blade thickness

T

THE BOULDER

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Dec 4, 2013
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I have used .375 for most of my knives, and recently I have tried .5 thick but I'm thinking I should try the .25 thick what are the pro's for switching to .25? I use A-2 tool steel and 440C
 
I realize the differences that practical application will have based on blade thickness but what is the main reason I see more .25 thick blades then say .375 thick?
 
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Thinner blades slice better. Thicker blades don't break as easily when abused. Depends on the type of knife and the intended use. People don't throw out their chef's knives when they get a Busse Battle Mistress. Also you don't often hear of many people pounding a nice Shun knife through logs to make kindling.

Grizz
 
I got that it was blade thickness - are you talking .5 inches or .5 centimeters? It would help to know what the length and intended use of these knives are as well. A .5 inch blade is massively thick - it might be OK in a large chopper but otherwise it's going to make cutting very difficult and the knife overly heavy.

Generally speaking, thinner blades cut better and will be lighter and easier to carry and use, but are going to be a bit weaker. Anything thicker than about .2 inches is going to be more than enough for your average outdoors fixed blade for even very hard use tasks though.
 
Those are extremely thick for the average knife.

For example, the last sword I made was .25" thick.

Most of my knives are .125", although I've gone as thin as .06".
 
Ahhhh that does make sense My knives are based around hunting and survival but although I like shaping out a .5" thick knife the time it takes is cost preventative. Cutting speed wasn't even something I considered, I will need to try some .25 A-2 and see how it holds up.
 
Can you get nearly the same toughness from a .25" thick knife as you can from .375"? Like I have said I haven't tried a thinner knife so I'm at the mercy of the experts hence my turning to you guys for your advice.
 
The only way you'll be able to tell any difference in toughness is if you start prying multiple hundreds of pounds with it. .25 is way more than sufficient for any typical outdoors task, even heavy batonning.
 
Thicker knives are gonna be much heavier, thicker knives aren't gonna slice as well, and they're often more expensive too.
 
So in a downed plane scenario say like in the book hatchet by Gary Paulson in your guy's expert opinion a .25 knife would be preferable to a thicker knife??
 
I'll be honest, I can't imagine doing most tasks with a blade that thick. A .125" thick blade is plenty tough enough for 99% of the stuff I do, especially with a tougher steel like A2. I would try some around that if I were you and compare the performance of those to your thicker blades. Don't pry with 'em, though.
 
THE BOULDER said:
So in a downed plane scenario say like in the book hatchet by Gary Paulson in your guy's expert opinion a .25 knife would be preferable to a thicker knife??
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In my opinion, absolutely. I wouldn't even consider carrying a knife thicker than .25" anywhere, especially in a wilderness scenario where weight is very important. A .25" knife can do everything a .375" knife can do, while weighing at least 1/3 less and cutting much, much better. If it were me though, I'd be carrying a thinner knife than that, especially if it were A2. I'd be looking for something in the .125-.2" range.
 
I don't know if I can comment on what the best thickness for a knife is for a survival situation, as I have never been in one myself. However I have done a lot of backpacking, using all sorts of knives. I have two thicknesses that I prefer (and most of the knives that I make are in these two thicknesses as well).

1. 9/64 (.1406) 3.57mm
2. 5/32 (.1563) 3.96mm

Of all of the different thicknesses I've both purchased and made myself, those are my two favorite. I especially like 9/64, its well balanced and very tough. I have used a .5 (1/2) knife before but was not convinced of its performance over the aforementioned, especially considering the weight. So of the above that you've listed my vote would be the .25

Just my opinion though!
 
THE BOULDER said:
So in a downed plane scenario say like in the book hatchet by Gary Paulson in your guy's expert opinion a .25 knife would be preferable to a thicker knife??
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That's precisely the reason why Esee created the Esee 5 (which measure in at a 1/4in thick). Well, it was for helicopter pilots, but still.

I am no expert, I just read some things sometimes.
 
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The Esee 5 is 1/4 thick... Outside of customs and ceramonial khukuris, I don't think anyone makes a half inch thick blade.

If it were that thick, the 5 would weigh almost as much as a broadsword.
 
My half inch thick knife has a 17 inch long blade is 2.5 inches across, which I don't think is too huge most of my knives are around 12 13 inch blade length would that length work just as well if I skinnied up the thickness?
 
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