A-2
An excellent air hardening tool steel used by handmade knife makers and now used by specialty makers like Blackjack as well. First maker I know of using it was Harry Morseth in the early 1930s. Performs best at about 60-61 Rc (see hardness). For many years my favorite as well as Ron Lake's. It contains about 1% Carbon, 1% Molybdenum, and 5% Chromium.

African Blackwood
An African Rosewood, also called Mozambique Ebony, it is a rich black with dark brown graining. Used to make fine clarinets, this is one of the very best woods for knife handles.

Alligator Clip
A clip often used on the back of ID badges, it is sometimes used for fastening small knives to the clothing.

Alumina Ceramic
A ceramic material largely made up of Alumina, very abrasive, it is extruded into rods to make up sharpening tools like A. G. Russell's Ceramic Sharpener. First used in this fashion by Crock Stick® inventor Louis Graves.

Amber
Fossilized pitch from pre-historic evergreens, much used in jewelry; now used by some makers of handmade knives; best known of these is D'Alton Holder.

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Arkansas Stone
Discovered by Europeans about 1816, these deposits had already been a source of tools for thousands of years. Until the development of modern Alumina, the Arkansas stones were the undisputed leader in knife sharpening. The black hard will still put on a polished edge that can be obtained no other way by hand. The Washita and Soft Arkansas have largely been replaced by ceramic.

Arkansas Toothpick
Early name for Bowie knives, as the first was believed to have been made in Arkansas and the natives of that state were thought to be so tough that they picked their teeth with knives of that size. After the movie, The Iron Mistress, about 1955, it began to mean a large dagger with a needle pointed blade, very unrealistic. Some modern Arkansas makers apply the name to more sensible sized knives.

Arm Knife
Small knives carried near the shoulder on the left arm by many tribe of the Sudanese. Double edge blade about six inches long

Assegai
Portuguese word for spear, often applied to the Zulu stabbing spear. The word was never used by the natives.

ATS-34
A high-carbon, high-alloy, stainless steel, a Japanese copy of 154-CM, preferred because it is vacuum melted, and 154 is not. Carbon 1.05%, Manganese 0.4%, Chromium 14.0%, Molybdenum 4.0%.

AUS6A
Another Japanese stainless, fits between 420 and 440A. Carbon 0.55 - 0.65%, Manganese 1.0%, Chromium 13.0 -14.5%, Nickel 0.49%, Vandium 0.1 - 0.25%.

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AUS8A
Widely used by top Specialty knife makers like A. G. Russell, Spyderco, etc. The addition of vanadium fits this steel between 440A and ATS-34 in performance. Carbon 0.7 - 0.8%, Manganese 1.0%, Chromium 13.0 - 14.5%, Nickel 0.5%, Vandium 0.1 - 0.25%, Molybdenum 0.1 - 0.3%.

Awl
A very old tool, the old fashioned leather punch is a form of awl. The awl is sort of a hand held drill.

Baldric
A shoulder belt or sling for carrying a sword.

Ballistic Cloth
A heavy nylon type material used for gun cases and knife pouch.

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Barlow
A design that is not less than 150 years old. This was an inexpensive knife usually made with iron bolster and liners, always a one or two blade jackknife with longer than normal bolsters; today barlow knives are usually made in keeping with each firms standard quality and are much sought after by collectors.

Barong
The combined tool and weapon of the Moros of the southern Philippines. The Barong has a leaf shaped blade of about 15 inches by three inches wide that curves to the point and to the handle on both the edge and the back.

Basket Hilt
A sword hilt that entirely covers the hand with connecting bars from guard to pommel, best known of these is the Scot's Broadsword, less well known is the Venetian Schiavonia.

Bayonet
A knife or sword or spike intended to be fastened to the end of the barrel of a rifle or musket. The first bayonets were called plug bayonets because the handle was plugged into the barrel. Bayonets were very important when the firearm was single shot, much less important with fully automatic weapons.
The earliest bayonet was the so-called Plug Bayonet which was a large dagger with a small pommel that "Plugged into the barrel of the musket changing it into a spike.


Bearded Ax
An axe with the lower part of the edge hanging below the principle part of the head as does a goose wing ax. Many of the northern Germanic peoples used axes of this type both for felling trees and for fighting.

