Wharncliffe

English

Etymology

Named for James Archibald Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, Lord of Wharncliffe, the source of the modern design.

Noun

Wharncliffe (plural Wharncliffes)

1. A knife with one straight edge and one rounded spine which tapers gradually to a point.

   Coordinate terms: sheepsfoot, lambsfoot, sheepstoe

   • 1886, Robert Barnes, Lectures on obstetric operations including the treatment of haemorrhage and forming a guide to the management of difficult labour, page 192:

     Failing special instruments, the spine may be divided by strong scissors, or even by a penknife or a Wharncliffe blade.

   • 2012 April 20, Roger Eckstine, Shooter's Bible Guide to Knives: A Complete Guide to Hunting Knives Survival Knives Folding Knives Skinning Knives Sharpeners and More, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:

     The edge of the Wharncliffe is straight and the spine rises and falls in a graceful, round arc producing a small, natural point, so it, too, offers a well-defined point of contact. However, it might not be the first choice for hard use […]

   • 2017 September 14, Joe Kertzman, Knives 2018: The World’s Greatest Knife Book, F+W Media, Inc., →ISBN:

     The author's second-generation Wharncliffe folder design for Spyderco is the Yojimbo 2 (bottom), which also inspired a second-generation fixed blade called the Ronin 2 (top). Original Wharncliffe blades sported full flat-ground edges […]

Alternative forms

• wharncliffe

Further reading

• Popular Science, 1925 September, page 80: “This is called a "Wharncliffe" or "sheep's toe blade.”
• 2021 July 12, Peter Vanezis, Pathology of Sharp Force Trauma, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 13:

  (Public domain) Figure 3.13 A Wharncliffe blade is similar in profile to a sheep's foot but the curve of the back edge starts closer to the handle and is more gradual. Its blade is much thicker than a knife of comparable size.