Drop Point

“Drop point” is a specific and very common shape of blade. In fact, you could say it’s probably the most common shape in western blades.

The name drop point stems from the fact that the point of the blade is lower than most of the spine of the blade. If you follow the spine you could say, it “drops” down. Thus the last part of the blade close to the tip makes a convex curve. There are other blade shapes that are hard to distinguish from a drop point blade. Like spear point or leaf shape. Many people even use “drop point” as an umbrella term for these other shapes.

There are several plausible reasons why this shape got so popular. It does have almost the same edge length like a blade with a straight spine which make for a decent length of cuts. Compared to a straight spine blade it usually has a tougher tip which still has better penetration characteristics. You could say it penetrates better but is still harder to break. Also the tip is closer to the center line of the blade. This helps with penetration and weight distribution or balance, too.

Don’t just think of combat knives when talking about penetration characteristics. Many crafts and tasks you need a knife for include stabbing into something, at least initially. Think of wood carving or opening fruit with a hard shell.

Another reason why drop point knives are very popular might be that we are already used to them and they often are seen as aesthetically appealing. Regardless of the benefits in penetration characteristics drop point blade are often seen as “normal” and therefore are less often associated with weapons but with tools.

As you could guess from what was said above, a drop point blade is always a good choice if you are searching for an all purpose knife. Perfect for EDC.