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BenchMark Knives®
Company formed to make designs by Blackie Collins about 1976; was owned by Gerber for several years but is now back in the hands of the original owner.

BlackJack Knives®
At one time, probably the largest of all specialty knife makers and the only one that specialized in fixed blade knives rather than folders. Began like the others with knives imported from Japan but built large factory in IL and produced all their knives in the US. BlackJack went out of business in 1997.

Black Oxide
A coating put on military knife blades to kill all reflection.

Black Pearl
The correct term is "Black Lip Mother of Pearl". This is very rare and probably the most expensive of all mother of pearls.

Bladesmith
One who forges a blade to shape.

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Blood Groove
. The term is "Fuller"; this is a groove that lightens and stiffens.

Bolo
The word is Spanish but has come to mean a large jungle knife used in the Philippines.

Bolsters
The metal material at the blade end of knife handle; today these are usually of nickel silver or a mild stainless steel. In older less expensive knives they were often made of iron or mild steel.

Bowie, James
The man who made the Bowie knife famous, The knife was actually designed by his brother Rezin.

Bowie Blade
There is no single historical shape, but today it is thought to be a blade shaped very much like the Buck 110 blade.

Bowie Knife
A large knife with a blade that might range from 6 inches to 14 inches; the original had a blade that was probably 9 inches long with a sturdy guard projecting from both the top and bottom of the knife between blade and handle. Invented by Rezin Bowie and made famous by his brother James, who died at the Alamo.

Buck®
A company started by Al Buck whose father had taught him to make knives. Al started in his garage and in the 1960s incorporated and began to make production knives. These are really nice people who make good quality knives. The knives of a special 425 stainless have developed a reputation for being difficult to sharpen, if you sharpen them on ceramic or diamonds you will never have any problem.

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Butt Cap
A metal, stag or plastic fixture at the pommel (the end away from the blade) end of a knife handle.

Camillus Cutlery®
Established about 1875 and in the 1890s and early in the 20th Century made most of the really great knives now sought after by collectors. (Knives like the OVB and others). Today they are probably making the Remington knives. Good knives generally much under rated.

Canoe
A pocket knife with the handle ends curve up and make a canoe.

Caper
A knife designed to do the delicate work of skinning around the eyes and lips of trophy animals; this work is called caping because you are removing the cape of the animal.

Caps
The metal reinforcement at the non-blade end of a folding knife handle.

Carbon
The mineral that transforms iron into steel. High-carbon steel results when .5 percent or more carbon is present. Only a bare .8+ can be absorbed by the iron, the balance in extremely high carbon steel goes to add hardness. Expressed as C.

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Case Knife
An old time term much used by hunters until the 1940s now almost never used in the old meaning of a large folding knife or a fixed blade with a sheath. Today it would only be used to mean a knife made by the W. R. Case & Sons Company.

Case, W. R. & Sons
Once the most widely distributed of all American made pocket knives. Has passed through several hands in the past 20 years and is now making a comeback in the hands of the Zippo Lighter family. Look for real improvement.

Cattlemans knife
a knife with a clip or spear master blade, a spey blade and a leather punch. Made with many handle shapes.


Centofante, Frank
Outstanding folding knife maker and for almost 10 years President of the Knifemakers Guild.

Ceramic
See Alumina Ceramic, and Zirconia

Chipped Flint
The first knives were probably broken pieces of flint or some other form or chert (jasper, agate, novaculite, quartz or other stone with a conchoidal fracture) exposing sharp edges. Many people are knapping flint in the old ways and some are fastening these blades into stag or wood handles.

Chitel
The smaller of the two Indian and SE Asian deer that furnish antler for the knife industry; these are all shed horn harvested in the jungle by natives.

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Choil
The cut away area in front of the guard of some fixed blade knives, it may be large enough to fit a finger or very tiny cut out area - a choil is a negative it is an area that is not there.

Chromium
Produces hardness and better edge holding when combined with other alloying materials. Used in fairly large amounts, it produces a blade that resists rust. Takes over 12% to produce high-carbon stainless steels. Expressed as Cr.

Cinquedea
A 15th Century Italian dagger, very wide at the hilt; usually used as a left hand dagger. Name means five fingers wide.

