What do you call the opposite sides of a knife?

[jackknifeh]

What do you call the side of the knife pictured?

I call this the front or left side.

What do you call this side?

I call this side the back or right side.

I base my opinion of what is the front partly on the fact that the shield on traditional pocket knives is always on the side of a handle showing with the knife held in this position. On Spyderco knives the "Spyderco/ bladesteel" is stamped on the side of the blade tang that I'm calling the "front or left" side. The manufacturing location is on the other side of the tang, which I call the "back" of the knife.

I don't remember there being any confusion on this forum about which side is called what. I'm just curious how you guys refer to one side of the knife compared to the other side.

But the GEC pictured above has a blade on the opposite end of the handle. When that blade is open and the knife is held in the same position I would call it the front of the knife even though I am now looking at the side of the knife I called the "back" when the other blade (main blade) is open. What would you call this side of the knife with a blade open which pivots on the opposite end of the handle?

This side of the handle is now on the "front" side of the knife even though I called this side of the handle the "back" when the main blade, which pivots on the other end of the handle is open.

Jack

[defenestrate]

That's a good question, Jack. I could see possibly obverse and reverse as used in describing coins, but I don't know of a specific established term (though I suspect someone here might).

[Stuart Ackerman]

First is MARK side.and the reverse is called PILE side...
Based on folders in Sheffield...

The MARK mark is obvious, because most users are right handed and the knife would be looked at with the blade tip towards the left...and the makers mark was placed on that side of the blade...

The PILE side because that was the side that the folder bits and pieces were placed on jigs as the knife was assembled and peened into place...

[The Mastiff]

I sometimes get tongue tied talking to my dogs vet on the phone and revert to the old "drivers side front, passenger side rear" when describing feet, or joint problems. whatever it takes. Port and starboard works at times too. :)

[The Deacon]

Depends, Jack. The simplest, and most universally acceptable, is to call them left and right, where left is the side that's on the left when you're holding the knife open in your hand with the blade forward and the spine up and right is the opposite side. You can't go wrong with that one, as it works regardless of the knife or the owner's handedness. Right handed people often refer to the left side as the "front" scale, even when both sides are identical, and most of us southpaws have enough self control not to beat them to a bloody pulp for getting that backward. In the case of a Walker and RIL knives, like your Techno, and knives with some other handed locks folks also tend to call the side without the lock the front side and the side with the lock the lock side. That works regardless of handedness, although the front scale of my A.T. Barr One Eyed Jack is not on the same side as the front slab of your Techno, but it falls apart with compression lock knives, where the front side is the lock side.

I'm sure Stuart's "mark and pile" are correct for Sheffield knives, just not sure how many outside the traditional folder world would understand them.

[kbuzbee]

First side is Fred, the other is Ginger

Ken

[Michael Janich]

Obverse and reverse are also commonly used. Obverse would be the typical "show" side of the knife (edge down, point to the left) and reverse would be the other side.

Stay safe,

Mike

[Evil D]

I like "Spyder side" for obvious reasons, and "signature side" as in Sal and Eric's signature/initial stamp side. Of course this doesn't work for non Spydies lol.

[DeathBySnooSnoo]

I have occasionally seen the side in your top picture referred to as the "presentation side". Again the majority of makers and users are right handed and so that is the side of the knife that they generally make look pretty.

[Water Bug]

Guess I'm a bit more practical about these things... the right side of the knife is the right side... the left side of the knife is the left side... the top of the knife is the back or spine... and, the bottom of the knife is the bottom or maybe the belly... rather simple ways when trying to describe the different areas of a knife to the everyday person.

[Doc Dan]

Perhaps this will help? http://greateasterncutlery.net/blog/poc ... rminology/" target="_blank

As was mentioned, the Mark side is the side where the Logo is, on the left as you look down at the knife from the top, and the File Side/Pile Side is the opposite, or right side.

[chasehood]

Lock side, clip side
Show side
Spine