Knife Terminology

Alloy Steel: an alloy is a material mixture of metal with at least one other element. Alloy steel gains increased hardness and stain-resistance when joined with materials such as carbon, chromium, molybdenum, nickel, and vanadium.

Back aka Spine: on single edged knives, the back or spine is the unsharpened part of the blade opposite the cutting edge. On double edged knives, the back is down the middle of the blade. Knife backs may feature grommets or jimping, which are notches designed to increase control and thumb support.

Belly: the belly is the curving part of the blade edge opposite the back. The belly is used for slicing or skinning rather than penetration. An important design fact about knives is that the larger the belly, the less sharp the knife point.

Bevel: the portion of the blade that slopes from the spine toward the edge and false edge.

Blade: the flat part of the knife that forms its cutting edge. The "business end" of the knife.

Butt aka pommel: the end of the handle portion of a knife. Traditionally, sword and knife butts were heavy and rounded or pointed and served to counterweight the blade, prevent hand slippage, secure the tang, or act as a tertiary weapon. Modern knife butts are either decorative or feature a lanyard hole or compass. Tactical knives often have removable pommels for storing items in the handle.

Butt Cap: the cap that is fitted over or removable from the pommel.

Carbon: carbon is the element that transforms iron into steel. A steel blade with a high carbon content gains in hardness and the ability to retain a sharp edge, but is more vulnerable to corrosion and staining and is thus a higher maintenance knife. A knife blade with more chromium than carbon will be stainless, but also loses performance.

Choil: the part of the knife where the handle and blade meet. Choils are left unsharpened, aka full thickness, but quality knives sometimes feature a groove or indentation for gripping with the index finger. The choil on pocket knives is cut out to separate the edge from the tang.

Crink: a blade-protecting feature in quality multi-blade pocket knives, the crink is a bend at the beginning of the tang that prevents the multiple blades from rubbing against each other.

Ductility: the ability of a knife blade to flex, bend, or contort without snapping or breaking. Brittle knives have low ductility and are poorly suited to tasks such as filleting.

Escutcheon: a small, decorative pin or metal piece attached to the handle of a knife. Escutcheons historically bore chivalric coats of arms, but modern knife escutcheons feature decorative engravings or company brands.

Edge: the edge is the sharpened side of the blade. A knife edge may be serrated, and some knives feature two edges rather than one.

False Edge: a false edge is a sharpened area on the spine of some outdoor knives. A false edge can be sharpened, unsharpened, or serrated. If sharpened or serrated, the false edge is typically used for heavy-duty tasks that would damage the finer cutting edge.

Guard: a separate metal piece attached at the juncture of blade and handle to prevent the hand from slipping into the blade while cutting.

Hilt: a Hilt is another word for handle, though it tends to signify the entire lower portion of the knife, including the handle, guard, and butt or pommel.

Hone: is the proper term for the act of sharpening a knife with a sharpening stone aka whetstone.

Kick: a blade-protecting feature on quality pocket knives. The kick is a projection on the open edge of the tang on which the blade rests when in the closed position. The kick keeps the knife edge from striking the spring.

Lanyard aka Thong: a lanyard or thong is a thin piece of leather extending from the knife butt. A lanyard enables a knife owner to hang the knife from his wrist, neck, or belt.

Lanyard Hole: the hole for the lanyard. Okay, it's the hole in the knife handle for attaching a thong, lanyard, rope, or similar carrying device.

Lashing Grommets aka Jimping: notches on the lower portion of the blade spine that provide additional thumb support and cutting control.

Mark Side aka Obverse Side: on pocket knives, the side of the blade that bears the nail mark and company logo.

Nail Mark: a crescent-shaped mark on pocket knife blades that allows for easy blade opening with a fingernail or thumbnail.

Pen Blade aka Pen Knife: the smallest blade of a multi-blade pocket knife, so called because it was traditionally used to sharpen quill writing pens.

Pile Side aka Reverse Side: the side of the blade opposite to the mark side or obverse side.

Pins: the pins are the objects used to attach a knife handle to the tang. Pins are often made from brass.

Pocket Blade aka Master Blade: the largest blade of a multi-blade pocket knife.

Quillion: the portion of the guard that extends beyond the tang. Historically, European swords had quillions projecting on either side of the blade, thus forming a "crossguard."

Ricasso: the flat, unsharpened portion of the knife blade positioned between the guard and bevel.

Rockwell: Rockwell is the name of the machine that conducts a hardness test on knife blades. Knife hardness is measured on a C scale indicated by the abbreviation Rc. Most quality knife blades measure between Rc 56 and Rc 61. The Rockwell machine obtains this rating by pressing a small piece of diamond into the blade surface.

Scales: a knife construction term for the handle pieces that are attached to cover the tang.

Scrimshaw: the term scrimshaw referred originally to the practice of 19th century sailors who made elaborate carvings from the bones and teeth of captured whales. Scrimshaw now refers generally to the art of decorative knife handle etching.

Serrated: a serrated knife blade features notched teeth that are used for heavy duty cutting.

Tang: is the part of the knife blade that extends into the handle. The strongest knives are fixed blade knives with a full tang that extends down the entire handle to the pommel. Half tang knives are cheaper and more likely to break under stress.

Tang Stamp: an imprinted mark on the ricasso that bears the style number, collector's number, and manufacturer's name for that knife.