Claymore
The two handed sword of the Scots.

Clip Point Blade
A blade on which the back line breaks and slants downward to produce a finer and more useful point.

Collins, Blackie
Founder of the Blade magazine and the most prolific inventor in today's knife world.

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Congress Pattern
An old pen and pocket knife shape, made with two or four blades, generally a pen blade and a larger sheepfoot blade or two of each. The ends are lower than the center of the back of the handle.

CPM440V
With 2.15 Carbon, 0.40 Manganese, 17.0 Chromium, 5.50 Vanadium and 0.4% Molybdenum this is a steel that would be impressive but when you know that it is a Powder Metal steel with the resulting extreme purity, you know that it has to be a great knife steel. Very expensive and not at all easy to work.

Cryogenic Quench
A modern addition to heat treating tool steels. After the normal heat treat the steel is lowered in temperature very low. Before it became widely available with heat-treating firms many makers were using liquid nitrogen and doing it at home.

Cutlery Steel
Any steel with enough alloying materials that enable it to make good knives; for wide acceptance today that means it must also be stainless. To make good knife blades it must be able to take and hold an edge. Can range from 1070 or 420 to CPM440V.

Cutlass
A curved blade sword sharp on one edge with a strong cover for the hand used on naval vessels in the 18th and 19th Centuries.

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D'Holder, Alton
An important maker of hand made knives, served almost 20 years as an officer of the Guild; first maker to use amber in knife handles, has taught many others to make knives.

Dagger
A double edged sheath knife intended for stabbing.

Damascus Steel
There is more misinformation about Damascus steel than about any other subject in the knife world. Bill Moran, the man credited with the reintroduction of Damascus said that if a knife was going to be used then the blade needed a center core of tool steel between two outer layers of Damascus. This statement applies to "layered Damascus" not to what may have been the original Damascus, that is Wootz which is believed to have originated in India. Wootz has been brought back by Al Pendray. Layered damascus, that is layers of different steels welded together, was made in Scandinavia, Japan, India, Toledo, Solingen and maybe even in Damascus. Today it is made in all parts of the world for handmade knives, swords and even for production knives. Quality ranges from poor to wonderful.

Desert Ironwood
Native to the Sonoran desert (northern Mexico and southern New Mexico) it is a very dense tight grained wood, takes a very high polish, tends to darken with use and age.

Diamond Cross Section Blade
Most often found in a stiletto or rapier blade.

Dirk
A dagger, the Scottish Dirk is single edged and is a descendent of the Kidney Dagger and was basically used as a left hand dagger while fighting with the broadsword.

Dozier, R. L. (Bob)
Prominent Knife maker, Sheath maker (Kydex®) and the manufacturer of the worlds very best belt grinder for knife makers.

Drop Forged
Also called closed die forging, the form of the finished item is built into the die, the steel is heated and the hammer forms the plastic steel into the recesses of the die.

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Drop Point
A blade design made popular in handmade hunting knives by Bob Loveless beginning about 1969, used earlier by Randall and others.

Eared Dagger
Originating in Venice from Oriental predecessors the Eared Dagger was distinguished by two round plates set an angle to each other at the pommel.

False Edge
A sharpened area on the back of the point of some large knives, see Swedge .

Ferrara, Andrea
A maker of extremely fine sword blades from the middle of the 16th Century his work was so celebrated that he was counterfeited in his own time and after. Many of his blades and copies were used in the basket hilted broadswords of Scotland.

Fiber Glass (in plastic handles)
Many  thermoplastic materials are improved by adding chopped glass fibers often as much as 40% of a product may be glass. Adds great strength.

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Flat Ground
The surface of the blade is flat from or near the back of the blade to the beginning of the sharpening bevel. Most production pocket knives are flat ground; most handmade hunting knives are hollow ground.

Full Tang
A tang which shows all around the handle of the knife between two pieces of handle material.

Full Length Tang
A tang that runs through the hilt, handle and pommel.

Gerber
A Portland OR advertising firm that decided to give their clients Christmas gifts of kitchen knives in the late 1940s. Very shortly that tail began to wag the dog and Gerber Legendary Blades is a huge company.

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German Silver
A alloy of copper, zinc and nickel. also known as Nickel Silver.

