Have you ever noticed what makes a knife unique? For those you don’t know, it’s the knife’s tips or points. The point of the knife is important when determining its effectiveness. So, if you are a neophyte asking for a recommendation for choosing a clip point vs drop point knife, there is actually nothing best when it comes to knives.
All those who use this equipment know the value of the point in a knife. It’s actually quite interesting to know how the tip of a knife impacts its effectiveness. You will realize that a butcher may need a different point on his knife than an installer. In addition to this, even the quality of steel matters a lot.
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Defining a Clip Point Knife
A clip point knife is quite famous these days. The back edge is straight when you hold it from the handle and it ends somewhere in the middle of the knife. Then, it goes on to the tip of the blade. The ‘cut-out’ area is either straight or curved and known as the ‘clip’. The clip point is prominently used as pocket knives. In addition to this, it is also famous as Bowie knives.
A clip point knife is stemming from the days of the Jim Bowie, Alamo, who made the blade design popular. This is the second best choice after drop point knife for most people.
When choosing a clip point vs drop point knife, you need to consider the pros and cons of each type.
1. Pros of a Clip Knife
There are three major advantages of clip knives.
They are very sharp yet controllable
Large cutting edge for slicing
Great for piercing
2. Cons of a Clip Knife
Fortunately, there is only one disadvantage of using a clip knife.
Narrow and weak point
Defining a Drop Point Knife
A drop point is another great all-purpose knife and is the most famous for its shape in today’s era. The back of the knife looks straight when holding from handle to the point and it has a slow curve as well. This blade is popular as a hunting knife because it has a controllable point and big slicing area.
1. Pros of a Drop Point Knife
The knife has two exclusive advantages.
A strong point that is sharp and controllable
Large cutting edge
2. Cons of the Drop Point
Drop point knife has two disadvantages that you will notice:
Less sharp point
Not very suitable for piercing
Clip Point Vs Drop Point Knife: Key Differences
Deciding one knife among the clip point vs drop point needs a good amount of research. However, there are a few primary differences between the two exclusive blades.
Have a look!
1. Shape of the Knife
A drop point knife has a perfect shape that handles various butchering tasks, including skinning, cutting and carving. On the other hand, a clip knife is not strong enough to handle all these tasks.
2. Versatility
The drop point blade is usually thicker, especially at the tip when compared to a clip point. This makes the knife more versatile tool for game-care tasks, such as prying and disjointing.
3. Slicing
The clip blade has a bigger edge area, which allows long and graceful cuts. On the other hand, drop point knife is not much popular for slicing.
4. Precision
A user can extend the index finger along the back of the blade by using the concave clip for a scalpel-style grip. The fingertip also has a depth stop. Therefore, clip point knife has a great precision than drop point knife.
5. Aesthetics
Most hunters go for the aesthetic design available in the traditional style knife – clip point knife over any other knife.
6. Balance
A drop point knife has a balanced design that is comfortable for various grip configurations. With a well-designed drop point knife, you get several index points. This is not possible for a clip point blade.
If you have to select one among clip point vs drop point knife for your survival trips, you need to choose according to your need. However, drop point is extremely famous among people, yet the selection absolutely depends on your requirement. In this blog, you get a better understanding of the two famous blade type and their pros and cons.
Now, you know that the design of a knife makes it superior to the others.
Things to Consider When Buying a Knife
Before buying a knife, you must consider the following things:
1. Reliability
A knife associated with the outdoor should be reliable, sturdy, and a tough piece of equipment. In case you are looking for the best survival knife, a small pocket knife will work fine. Either knife must have supreme quality steel and sturdy handle.
2. Easy to Carry
A knife that is not convenient to carry stays behind in the race. So, make sure whatever knife you carry is handy to pack.
View Comments (1)
Very interesting! But is there a knife that does both? So for being in the outdoors, I would choose a drop point. My Swiss Army knife has a drop point. But I don't hunt.......so if I need to cut a rope, open a box, etc. It says that both the drop and clip point knives both have a large cutting edge. However, it says the clip point has a large cutting edge for slicing. Can't you slice with a drop point? Then it says in the pros and cons about the drop point: strong point that is SHARP and controllable, but it also says a less sharp point. Well it's less sharp then the clip knife.
My mother had a silver set when I was a kid (she still has it), and it came with this long skinny iron rod with a handle. She told me it was a knife sharpener. As I learned, it was a "knife iron". This is not used for sharpening knives. It's used to stand-up the blade. If you sharpen a knife all the time, you'll wear away the blade.
I recently lost my Swiss Army knife.....oh well! I had it so long! When my girlfriend got boxes in the mail, I'd open them with my knife. That's what I only used it for. It just stayed in my pocket or in a drawer. But you won't believe this, nobody does. My girlfriend bought me (from a catalog) a hunting knife. It's made from Damascus steel. I love it. Beautiful. Right now though it's in it's box in a drawer at my girlfriend's apartment. When will I ever use it? When I got it. I explained to her how to properly use a knife so as not to get hurt. It was made in Pakastan. Well I thought it was a very cheap knife. As I learned, it's a very good knife. I explained that both carbon and Damascus steel make the knives very strong and sharp, even sharper then the best stainless steel. But for cutting and chopping in the kitchen, you don't need anything fancy. Stainless steel won't rust. But carbon and Damascus......well that's another story. You need to wash the blade and completely dry it after use or they will rust. Well back to the knife my girlfriend got me. I have to sent it back. Why? As it says on the box: This product contains led that is known to the state of Calafornia that can cause health problems. Wash hand after use. The handle is rapped in leather, but I think the end part (I think it's called the pommel) or he had guard (whatever this is called) contains led.
As we all know, a knife is a tool. So why do some kitchen knives look so dangerous?