Edge-U-Cation® - WHARNCLIFFE HISTORY
For many astute knife users, the Wharncliffe-style blade represents the ultimate synthesis of pocketknife form and function. Its deceptively simple profile, perfectly straight cutting edge, and acute point make it incredibly versatile and adaptable to a wide variety of tasks. Like the straight-edged utility knives used by tradesmen, it cuts with impressive power and delivers that power all the way to the tip. Like a scalpel or X-Acto® knife, it also offers splinter-picking precision and control when working with the point.
While Wharncliffe knives have become increasingly popular in recent years, they are by no means new. In fact, the original design dates back to the early 1800s and one of the world’s original cutlery manufacturing centers, Sheffield, England. According to the book British Manufacturing Industries, Second Edition, published in London in 1878, “During the seventeenth century, nearly the whole of the cutlery that was made for the use of the English people was of the plainest possible description.” It later states, “The trade may be said to have entered upon its new era about 1820, when the celebrated ‘Wharncliffe knife’ was invented. As the story goes, the first Lord Wharncliffe and his relative Archdeacon Corbett were sipping their wine one day after dinner, when the conversation turned upon cutlery, and the little invention shown in the manufacture of spring knives. Not wishing to criticize where they could not improve, they laid their heads together, and with the assistance of a practical man succeeded in producing a new pattern knife. It was handed to the Messrs. Rodgers, who adopted it, and introduced to the world the ‘Wharncliffe knife,’ upon the basis of which the greater part of the spring-knife cutlery, intended for the home market, is now made.”
The “first Lord Wharncliffe” cited here is Colonel James Archibald Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 1st Baron Wharncliffe (October 6, 1776 – December 19, 1845), a British soldier and politician who lived northwest of Sheffield in the village of Wortley. “Messrs. Rodgers” referred to the prestigious firm of Joseph Rodgers & Sons, which was founded in Sheffield in 1724 and was widely respected as “Cutlers to Her Majesty.” Also, lest there be any misunderstanding, the term “spring-knife” refers to the spring-backed slipjoint knives of the era, not to any form of switchblade or automatic knife. We know this, as the same book actually references them a few pages later, using the term “fly knife.”
While British Manufacturing Industries cites “about 1820” as the birth date of the Wharncliffe knife, the Colonel did not actually assume the title of “Lord Wharncliffe” until 1826. As such, the design of the knife could not have occurred any earlier than that. As far as production of the pattern, cutlery historians generally acknowledge that Wharncliffe-pattern knives were produced in Sheffield during the mid and late-1800s. Their defining feature was a straight-edged blade with a thick, downward curving spine. This style of blade also migrated to America and was incorporated into factory-made pocketknives on this side of the Atlantic—though not necessarily with attribution to its namesake.
As blade patterns evolved and specific, task-driven profiles emerged, the lines also began to blur between the Wharncliffe and other straight-edged styles like the sheepfoot, coping, and lambfoot. Some pocketknife styles, like the swayback pattern and some whittler designs, also showcased Wharncliffe-style blades without ever mentioning them by name. Nevertheless, the functionality and versatility of the classic blade shape was there—even if Lord Wharncliffe didn’t get to share in the credit.
In the modern cutlery world, the scope of what might be considered a Wharncliffe blade has broadened even further. In addition to the original expression and its thick, curved spine, blades with straight or faceted spines and leaner geometry have also been categorized under the Wharncliffe umbrella. While some might debate the exact classification of a particular blade, ultimately, terminology is less important than functionality. If it’s got a perfectly straight edge and the spine meets that edge at an acute angle, it’s arguably a Wharncliffe. It’s also the heart of a highly capable, extremely versatile cutting tool.