Gladius
The short stabbing sword of the Roman Legions. The blade was 18-24 inches long.

Goose Wing Axe
The most beautiful of the Bearded Axes, most often seen as a Northern European axe sharpened one side only for squaring timbers.

Guard
See Hilt.

Hafted
In pocket knife language, to have the handle put on the knife. In general English it means to have put on a handle of a tool, including knives.

Hammer Forged
Self explanatory, a hammer has beaten (forged) hot steel into shape.

Hardness
The measure of hardness for tool steels is most commonly done with a Rockwell tester, see Rockwell. The best hardness for one steel is not always the best for another. Generally, the best knives with steel blades should be hardened to the high 50s or low 60s on the Rockwell C scale. An exception to general hardness rules is for Stelite, (not a steel) will be about 42 on C scale.

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High Alloy
A highly complex alloy rather than a simple one.

High-Carbon
A steel with .5 Carbon or more, the term high carbon steel is often used to mean a non stainless steel; this is not a proper use as all stainless knife steel is also high carbon.

High-Carbon Stainless
Any stainless steel used to make a knife blade must be high carbon to make a decent knife. Any high carbon Stainless steel will stain. It stains less than other steels but it will stain.

High-Speed Steel
Steels designed to machine other steels. These machine tools will hold an edge even when heated red hot by friction. See M2, M4 and T15.

Hilt
To a sword collector hilt encompasses the entire handle and guard; to the modern knife world, hilt and quillion mean the same thing: the guard, single or double, between the handle and the blade. Made of brass, nickel silver or stainless steel, sometimes of damascus steel.

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Hollow Ground
The surface of the blade is concave; if properly ground to a thin edge this is a very effective way of making a knife, is done by grinding the blade on a round surface (face of a wheel) and forming a hollow above the cutting edge and below the top edge of the blade.

Hone
Used as a noun it means a fine stone used to put a finished edge on a knife or razor. Used as a verb it is the action of finishing the edge of a knife.

Honing Oil
A light oil used to keep the surface of a sharpening stone free of steel deposits and debris.

Horn, Jess
A very important maker of hand made folding knives. One of the very first to achieve world wide prominence.

Hunter
A style of sheath knife. Used for hunting, camping and skinning.

Inlays
Objects of metal or other material inlaid into the handles of a knife or it could be the handled material inlaid into an interframe knife.

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Integral Hilt
The hilt and blade are machined or forged from the same piece of metal; the term "full integral" means that the blade, hilt, tang and pommel are all from the same piece of steel.

Interframe®
Ron Lake, another folding knife maker who achieved world prominence about 25 years ago; invented the Interframe® method of inlaying handle material in solid metal handle frames.

Jambiya
The Arab knife, found in every country the Arabs have lived in. Strongly curved blade, double edged with a rib in the middle. Each country has a somewhat different version.

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Japanese Blades
Instead of naming the different blades separately I have decided to list them all here. Jin Tachi, the longest, from about 33 inches. Katana and Tachi 24 to 30 inches. Wakizashi 16 to 20 inches, the Tanto and Aikuchi with lengths of 11 to 16 inches and the Yoroi Toshi having blades of 9-12 inches and the Kwaiken with blades of 3 to 6 inches. A really good understanding of the blades of Japan requires more study than that of all other knives combined. We can only offer the simplest terms.

Jigged Bone
Bone that has had the surface cut to give a textured finish. Originally done to imitate deer antler, then in many different textures just for beauty and to give a better grip.

Kard
Persian knife with straight blade and handle and with no guard, often has an armor piercing point.

Katar
The most common of Hindu India's knives double edge blade ranges from a few inches to sword length. The handle is made up of two bars extending from the back of the blade in line with two or more cross bars that make up the handle at right angle to the blade.

Kevlar®
A material of great strength used to make bullet proof garments and used to reinforce thermoplastic material sometime used in knife handles.

Kevlar® Reinforced Zytel (ST-801)
See Kevlar®.

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Khanjar
Arabic for knife, this is generally used for the Persian version, a double edged dagger with a curved or even double curved blade and a handle pistol grip shaped, often of jade or other stone.

