area that is angled, cut out, milled, or shaped in a decorative or functional way to create a specific point at which sharpening of the edge starts. The cut of a choil may create a finger shaped indentation, but it is NOT an additional finger groove. Anyone putting their finger there would be certain of experiencing a vicious cut if the finger slid foreword only slightly. So this is another one of those wives' tales, started by someone who is not familiar with daily tactical, or practical working knife use and carry. You'll see it posted on internet sites that you put your finger there to "choke up" on the knife grip. If you have to move your finger onto the blade to get a good grip, you've got the wrong knife in your hand for the task. Today, most well made knives have some type of choil cut, so that sharpening on a stone will not create a rough or ragged indentation at the grind termination. Of course, as a knife blade is used up, the choil geometry eventually disappears with repeated sharpenings as the blade shape changes. Read more about that on my "Blades" page here.

It is best to use the words cutting and edge together. If you use the word "edge" alone, it could refer to the edge of the bolster, the edge of the handle scales, or the edge of the filework on the spine. It might refer to the "edge" a maker has over his contemporaries. The cutting edge is the working part of the knife, the very thing that makes it a knife. There are many ways to create the cutting edge, but the cross sectional geometry is the most important aspect, and I go into great detail on my "Blades Page" here.

This is from the Latin word for shield. It may be lozenge, diamond, or shield shaped, where bearings are depicted, marshaled, or displayed. In modern knives, it's a small plate, usually of metal, embedded and/or mounted to the handle, where engraving, etching, or marks of the owner, maker, event, or campaign may be detailed. Due to the size of knife handles, this is usually a very small plate, suited to very limited graphics or text. An escutcheon may also be mounted on a sheath, but on my knives I call it a Flash Plate, as it is ordinarily used to flash military affiliations or connections.

Refers to a grind geometry usually on the spine of the knife near the tip. Not really a good descriptive term; I prefer to use the term "swage" (see below). The reason is that in most well-made modern custom knives, an edge is actually formed at the swage, one that will cut, even though the geometry is thick. The reason for the swage is most often to reduce the point thickness and cross-sectional geometry without removing too much material that would weaken the spine. This is usually done in tactical and combat knives to reduce the combination of point angles for greater penetration force on a smaller surface area at the point. So, "false edge" becomes somewhat of a misnomer, since there actually is a cutting edge, chisel shaped and often sharp. By the way, the first idea every boy has when he receives his first knife with a false edge or swage is to sharpen it! See plenty of swages  through my Tactical, Military, and Combat Knife Portal here.

This is a new term, and you won't find it in any standard dictionary. It refers to the file cuts on the spine of a knife, frequently extending completely around the tang of a full tang knife. Its purpose was probably first to improve grip security and stop a thumb or finger from slipping on a slick, smooth blade spine, but it has evolved into a decorative art form. Good filework can not be imitated by machines (see jimping below), and is a definite indicator of a fine custom or handmade knife. Read more about filework on my Embellishment page here.

Some guys call this a "shoulder cut" but it's best not to use that term. A shoulder is the clearly defined flat where the milled guard rests in a hidden tang knife, dagger, or sword. See "shoulder" below.

A guard is used to do just that, guard against injury, by protecting the hands from opponents. So, the origins of a guard were in sword fighting where parrying daggers and the strikes from opponents could injure the swordsman's hands, disarming him. Here on the Internet, you'll see it mentioned that the purpose of a guard is to protect the hands from the cutting edge. Though this may be a result of a guard, it is the quillon that does so, by keeping the hand from moving foreword on the blade. The term guard in current times usually refers to the entire fitting including large, long or independent protuberances of metal that extend well beyond the hand between the blade and handle. Seems simple enough, but actual guards are usually described on swords, daggers, or hidden tang knives, and the term is rarely used on full tang knives where quillons, often built into the tang and bolster, do the job of hand security. Simply put, a guard is used to guard against an opponent with another edged weapon, not to guard your hand from your own cutting edge.

From the Anglo-Saxon word hilt, or hilte, Old High German helza, or Old Norwegian, hjalt. It simply means the handle of a sword or dagger. A single-edged modern knife does not have a hilt; it has a handle. The term is best relegated to swords and daggers only, not general knives. There are many components to the hilt, including the quillons, grip, pommel, knuckle bows, pas de' ane, and crossguard of a sword, and various other components.

A lanyard is a thong or strap used as an extra measure of security. The lanyard is often mounted through a hole, milled, drilled, forged or carved, usually through the butt of the handle, at the rear bolster, tang, and sometimes pommel. The lanyard may be wrapped around a wrist, around the neck (probably a bad practice), or tied to the body so the knife is secure. I have lots of clients who insist on lanyards onboard ship. A short lanyard may assist in extracting or pulling the knife from the sheath, particularly if the sheath is deep and protective. The use of a lanyard must be carefully considered, because the strap or thong may hang up on machinery, gear, and brush, adding difficulty and frustration (or danger) to carrying the knife in the field. Most of my lanyards extend through the tang, for great strength and security. In wood, horn, bone, and ivory handles, if there is no rear bolster in a full tang knife, the lanyard hole is usually lined with a metal tube, to protect the handle material from splitting, stress, and wear. I use the term "thong tube" and "thong" less frequently these days, as there might be confusion with modern female undergarments... and that is no place for a knife!

Acronym for MARine  distruptive PATtern camouflage, this is a relatively new camo pattern used on military uniforms, pixilated with a blocky look, it's supposed to blend in better with natural backgrounds. Why do I have this term included here? Because in order to match that pattern, I now can acquire marpat standard (woodland) and marpat desert camo pattern kydex to use in my military and combat grade locking sheaths. Just ask!

In the very old days, this term referred to the arms or extensions in a crossguard that protruded farthest from the axis of the sword or dagger. In modern knives, this also refers to the projections that keep the hand from sliding forward onto the cutting edge, or backward off the knife handle. So a modern knife may have a front quillon or quillons, and rear quillon or quillons. The use of this word has been adapted to modern knives probably for lack of a better term to define those protuberances. By the way, the word is properly pronounced: "key-on." I frequently violate pronunciation, in an effort to be a rude westerner... even though it seems the word has evolved from the quill of a bird's feather, so one would think you would pronounce it like that, but the word is French. Does that mean that the French of old wrote with key pens and birds have keys at the base of their feathers? Ah, yes... er... we-we.

This is another term that has changed over the centuries. Originally, the Italians meant for it to describe the part of the blade of a dueling rapier between the cup guard and the quillons, which was also called the heel. Nowadays, we use the term to describe the thick, non-ground portion of the blade between the grinds and the guard or bolsters. In some web-based definitions, it's stated that the ricasso is where the tang stamps are usually located. This may be true in older, historic pieces, but with modern marking methods, a maker's mark or identifier may be located anywhere. See my page on maker's marks here. In modern knives, it's often a good idea to keep the ricasso as small as is possible, because it offers no cutting edge or purpose (other than increasing overall strength), and its length is added to the cutting edge length for legal descriptions of edge length, even though it can't cut! So the length of a knife blade in most states is from the point to the guard or front bolster face, and that includes the ricasso. I guess they figure that's how much of the blade