Chopper design, critique and tips are welcome. :)

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peppen108

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Apr 14, 2012
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Lightening up the forge tomorrow. The plan is to make a semi thinn chopper (5mm). Did this fast freehand drawing. Have not done a chopper before so all help is welcome :)

 
It looks very similar to my Camillus chopper. It's a cheap Walmart special, but I really like it. Until recently I couldn't heat treat anything this big, so I bought the one I have. So in short, I like your design, but if I was making one, I'd probably give it a drop point, because, why not?
 
I think that at the tip more weight is useful ? I prefer the one in the first picture :)
 
You might think about putting a curve in the blade. Like a convex of the blade profile. Reason being is, if you want to chop something on a flat surface and it's below your waist/belly the tip of the blade will hit before the larger middle section of the blade. This could cause you to not even hit the target. I made one nearly identical to your first drawing, before I considered this possibility. Later, after consulting with some of the bladesport guys, I decided it'd be best to do a convex. If you look at a lot of the choppers in bladesports they have a convexed belley in the middle. They do a lot of cutting of dowels, golf balls, tennis balls, and whatnot on flat tables. They need to have as much of the edge hitting the target as possible.

Just a thought.
 
JG Custom Metal Works said:
You might think about putting a curve in the blade. Like a convex of the blade profile. Reason being is, if you want to chop something on a flat surface and it's below your waist/belly the tip of the blade will hit before the larger middle section of the blade. This could cause you to not even hit the target. I made one nearly identical to your first drawing, before I considered this possibility. Later, after consulting with some of the bladesport guys, I decided it'd be best to do a convex. If you look at a lot of the choppers in bladesports they have a convexed belley in the middle. They do a lot of cutting of dowels, golf balls, tennis balls, and whatnot on flat tables. They need to have as much of the edge hitting the target as possible.

Just a thought.
Click to expand...

Excellent suggestion!

Your design and overall blade geometry should reflect the mechanics and physics of the cut. Think about the radius of your typical swing when chopping with a knife and how it might impact the target at various points along that line. A bit of curvature along the cutting edge will optimize the angle at which the edge contacts the cutting medium. These are the same principles behind the use of sori on a katana, except that on a katana the curvature is more subtle than on a chopper, due to the larger swing radius typically employed with a full length sword.
 
You can google "competition chopper" to get an idea of how most are making the choppers used in blade sports. Many resemble your first design.
 
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