Khyber Knife
The knife of the Afridis and other tribes living in or near the Khyber Pass between Afghanistan and India. With a long straight back that is heavily ribbed on the back and that tapers to a fine point this knife has no guard and the sheath encloses the handle and is worn slid under the sash.

Kidney Dagger
Also called the Ballock Dagger, carried in Northern Europe and England in the 14th and 15th century generally across the back for left hand use. It got it's name from the wooden handle with it's carved guard of two lobes.

Kilij
Like the Persian Shamshir this Turkish Saber is often included in the category Scimetar. The Turkish Kilij generally has the same curved edge intended for the draw cut but the curve stops for the last 8 or 10 inches of the back to the point. None of this class can be used for thrusting.

Kindjal
The knife of the Caucasus, the blade will vary from 3 to 18 inches in length and is almost always straight double edged but some times it is curved double edged. See Qama.

Knife
A tool with a blade and a handle. The blade will have at least one sharp edge. The first blade could have been of bone or stone, the first handle may have been a piece of hide used to protect the hand from sharp edges of chipped or broken stone.

Knife, Boot
A knife small enough to be concealed in a boot, generally considered a defensive knife.

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Knife, Combat
The K-Bar of WWII shows what a combat knife should be; it can open cans of food, it can dig a foxhole or it can be used in hand-to-hand combat.

Knife, Fighting
A knife that is intended for killing sentries, for hand-to-hand fighting and little else.

Knife, Folding
Any knife that allows the blade to be folded into the handle. Pocket knives, Folding hunters etc.

Knife, Gentlemen's
Any knife that is trim and elegant in form. something that could be carried without embarrassment anywhere.

Knife, Hunting
A knife used for skinning and butchering large and small game. Originally a kitchen knife carried into the field, now very special knives are designed every year. Today it usually means a knife with a blade of 3 to 6 inches with a guard between the blade and the handle.

Knife, Pen
Used for trimming the points of quill pens, now a style of knife carried by men who want a very small and unobtrusive knife for dress wear.

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Knife, Pocket
Any knife that can be comfortably carried in a pocket, may have several blades, almost always a folding knife.

Kopis
The forward curved knife or sword of Egypt, carried by Alexander to much of the ancient world.

Kraton®
A man made material resembling rubber that can be molded into knife handles or handle parts to offer better gripping ability.

Kressler, Dietmar
The most prominent of European makers of hand made knives, trained in the U.S. in the early 1970s.

Kris
The knife of the Malay Peninsula, the blade is usually of Damascus with layers of nickel-iron between layers of steel. Offers a unique appearance.

Kukri
The knife of Nepal and the Gurkha troops from that country. This knife is believed to be descended from the Kopis of Alexander's army. Very heavy point and light handle combined with the forward curve make it very effective in combat or the jungle.

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Kydex®
Material used for very strong and convenient sheaths. Must be molded to each individual knife. Best known sheath makers using Kydex® is R. L. Dozier.

Lake, Ron
One of the very first folding knife makers to become well known, see "Interframe".

Laminated Steel
Very hard tool steel core, the outer sides are of softer material that gives great strength. Harry Morseth began the use of this material in the U.S. about 1946. It had been used for centuries in Scandinavia.

Lanyard
Sometimes used to attach a knife to clothing or belt.

Lanyard Hole
A hole usually found at the butt of a knife handle to attach a thong or lanyard

Laser Scrimshaw
Using a laser to mass produce scrimshaw designs on knife handles.

Liner
Thin sheets of metal between the blade and the handle material of folding knives.

Liner-Lock®
Michael Walker modernized the old use of the center liner for locking a blade open. Never successful outside of linemen's knives until Walker developed a knife with easy moving blade and positive lock and a detent to keep the blade closed.

LocTite®
Material used to keep screws from unscrewing.

Lockback
A folding knife that has a lock release at the rear of the back of the handle.

Loveless, R. W.
The Dean of Hunting knife makers. He has made enormous contributions to the hand made knife field; is a great designer of hunting knives. Loveless knives are the most expensive and the most sought after un-adorned hunting knives in the World.

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M-2
High-Speed Steel that works well between 62-66 Rc. First used in American Cutlery in kitchen knives and folders by Gerber Blades in the 1960s and maybe earlier..85 Carbon, .6 Tungsten, 5.0 Molybdenum, 4.0 Chromium, and 2.0 Vanadium.

