What I like about blades that feature a recurved section.

What I like about blades that feature a recurved section.

Custom Knife "Jungle Fighter" Sleipner steel LEG XIIII Designs

FKMD Grand Trapper/Trapper2 New (unfortunately a bit of  collector's item now as it has been discontinued) from Fox Knives, the Grand Trapper is for those who want a different "front end" to that of the TRAPPER but still want the versatility of the recurved portion of the blade. The handles are identical and the blade is longer but slightly thinner and is a capable field knife.

FKMD Combat Survival Knife serrated "mini" recurves, to be found on all serrated blades but this model is actually "recurved" in the region of the serrations adding even more cutting ability to this blade.

FKMD FX-132 TRAPPER one of my favorite go to knives as it's just right for me. Not too heavy not too light not too long and comfortable to hold and use all day.

FKMD PARUS-relatively new from Fox Knives, I see this model, the PARUS becoming very popular amongst those who realize the cutting potential and functionality of such a blade design. Yes, one can say, well we are simply reinventing the wheel here as simple drop points work fine but they fall down in the area of cutting many objects which are simply "Not Static". More on this later.

What do all of the above knives have in common? Well they all feature as part of the general blade design, a "recurved" portion of the blade, nearest the hilt. Oh I fogot my trusty Extrema ratio Dobermann IV,

When it was new LOL! Looks rather grubby now! The Dobermann IV featuring a long slightly recurved main blade.

The overly large Cudeman chopper known as the Boina Verde, also featuring a recurved blade section.

This is not ( the recurved section) something new in blade designs and can be seen (in recent times) in simple farm tools such as sickles etc and other farming cutting implements, along with knives dating back as far as Roman times with the SICA, a type of large knife/sword where the entire blade was of recurve shape. 

The recurved section is perfectly designed for cutting loose or fibrous material, which by the action of this curved region tends to : A) Gather the material as the blade passes along it
B) Increases the surface area/edge area in contact with rounded objects-hence the rationale behind serrated blades for cutting meat and items like bread, where a straight flat bladed knife only makes a mess of things. Industrial meat cutters often feature serrated blade designs.

Let's examine in detail the FKMD PARUS FX-9CM06. This knife is manufactured  towards the "Survival-Type" knife market but is this just some funky gimmick or mall Ninja-type blade? 

The handle is the same as many of their military style and or military knives, ie knives intended for the military market. Simple one piece, chemical resistant, heat (within reason) resistant-if it starts to melt you will be getting burnt too!- Comfortable with or without gloves.  As small negative regarding the handle, FKMD insist on this strange butt end with a machined type pommel which is not only abrasive (the angles are acute on the inside edges) towards cordage if tied through this hole, but can prevent the user from placing their palm into the end of the handle for this type of use. My guess is that it is a simple tooling operation and one which they don't want to change and or their tang design is such that a different butt end would result in less strength. Anyway, this is a small gripe, which for most of my techniques with knives, doesn't affect my usage.
Ok, so can we say the PARUS fits my definition of a survival knife?

It is simple in design; one piece grip, two fixing bolts, stainless steel and 7 inches in length. Versatile carry options, ie horizontal or vertical on on a pack etc. My original sheath didn't last long at all as the blade quickly cut the stitching due to a poor scabbard design where no spacing material was inserted between the two halves of the scabbard.

The distribution of weight in this knife design is very good. As one produces a swinging motion there is little tendency for the knife to want to leave your hand. This is not simply due to the handle design. Absolutely not. In order to effect a good swinging motion the weight must be distributed properly otherwise forces are generated which tend to cause a levering action in the gripped handle. The more the levering action, the higher the probability for an uncomfortable and approaching hazardous motion. For example, the handle of the Cudeman BV shown above actually widens at the butt tend and the curvature makes this knife not that easy to hold whilst swinging. You maybe asking, well knives aren't meant to be swung, that's the job of hatchets and axes. Yes, however large knives, if they can not be swung properly then there is simply no need to make such large knives if all they are doing is cutting. A large cutting blade need not have such bulky design. The problem is "bulkiness" has taken on somewhat of a fashion to mean "sturdy and well-constructed" and "survival". This is rubbish of course and perpetrated and perpetuated by the social media people who actually (I'll take upon any challenge here) have little if zero outdoor experience- and I'm not talking about hacking branches of trees in you parents backyard either!). A useful knife doesn't need to weight a tonne to be good, nor be as thick as an axe head.

EXTREMA RATIO TASK J A KNIFE YOU CAN CALL A SURVIVAL KNIFE

EXTREMA RATIO TASK J a KNIFE you can call a SURVIVAL KNIFE!

Everything about the design of the TASK J spells survival knife. Super tough construction, super comfortable, full tapering tang, great sharp piercing point, swedge and a thick spine where you need it. Lashing points in the guard if you need them, lanyard hole, almost indestructible Forprene grip, comes with a bonus huge fire steel, super safe and versatile carry system. I know it's a commando issued knife but I figure commando's are supposed to hard as and they should be using hard as tools, the TASK J fits the bill. Yes, I'm raving on about this knife again for the nth time. Why?? Well every time I use this knife, I'm thinking WOW, great design!