The Wharncliffe is widely mixed up with the sheepsfoot blade and lesser known lambsfoot blade. In fact, manufacturers will often mislabel the blade style. Whereas the Wharncliffe has a spine that gradually tapers to a point, the sheepsfoot blade has a spine and edge that remains parallel until the spine more dramatically curves to the edge.

To me, the main difference is all about the tip. A Wharncliffe has a sharp, pointy, and narrow tip, which makes it ideal for finer detail when whittling. It also has enough blade size to allow for lots of wood takedown. A sheepsfoot is great for taking down wood, but the tip is too broad for detail work.

Wharncliffe work work best for my needs, but that's because I usually open a bunch of packages and find that the tip allows for easy maneuvering, not to mention the ease of sharpening a straight edge. The sheepsfoot blade style is great if you need to do harder work with a knife while keeping with the themes of a wharncliffe.