M-4
A high speed steel, very hard to work but makes a great knife blade that is very difficult to sharpen. Very like M-2 except 1.3 Carbon and 4.0% Vanadium.

Main Blade
The largest blade in a knife with two or more blades.

Main Gauche
Left hand dagger used with a rapier about 17th Century. Very fancy guard around the hand with long quillions.

Malay Archipelago
The thousands of islands found between Indo China and Australia.

Manganese
Expressed as Mn. Increases toughness and hardenability.

Marlinspike
A tool for working with rope. Often attached to the handles of sailors knives.

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Masamune
Japan's greatest swordmaker b. 1265 d.1358.

Matte Finish
A brushed or satin finish, term usually applied to all metal pocket knife handles.

Mediterranean Barlow
A barlow knife with a Mediterranean shape: the blade at the large end of a tapered serpentine handle.

Micarta®
Phenolic resin and layers of cloth or paper; makes very fine knife handles. Westinghouse trademark.

Molybdenum
Is used to increase hardness in tool steels. Expressed as Mo.

Moran, W
Well know bladesmith, made famous by Ken Warner, Bill Moran is one of the founders of the "American Bladesmith Society".

Morseth, Harry
Pioneer knife maker, began selling knives in the 1920s.

Morseth Knives
The firm started by Harry Morseth and continued after 1971 by A. G. Russell. Most famous for use of Laminated Steel and 3 piece stag handles.


Mortise Tang
A method of applying scales to a narrow tang. Used by Marble's and the Swedes in the early part of this Century and by D. E. Henry in handmade knives. Half the thickness of the tang is removed from the inner surface of each scale.

Mother of Pearl
The shell of the pearl oyster from the South Pacific, a popular knife handle material; expensive.

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Muskrat Trapper
A pocket knife usually about 4 inches closed and usually of serpentine shape with a blade at each end, most often both California Clip blades.

Nickel Silver
See German Silver

Novaculite
The Latin name for the stone from which Arkansas Stones are cut. This stone is found in a wide range of density and ranges from very course to very very fine.

O-1
Probably the most popular knife steel of the 20th Century. The first choice of almost all beginning knife makers and still the primary steel for the famous Randall Knives. O-1 is a simple and basic tool steel that can be hardened to well over 60 Rc. With .9% Carbon, 1% Manganese, 5% Chromium and .5% Tungsten. It is a great general purpose tool steel and is very forgiving to the inexperienced knifemaker. This oil-hardening tool steel can be used by both the blacksmith and the stock removal makers.

Obsidian
Volcanic glass: whenever it could be found it was much preferred to the more common forms of chert. Glass was much easier to work and worked cleaner than any of the other materials available to primitives.

Obverse
The front side of a knife, with the point of the knife to the left and the edge down, you are looking at the obverse (front) side of a knife. See Reverse.

Oosic
Walrus, dogs, bears and racoons and probably whales and seals have a bone in their penis, this bone is called an oosic. The walrus oosic is large enough to make into knife handles and is more popular than pretty.

Parang
Malay for Jungle knife, many versions.

Pearl
See Mother of Pearl.

Pen Blade
A very small spear point blade originally meant for trimming quill pen points.

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Pewter
Originally an alloy of tin & lead, now pewter dishes are made lead free.

Pillow Sword
Meant to be by the bedside as the name implies.

Pocket Clip
A clip intended to keep a knife or other tool at the top of the pocket for easy access. Made popular by Sal Glasser of Spyderco.

Pommel
A Middle English word for the butt end of a sword or knife handle.

Poniard
A small dagger with a blade of triangular, round or square cross section cannot cut. Fit only for thrusting or stabbing. Also poingard.

Pouch Sheath
An improved sheath, the handle is half covered; friction holds the hilt and or the handle, keeping the knife safely in the sheath. The pouch sheath will not work with double hilted knives.

Puma Knives
German trademark: these knives were made popular by Kurt Guttman in the years following WWII.

Qama
The Georgian national knife, very like the Kindjals of the Cossacks.

Queen Cutlery
A knifemaking firm. First American firm to make heavy use of stainless steel.

Quillion
A bar between the handle and the blade can be either single or double. See HILT.

