Edge thickness before sharpening

[boulderer]

I'm currently on the finishing stages of my first knife. It's been fun ! Before I heat-treated the blade the thickness of the edge was .030" (as per the Jonesy knife tutorial) Now I'm in the finishing stages of the knife (sanding, polishing, etc) and I'm wondering how think the edge should be before sharpening ? Thanks for the help.

--
Ben

 

[MCoughlin]

I personally think the thickness of the edge depends soley on the planned use of the knife. For a hunting knife I wouldn't go too too thin unless it is strictly for skinning. Then I would go a little thinner than say an all around hunting knife used for cutting around a lot of bone such as taking an animals leg off from the knee down.

Mike Coughlin

 

[Jason Magruder]

5-10 thou for small knives and 10-20 for big knives depending on intended use. A thinner edge will cut better and sharpen easier. A thicker edge can take more abuse.