Choppers and hard use blades

[lorenzofarini40127@gmail.]

Hi guys, i'm new to the forum so let me introduce myself.
My name is Lorenzo, i'm form Italy and i've been making knives since i was 12.
I always used old files and scrap steel that my father (my teacher) had in his work station.
I wanted to ask your opinions about a knife i am currently making.
It's a drop point blade, 80crv2 steel, 6mm (Google says that is 0.24 inches)
And 13 inches long.
This sucker ways a lot so i got a few questions:
-Skeletonized handle? Should i do it? Or the blade it's gonna be weaker (nothing near the blade, just on the back of the handle so it's gonna be more blade heavy.
-For a big chopper in 80crv2 how HRC should i bring it to?
-I've read that 80crv2 it's a good steel for choppers. Also my favorite blade (terävä skrama 240) is in 80crv2.
I'm planning on making removable micarta scales, any advice?
I lay in bed every night thinking that once my blade is done, and i go to use it, it's gonna break, chip or won't hold an edge for too long.
Sorry for the long post and for the crappy English...
Thanks folks!!

 

[scdub]

Sounds like a great project - welcome to Bladeforums!

I don’t believe skeletonizing the handle will increase the chances of breakage as long as you keep the holes away from the blade/handle transition as you plan to do.

I’d personally sacrifice some edge retention for toughness and temper that to around 56-57 HRC which would be plenty tough for most uses. The edge holding is good for woodworking at this hardness and the edge should still be extremely chip resistant at a normal thickness.

Here’s a chart from knifesteelnerds.com showing the relative toughness of 80crv2 to similar steels that you might find useful:

 

[Lorien]

the thread title suggests that maybe we need a photo thread!
I say we help this guy out and post some pics of choppers and hard use blades!

Here's one in titanium by Mecha

 

[scdub]

I say we help this guy out and post some pics of choppers and hard use blades!

Mmm - if you’re gonna twist my arm like that - Ok!

Hard use:
My homemade work boot knife - 1/4” 5160 at around 56-58 HRC and a thick edge…



Chopper:
Bill Siegle Chopper/Fighter - 1/4” 5160 at around 57-59 HRC and a thin edge…

 

[lorenzofarini40127@gmail.]

Thank you all for the replies and the photos!!!!
I'm currently grinding this giant blade, i'll let you all see the end results.

 

[Dawkind]

A few others…

 

[jfk1110]

A few others…

What a lovely group of killer blades!!!!!!! Lusting all over your stuff I am!!!!!!

 

[scdub]

A few others…

Crazy.

You and JParanee should open a fighting knife museum.

I’d happily pay $20 to see your collection close up.

 

[Grenock]

A few others…

Those Bransons!!!!

 

[Lorien]

Those Bransons!!!!

I always hesitate to say so and so is my favourite knife maker, but when I think about who my favourite knife maker is...Stuart Branson's name always comes to mind.

in fact, I think I have an appropriate pic for this thread, although it's not a knife yet. But when it is, it will be a hard use blade! Don Hanson W2, forged under the tutelage of my fav.... under the tutelage of the great Stuart Branson!

 

[the possum]

If there's any advice I can offer, read and understand this article before you finish grinding the blade.
Sword Impacts & Motions
The "dynamic balance" of any big chopping blade is extremely important. Get it wrong, and you'll have a clunky blade that stings your hand & bounces off your targets. Done right, balance changes performance enough to greatly increase power, speed, and efficiency all at the same time. Play with a stick as you're reading the article above, and once you "get it", you'll see it's actually pretty intuitive.

In general, you'll want to taper the blade so it gets thinner towards the tip. Many makers use 50% as a rule of thumb, so if it starts out .24" at the guard, it should be .12" near the tip. The tang should also have diminishing mass as you move away from the guard towards the butt. You can do that by simply tapering it, or skeletonizing it. Then you can decide if you want to move the "sweet spot" with a pommel weight. I like the pivot point corresponding to the guard (some have called this the "dynamic balance point") to be right at the tip of a bowie used for general purpose and/or martial use. If you're making a camp chopper that will only ever get used for chopping in a controlled manner, you may not need any pommel at all, and just leave the sweet spot right at the belly.

Here's a guideline on edge thickness for choppers: grind it so the edge is at least 0.03" thick (0.76mm) before sharpening. You might be able to get away with slightly less on a smaller/lighter blade, or one that's made from a tough enough alloy to be harder. Any less and it could warp the edge if you hit a tough knot. More is not necessary unless you're planning to hammer the blade through steel.

 

[Mecha]

the thread title suggests that maybe we need a photo thread!
I say we help this guy out and post some pics of choppers and hard use blades!

Here's one in titanium by Mecha

Seems like that one was a lifetime ago.

 

[Lorien]

Seems like that one was a lifetime ago.

Right? Hey I heard from Alex a couple weeks ago, sounds like he's doing pretty good!

 

[Mecha]

Right? Hey I heard from Alex a couple weeks ago, sounds like he's doing pretty good!

Excellent!