Randall Knives
Handmade knives by a small firm founded by W. D. Randall in 1938. Owned and operated since 1976 by Gary Randall, son of founder.

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Randall, W. D.
Inspired by a Scagel knife in the 1930's Bo, (as he was called) was the first really successful maker of hand made knives in this century.

Rapier
A long thin sword meant for thrusting, Early versions were double edged and could cut as well as thrust, later models were only for thrusting. The art of fence developed and the rapier followed, it got longer then shorter. It began with the "Broad Sword" of the 15th Century and ended as the "Small Sword" of the 18th Century and then the Epee of today.

Reverse
See Obverse. This is the opposite side of the knife than the obverse side. Knives are usually marked on the obverse rather than the reverse.

Ricasso
The flat area above and behind the hollow or flat ground area of the blade.

Rockwell Hardness
The C scale which is used for measuring the hardness of tool steels is measured by pressing a diamond a precisely measured distance into the steel. These measurements can be understood throughout the World.

Rondell Dagger
The handle is spool-like with a round disc as hilt and pommel.

Rucarta™
Man made material. that offers attractive appearance, great strength and durability. Phenolic resin and layers of cloth.

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Sabre
A sword with a slightly curved blade, single edge with a short back edge, most often a sword for use mounted.

Sabre Ground
Blades ground half to two thirds from the edge to the back and the top front third of the blade with a strong false edge or swedge.

Sambar
A very large, elk sized deer in India and S.E. Asia; the antler is used for knife handles and is commonly called stag or India stag.

Sandvic 12C27
Tool steel made in Sweden, Swedish steel has always been a premium steel for tools because the iron ore is very clean, that is to say it has very little Sulphur S or Phosphorus P in it. Carbon 0.6%, Manganese 0.35%, Chromium 14.0%.

Satin Finish
A finish that is not mirror polished; the lines from the fine abrasive gives a satin appearance.

Scagel, William
The best known of the early 20th Century knife makers, sold most of his knives through Abecrombie & Fitch and Von Lernke & Antoine. One of his knives inspired W. D. Randall to begin making knives. Scagel knives sell for ever higher prices.

Scale
To knife people the word scale refers to the handle parts on each side of a full tang hunting knife or the parts on the sides of a pocket knife or folder.

Scrimshander
One who performs the art of scrimshaw.

Scrimshaw
Using a needle or knife point to scratch or cut designs on whalebone or ivory. Sailors on whaling ships made it popular in this country and it has been popular with knife people since the mid 1960s.

Seax
The knife or sword of the Saxon peoples.

Seme
The sword of the Masai of East Africa, much wider near the point.

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Serrated
The serrations may vary from saw teeth to wide scallops in the edge; helps in the cutting of seat-belts and plastic rope.

Sgain Dubh
A small single edged knife with no guard that the Scots often carried in the stocking or the armpit.

Shamshir
The sabre of the Persian, the name probably led to the Scimitar we use for all of the deeply curved eastern sabers.

Shashqa
The sword of the Cossacks. straight or slightly curved without a guard.

Sheepfoot Blade
Has a straight edge with the back of the blade falling in a strong curve to the point of the blade.

Silicone
The principle element in the new man made rust preventatives.

Slip Joint
A term that is used for ordinary folding knives that do not lock.

Small Sword
The rapier evolved into the Small Sword and it remained in this form from the end of the 17th century until men no longer wore swords as part of their daily dress. It was still worn as part of diplomatic dress as late as the 1940s.

Spring Steel
Any tool steel that will remain flexible when properly heat treated.

Spacer
Material layered between the handle material and the hilt or guard of the knife. Generally of contrasting color.

Spear Point Blade
The edge and the back of the blade curve to each other and meet in the middle.

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Spey Blade
Blade intended for the castration of livestock. The cutting edge curves up strongly to meet a very minor clip. Most often found in Stock knives or Cattlemans knives.

Spyderco®
A specialty knife company formed by Sal Glasser about 1978, introducing the concept of an easily opened knife clipped to the top of the trouser pocket. His patent on a round hole in a hump on top of the blade has made his company a huge success.

Stag
Deer antler, generally from one of two deer native to India and S.E. Asia; the Sambar and the Chitel.

