“Blood grooves” sure do sound cool, don’t they? The term is a hair away from “gore trench,” “kill ditch” or “splatter line.” All of these would make for fine garage band names, but we’re talking about knives here. And that’s why I need to clear something up about blood grooves.
Blood grooves consist of a long depression cut into a blade. Here’s an example.
It’s said blood grooves channel fluids away or reduce suction when the blade is removed from flesh (or, more likely for most people, watermelons). I got news for you. Gravity takes care of fluids and suction is going to happen anyway.
Instead, blood grooves are worked into a blade to reduce its weight without sacrificing length. This helps a knifemaker or designer achieve better balance. Blood grooves may also be used for looks, since people think they’re badass.
Well, there’s nothing badass about the technical name for blood grooves, “fullers.” Snooze. Sword makers originally used fullers for balance before the technique was imported into knives.
I’ve only read a few instances from novels where blood grooves are mentioned. If you decide to do the same when writing, just keep in mind their only practical purposes are balance and aesthetics.
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Great post! (I love your weapons posts, btw) The ‘blood groove’ myth has always driven me nuts, so I enjoyed this one more than usual.
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Thank you, Michael, that’s great to hear. This is one that sounds like a no-brainer until you take a closer look. Cool name, dull function.
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This might sound geeky, but as a weapons/science fanatic, the real function of the fuller in edged weapons intrigues me more than the ‘blood channel’ concept. XD
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Your geekery is always welcome here, Michael. I work for a knife magazine, Blade. There’s no limit to what you could learn about knife making. Do you collect them at all? I treated myself to a raindrop Damascus folder with a mammoth tooth and mother of pearl handle for my last birthday.
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*whew* XD Whoa! That’s a cool job! Knife making is a really amazing art. Tough to master, though. 🙂
I don’t collect them as such, but once I get my hands on a knife, it’s permanent. XD Wow; I love the Damascus blades. There’s something hypnotic in those patterns.
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Don’t I know it. I feel like I’m looking into a Magic Eye every time I see a damascus blade. There’s something mysterious about it that I can’t quite put my finger on.
You’re right about knife making, too. We run this huge knife show in Atlanta each year, the BLADE Show, and some of the things these makers pull off are incredible – and from their garages no less. It’s like functional art without the pretension.
Nice to meet you, Michael, and I hope you’ll stick around. I enjoy talking knives with someone who can appreciate them.
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I wish I had the skills required to create those layered blades. 🙂
I’ll have to try to attend that one day!
😉 I’ll be around for a long time. Your blog is great, speaking as a weapons nut AND as a writer. 😀
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P.S. There’s a pic of the knife I mentioned in this post:
https://crimefictionbook.com/2015/04/28/what-are-those-wavy-things-on-that-knife-blade/
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That’s beautiful. I’ve never seen that pattern before.
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Thank you! The raindrop pattern is made by dropping ball bearings into the billet before it gets forged.
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Brilliant! So the ‘drops’ of high carbon steel is welded with the regular Damascus? (Ha; regular Damascus. There’s an oxymoron for you)
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You got it. There are a few ways to get those patterns out of a billet, but I like how simple that method is.
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That’s the way a good smith works; no more effort than necessary. 😀 Have you ever had the opportunity to personally work with a forge?
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I thought the blood groove was for when you stab an opponent the flesh around the blade is tight, so the blood groove allows blood to go though.
I dunno my dad told me that.
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The scientist on Smithsonian just said grooves in a tooth might make it easier to remove the tooth when attacking prey.
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In german it’s called Hohlkehle, if you call it Blutrinne (blood grove) i slap you.
I thought it were to make the blade (a sword for example ) more robust if the enemys sword hits on yours
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