Description

The more time you spend around knives, the more you realize there is no one-size-fits-all cutting tool. Just as importantly, there is no one-shape-fits-all knife either. Human hands are organic and vary significantly from one person to another. Unless you’re perfectly content with straight, unsophisticated, and relatively boring handle designs, some knife handles will simply “feel” better in your hand than others. That’s a big part of the magic of knife design and a critical element of appreciating the broad spectrum of knives available to us.

Spyderco’s Delica and Endura are two of the most popular folding knives ever produced. They have been in continuous production for more than 30 years and have each inspired scores of variations of their basic form. Based on that proven track record, these venerable designs come about as close as you can get to pleasing the greater population of knife users. However, for some, they still are not quite perfect. While the subtle contours of their handle shapes find favor with most hands, size-wise the Delica can be too small for some and the Endura too large for others.

To address this issue, in 2019 Spyderco created the Endela. Designed to provide the perfect “Goldilocks” compromise between the Delica 4 and Endura 4 Lightweight models, it quite literally splits the dimensional difference between the two while faithfully maintaining all the highly refined, time-tested features of each. The original version features a full-flat-ground blade crafted from VG-10 stainless steel. Like the knives that inspired it, its blade has a straight spine, a subtle belly, and a prominent “hump” to accommodate a fully accessible Trademark Round Hole for ambidextrous one-hand opening. Its lightweight handle is injection molded from fiberglass-reinforced nylon (FRN) and includes non-slip Bi-Directional Texturing, skeletonized stainless steel liners, a sturdy back lock mechanism with a Boye Dent, and a versatile four-position pocket clip.

Available with a choice of a PlainEdge or fully serrated SpyderEdge blade, the Endela became an instant classic. Like its predecessors, it also began to inspire other variations, including a version with a saber-ground VG-10 blade and an Emerson Opening Feature and one with a K390 tool steel blade and a distinctive blue FRN handle. The Endela was also proudly included in Spyderco’s unique Thin Blue Line and Thin Red Line series of knives, which were created to honor the service of law enforcement officers and firefighters, and it has been a platform for Exclusive projects showcasing different blade and handle materials, colors, and finishes.

Another addition to the rapidly growing Endela family is the Endela Lightweight Wharncliffe. It combines the versatility and impressive cutting ability of the straight-edged Wharncliffe profile with the proven features and “in-between” size of the Endela Lightweight format. Like the classic English Wharncliffe pocketknife blades of the nineteenth century, the spine of the Endela’s 3.40-inch (86mm) blade arcs gracefully downward to meet the cutting edge. Unlike traditional Wharncliffes, however, which tended to be narrow and thick, the Endela Wharncliffe’s blade has a broad profile and a full-flat grind that give it exceptionally thin edge geometry for friction-free cutting performance. It also positions the blade’s Trademark Round Hole well above the knife’s pivot pin for enhanced leverage when opened one-handed with either hand.

The Endela Lightweight Wharncliffe offers unparalleled cutting performance and control in the perfect compromise size.

Wharncliffe History

For many astute knife users, the Wharncliffe-style blade represents the ultimate synthesis of pocket knife 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 pocket knife 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.

Specifications
Blade Length: 3.40″ (86 mm)
Cutting Edge: 2.99″ (76 mm)
Closed Length: 4.69″ (119 mm)
Overall Length: 7.99″ (203 mm)
Blade Thickness: 0.118″ (3.0 mm)
Blade Material: VG10 Stainless Steel
Blade Style: Wharncliffe
Blade Grind: Full Flat
Blade Finish: Satin
Blade Edge: Plain
Handle Material: Bi-Directional Textured FRN
Handle Color: Black
Locking Mechanism: Lockback
Pocket Clip: Tip-Up/Down, Left/Right Carry
Model Number: C243FPWCBK
Model Name: Endela Wharncliffe
Weight: 3.2 oz. (91 g)
Made in Japan