Stainless Steel
The only stainless that will not rust is used in sinks and hospital fittings. Any stainless that will hold an edge will be subject to humidity, salt and acid fluids. (Stainless means just that when applied to knives, It stains less).

Stiletto
A dagger with a very slim blade intended for thrusting. In recent years the word has been used as a trademark by makers of cheap switchblades or faux switchblade with single edge blades. Calling a cat a dog does not make it a dog.

Stock Knife
Three bladed knife with clip main blade, sheepfoot blade and spay blade.

Sub Hilt
A second hilt behind the index finger on the lower edge of a fighting knife handle; another R. W. Loveless design feature.

Swedge
A bevel grind on the edge of the back of a blade. If it were sharp it would not be a swedge but would be a False Edge.

T15
A "Super High Speed Steel" Not suitable for knives.

Tang
That part of the blade that is either fastened between scales to make the handle or goes through a hole in the handle material. Also the part of a pocket knife blade that is between the handles.

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Tapered Tang
A method of grinding a full tang to taper to the butt of the knife, improving balance as well as appearance. Brought to modern knife making by R. W. Loveless.

Thong Hole
A hole at the butt of a knife handle intended for a wrist thong or lanyard.

Titanium
A material that can be both hard and tough, widely used to armor jet-fighters. About 1/3 lighter than steel it is very useful for knife parts. It will not hold an edge so is not useful as a blade.

Tomahawk
The fighting ax of the American Indian, began as a club with wooden or stone head became a hatchet with the advent of iron heads from the Europeans.

Trapper
A two bladed knife, most commonly with both blades at the same end, the blades often a drop point and a long spey blade. The exception to the blades being at the same end is the Muskrat Trapper which always has a blade at each end.

Tungsten
Used in small quantities in several steels used in handmade knives. Helps to produce a fine, dense grain structure. Expressed as W.

Turkish Clip Blade
A very distinctive blade shape that has a very long clip, even more than a California Clip; also has a curved edge.

Vanadium
Expressed as V. Helps to produce fine grain during heat treat.

Warncliff Blade
A blade with a straight edge and an almost needle like point

Warncliff Handle
A serpentine handle with one end larger than the other, often used in three blade whittler patterns.

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Whetstone
A stone for whetting, or sharpening edged tools.

Whittler
A blade arrangement, large blade at one end and two smaller blades at the other, with the large blade working on both springs.

Yataghan
The most beautiful of all sabers, with it's forward curved blade it would have been as fine to use as to look at. Said to be turkish in origin made with out guard and always with eared pommel.

Zirconia
Material of great hardness, (included in ceramic used in making ceramic blades) and used as grain on grinding belts for grinding knives.

Zytel®
A thermoplastic material used in molding handles for knives, generally containing 25 to 50% chopped fiberglas or kevlar" fiber or carbon fiber.

154-CM
A high-carbon, high-alloy, space-age, stainless steel first used for knives by R. W. Loveless about 1972. At that time it was vacuum melted. Carbon 1.05%, Manganese 0.5%, Chromium 14.0%, Molybdenum 0.4 - 0.55%.

416
A mild stainless, the knife makers choice for bolsters and guards; not suitable for blades but will take just enough hardening to make it suitable for engraving.

420
A stainless spring steel much used in inexpensive production knives from Taiwan. Very useful in tantos and other knives. Also should be outstanding for axe heads. If you use this steel you must have an analysis as it can range in Carbon content from 0.15 to 0.6% the balance is 1.0% Manganese and 12-14% Chromium.

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425
An improved form of 420 that works well with high production tooling; much used by Buck, Gerber, etc. Carbon 0.5-0.7%, Manganese 0.35-0.9%, Chromium 13.5%.

440A
A high-carbon stainless steel with about .7% Carbon, used in most American production knives and in some handmade knives as well; works well through tooling. 0.60 to 0.75% Carbon, 1.0% Manganese, 16.0-18.0% Chromium and 0.75% Molybdenum.

440C
The most popular high-carbon stainless used by custom knifemakers for many years. First used by Gil Hibben about 1966. 0.95 - 1.20% Carbon, 0.40% Manganese, 17.0% Chromium, 0.50% Vandium, 0.50% Molybdenum.