Blade Thickness--How Thin is Too Thin?

Archie

Archie

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I have a custom knife on order. This knife is to be a daily carry with a blade of approximately three inches. I was planning on 3/32" BG-42 blade stock, but the maker e-mailed me today to tell me that he can only get 1/8" or 1/16" stock.

I was figuring that going thinner than 1/8" would give better cutting performance, but a 1/16" blade seems like it would be too thin. I won't be doing any prying or overly abusive stuff with the knife, but I certainly don't what it to be fragile either. So the question, if you haven't figured it out yet, is "How strong is a 1/16" BG-42 blade?"

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Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of '04
 
I carry a 1/16" dagger by Phill Hartsfield. It's made of A2, which is a tough steel. It's held up well, but I don't use it for any heavy cutting, even though I probably could. For heavier cutting, I use my second carry knife, a Sebenza.
 
This is personal preference but I think anything under 1/8" is to thin. I like to have 5/32" thick blades and have even had some customs made with 3/16" blade. A 1/16" blade would have the thickness of a fillet knife and , in my opinion, be way too thin.

Just remember that you should chose what appeals to you. What I like might not be your cup of tea.

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Art Sigmon
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
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Go for the 1/8", the 1/16" is to thin in my opinion. I have one knife with a 3/32" thick blade and that is as thin as I would ever go.
 
Hmm... A BG-42, 1/16" thick blade... probably RC60...

I think that unless you had a stiff sheath, this could be easily broken by a fall. Any sharp lateral pressure near the middle of the knife could snap it in half.

Probably would cut like a champ though!

Steve-O
 
My current everyday carry is a 3 inch flat ground folder in 420V by PJ Tomes. It is made from 3/32 stock. I can not imagine using much thinner blade stock for all purpose folding knife. I like them up to about 1/8 in a blade that size.

I think the blade geometry matters to the choice of blade stock thickness. What will be the grind? Hollow? Flat? 1/16 = 0.063 inch. 3/32 is .094 and 1/8 is 0.125. Small folders feel best to me with blade stock between 0.080 and 0.125. The blade is still substantial enough to allow finger/thumb pressure along the spine of the blade with comfort and usually there is reasonable stiffness in the blade.

Thinner blade stock also allows for the making of extremly Thin knives. Sometimes that is nice is a super elegant gents folder. Getting the temper right would be the most important thing. See if the 1/8 stock can be ground down to 3/32. If your knife is an elegant, thin gents folder, and is full flat ground, the 1/16 inch stock may make a fine blade. If your knife is intended to lead a more robust utility role, then 1/8 stock is the way to go.

You don't mention the maker, but should have a serious talk with him about this subject and consider all the major design criteria of YOUR knife.

Paracelsus
 
I am not one for thick blades, and 5/32nds seems about perfect to me for a 4 inch blade....

So, 1/8th would probably do well.

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I have an AG Russel Bird and trout, it is a 3 blade at .06=1/16. It has held up fine. It is an Aus 8 blade. I have done some prying and have not had any problem with flex or it being too week. I think a thin grind on a 1/8 blade would be tuffer, but by the little you said I think you will not have a problem with 1/16 if that is what you choose to go with.
 
If you like a thinner cutting edge than 1/8", just tell the maker to give the 1/8" blade a nice distal taper.

I find the prime cutting area of any blade to be about 2/3 the way down the edge. Assuming a continous distal taper to 1/16" at point; cutting area thickness would be [{(1/8)-(1/16)}/3] + (1/16) = 0.083" Pretty close to 3/32"

[This message has been edited by tallwingedgoat (edited 01-07-2001).]
 
What type of grind is to be used? Hollow, flat, convex? A convex grind might work OK on 1/16" stock. It would probably be a safer bet to go with 1/8".

Paul
 
For about 40 years I've carried folding knives of the class of large SAK's. These have had 3/32 inch main blades. I wouldn't go down to 1/16 inch for general utility. Go up to 1/8" and get it ground to a full taper. Just don't let the maker give you a saber grind.
 
Tell the maker to contact Admiral Steel or pull up their website. They have BG42 in all shapes and sizes up to 1/4". Or, buy it yourself and send him a piece.

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Danbo, soul brother of Rambo
 
The maximum thickness of the blade really isn't the major factor in cutting performance. The best cutting knife I have is almost .25" at the thickest part of the spine, flat ground, and less than an inch wide. The edge thickness and grind are the biggest factors. There is not reason why a knife made of 1/8" should cut like crazy.
 
If you are just cutting with it, even a 1/16" blade is plenty strong. I used the Deerhunter in AUS-8A from A.G. Russel for quite awhile and never had any problems with it and it is just over 1/16". This included deep cuts into hard woods, thick laminates for example, at full force. The wood and glue made large splintering noises and snaps but the blade stayed in one piece.

Unless you are prying you don't need much blade strength. However what I would be concerned about is excessive flex. A distal taper on a 1/16" blade might leave the tip too thin and it could readily bend and not be able to resist much shear forces at all. It does depend though on how you plan on using the blade and how much force you put on it while you are doing the cutting.

You might want to think about getting a couple of cheap blades with very thin stock and seeing just how strong they are. A paring knife for example will be 1/16" or under. Realize as well that the steel in a good custom should be significantly ahead of the cheap blades and you should get better performance out of it.

And as Steve said, the edge geometry is critical. A blade from 1/16" stock will still cut very poorly if the edge is left thick and the bevel ground with an obtuse angle.

-Cliff


 
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