Why is a Guillotine blade diagonal?

http://pepijndevos.nl/2024/08/24/why-is-a-guillotine-blade-diagonal.html

by jandeboevrie • 2 years ago

46 50 2 years ago

Does being pushed sideways matter? If the knowArt test was on a small scale it might not have had the inertia of the full size.

userbinator2• 2 years ago

I thought this would be about paper guillotines.

dylan604• 2 years ago

what paper guillotine has a diagonal blade? all of the ones I've ever used were curved

ce4• 2 years ago

But thats because the cutting angle changes when depressing the lever. The curvature is meant to counter that to some extent.

njb311• 2 years ago

A printer’s guillotine that cuts hundreds of sheets at once has a diagonal blade.

userbinator2• 2 years ago

The point is that they cut at an angle.

khazhoux• 2 years ago

What should we take away from this comment?

rolph• 2 years ago

this creates shear, lengthens the amount of blade edge, and directs force to a smaller contact surface than a perpedicular edge.

[But the story goes that the real reason the blade is diagonal is that the king suggested it might help with people with fat necks]

thus proclaimation was the lead contributor.

beefnugs• 2 years ago

Cause someone thought the sound of SHIIINK was some terrifying original sound as opposed to clever chopping carrot

hinkley2• 2 years ago

Guillotine proposed his device as a more humane alternative to traditional modes of execution like being drawn and quartered.

And contrary to legend he did not die by his own device.

woleium• 2 years ago

Her device?

themaninthedark• 2 years ago

Without reading the article, my guess would be because it allows the force to be focused on a smaller area at the start of the cut.

blackeyeblitzar• 2 years ago

Wouldn’t everything that is a blade be designed this way then?

salomonk_mur• 2 years ago

Almost everything that is a blade is designed to be curved or slanted, yes.

evilduck• 2 years ago

Many are. Scissors, drill bits, even the way most people use a kitchen knife, they put as much force onto as small of area as possible. At certain differences in scale it won't matter (razor blade vs a single hair), but how a cut is performed is definitely part of the design process.

tengbretson• 2 years ago

Like a mandolin slicer?

Spooky23• 2 years ago

They are. Except for Japanese style knives, all knives have a slant.

The Japanese knives are only sharpened with a single edge, however. So they in a profile view look like a tiny guillotine.

tomjakubowski• 2 years ago

chopping vegetables with a chef's knife applies the same principle

t-3• 2 years ago

Only those that go in frames. The angle is applied while using proper cutting technique for knives. A flat blade would also go dull rather quickly, as only one portion of the blade would be doing all the cutting (well, tearing, a straight drop with a flat blade would be like trying to chop a tomato rather than slicing it).

nosianu• 2 years ago

it allows the force to be focused on a smaller area at the start of the cut

Is this really true when the object to be cut, a neck, is approximately spherical?

I can see the truth of the statement for a straight horizontal rectangular object, but for a cylinder-like shape?

loloquwowndueo• 2 years ago

Cylindrical not spherical.

im3w1l• 2 years ago

Less likely to bounce off a bone would be my guess? A diagonal blade will push obstacles out of the way.

samstave• 2 years ago

Same Reason a Katana is curved, while the temp causes this, it augments the blades cutting angle, length, draw.

d--b• 2 years ago

Which begs the question: why wasn’t it shaped like a ^

montroser• 2 years ago

It'd be tough to keep that inside corner sharp...

mc32• 2 years ago

Two overlapping triangles would work. A little work in disassembly reassembly, but not much.

almostgotcaught• 2 years ago

"to beg the question" means "to dodge the question". You mean "prompts the question".

bee_rider2• 2 years ago

Dictionaries now seem to give both the definitions. Such is the fate of us victims of the dynamic English language.

ReptileMan3• 2 years ago

Unlike cigar cutter on which you apply a constant force, a ^ guillotine has fixed potential energy. It will get to the toughest part of the neck when bigger portion of it is spent, so it may or may not be enough to cut trough.

lupusreal• 2 years ago

I'm sure diagonal blades are more practical, but style must be part of it right? It was a theatrical method of execution after all, done for crowds.

yumraj2• 2 years ago

Slant razors, like the Merkur slant, are also slightly angled for an easier shave.

I have one and can vouch for it.

tithe• 2 years ago

One colloquial term for the guillotine was (is?) "le rasoir national" = "the national razor."

Other colorful terms include "the regretful climb", "the silence mill", "Capet's necktie", "the patriotic shortener", "half-moon", "timbers of justice", and "Charlot's rocking-chair".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillotine#Names_for_the_guill...

zikduruqe• 2 years ago

Run that with a Feather blade, and buddy, you will be facesturbating all day.

yumraj2• 2 years ago

I’ve used Feather, worked out OK for me. I have a couple of other blades I prefer though.

valeg• 2 years ago

Reminded me of this "La Révolution française" scene https://youtu.be/YPiiAHSi_48?t=5236

readthenotes1• 2 years ago

Unreadable in dark mode :(

skribanto• 2 years ago

Looks fine to me

VonGallifrey• 2 years ago

It is white text on black background by default. Do you have some browser plugins that mess with the website content?

nabla9• 2 years ago

One explanation is missing: the angle of the edge.

If the blade edge has been sharpened to 20 degree angle, it has the same 20 degree cutting angle when used diagonally. The effective cutting angle decreases in the direction of the cut when you rotate it. The smaller the angle, the sharper the knife.

cft• 2 years ago

Mainly because the slicing motion separates fibers in the fresh, it's more effective than blunt force. Same with a knife.

It's interesting, however, that this post is much higher on the front page than the post about Durov's arrest by the French ever was, despite having 1/10th the number of comments during a similar time period.

Giorgi• 2 years ago

Quite the fascinating story, I dig up a bit more: https://archive.org/details/memoirsofsansons00sansuoft/page/...

dogmatism• 2 years ago

It's too soon to say

Why is a Guillotine blade diagonal?

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