How thick should it be?

tltt said:
Some Nordic knives can be that thin. Puukko and Leuku get close sometimes, so it's not unheard of.
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This 8" Leuku blade is a bit over 2mm thick.
o4hZ474.jpg

Its quite capable of doing many things.....including being batoned through wood
Pics from the net for illustration -
8XR5usk.jpg

XYm5yvs.jpg
 
os_tempore said:
All my knives have different functions, but the they must all be able to hold their own in a survival situation. To me, that means a steel that can hold an edge, won't rust, and is tough (which equals thick).
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It’s not that you’re off base, you like what you like - nothing wrong with that. But by requiring each of your knives to hold their own at survival, and meet your survival criteria, you deny yourself the enjoyment of knives that don’t or can’t meet those criteria.

Some people have only one knife, that must meet all their knife needs from slicing tomatoes to trimming their toenails to opening plastic clamshells to shaving their earlobes. They could perform each of those tasks more easily with a dedicated knife, or even a different tool, but they give up that convenience to be a person with one knife, for whatever reason.

I can assure you of this: the best knife for chip carving will not make a good survival knife. The best bread slicing knife, likewise. If you’re unable or unwilling to accept a knife that will suck at survival, then some of your non-survival knife tasks are going to suffer, no getting around it.

None of us are qualified to decide how much bread slicing, toenail trimming, potato peeling inconvenience you should put up with to maintain your desire for survival performance. That’s all on you, and our pics and real world experience don’t matter one speck.

Parker
 
Arathol said:
This 8" Leuku blade is a bit over 2mm thick.
o4hZ474.jpg

Its quite capable of doing many things.....including being batoned through wood
Pics from the net for illustration -
8XR5usk.jpg

XYm5yvs.jpg
Click to expand...
That doesn’t look all that thin to me. .09 is thin. Not necessarily fragile, but thin.

OP - If I was gonna be slicing up stuff like food with it exclusively I’d jump at the thinner stock. For stuff like bushwhacking I’d want it a little thicker and would hold out til the maker had the stock thickness I wanted.

No need to rush it. I’m sure you have a couple other knives to getcha by for now. If you’ve got any thin stock blades no time like the present to see if they hold up.
 
I am a fan of thinner blades. Note that CRK blades are 0.125" thick, as are most (all) SurviveKnives blades.
I see no weakness in these knives.
 
catspa said:
It’s not that you’re off base, you like what you like - nothing wrong with that. But by requiring each of your knives to hold their own at survival, and meet your survival criteria, you deny yourself the enjoyment of knives that don’t or can’t meet those criteria.

Some people have only one knife, that must meet all their knife needs from slicing tomatoes to trimming their toenails to opening plastic clamshells to shaving their earlobes. They could perform each of those tasks more easily with a dedicated knife, or even a different tool, but they give up that convenience to be a person with one knife, for whatever reason.

I can assure you of this: the best knife for chip carving will not make a good survival knife. The best bread slicing knife, likewise. If you’re unable or unwilling to accept a knife that will suck at survival, then some of your non-survival knife tasks are going to suffer, no getting around it.

None of us are qualified to decide how much bread slicing, toenail trimming, potato peeling inconvenience you should put up with to maintain your desire for survival performance. That’s all on you, and our pics and real world experience don’t matter one speck.

Parker
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Shaving earlobes!🤣 by feel or with a mirror! Lol. A smatchet for those.

Knives are so individualistic- you worded it really well.
 
Thin stock equates to slicier knives. You wouldn't want to baton with it. I'm a folder guy, so that's my frame of reference. Folders with stock thickness in that neighborhood include most TRM knives (Atom, Neutron, etc.), Quiet Carry's knives (Drift, Waypoint), Spyderco's Chaparral.... It's a great thickness for EDC use, but probably not for hard use.
 
Deino said:
I don't know about the MagnaCut, the maker nor the finished product. So I can't comment much. My personal experience is also limited.

Anyhow, a thinner might not be as good of a pry bar and won't chop as hard as thicker stock. Nevertheless, I believe that thinner blade has advantages usually overlooked:
Thinner blade has easier time slicing through things.
They can be resharpened easier, less material to remove, more "ready" than a dull thick blade in "survival scenario" by always having "working" edge or "usable" blade. (learnt this with the issued "battle ready" utility bayonet that is way too dull)
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Yeah. Ironically the only thing a thinner knife will do better is cut stuff.
 
I’ve always been a fan of the sharpened pry bar type knife. 3/16-1/4” seems to be the sweet spot for me. I don’t mind thinner blades, but for my applications thicker is better. Blade geometry and heat treat play a big factor in the performance of knives more so than steel type. Steel type definitely will make a difference, as a good heat treated 3V will undoubtedly be tougher than a good heated 1095.

I generally use 1095 in my everyday applications because it’s tough enough for my uses (heavy), and super easy to sharpen quickly. I don’t feel under knifed at all with a good 1095 knife as opposed to a good 3V knife. FWIW, my 1095 knives have seen way more use on the job and woods/field then my 3V knives. Granted I haven’t owned 3V knives all that long. Time will tell if that will change, but for now 1095 in 3/16-1/4” blades work just fine for me. I guess it ultimately boils down to what the knife will be used for is when thickness becomes a deciding factor.
 
A 5-6" knife of that thickness is Perfect for magnacut.

You will regret not getting one. I'm leaning towards a EDChef, maybe XL?

I'm currently making thinner larger knives, I have Zero worries. His will be awesome too!

Thick blades are only good for battoning. Not because of strength, but because of wedge behavior. I have a AEB-L at 62-63R from DM that I pound through hard oak.... No problems.

Thick is for Chumps, thin Wins! 😉
 
He’s not a chump for liking thick blades, he’s just a guy who likes thick blades.

The winners are those whose knives cut their stuff to their satisfaction. The losers can’t cut their stuff, and suffer frustration and higher dental wear due to chewing stuff apart with their teeth. That, and their earlobes go unshaved.

My personal path to winning at cutlery has included thick knives for some tasks, and thin knives for others. But that’s not the only path, and each knife nut must choose their own.

Parker
 
So my survival prerequisite some from experience. I've broken and bent thin blades by crawling over rocks and having gear get snagged or falling as I leaned down on wet rocks for a cutting task. I'm not clumsy, but things happen. Ive carried a fillet knife with me for years, but it always stayed in the pack until a fish was had. I never wore it on my hip. After a few things I've experienced and seen/heard, that spot is reserved for thicker blades.

The knives I keep with me for EDC/SD are between 0.17" and 0.28" depending on where I'm going, by what mode I'll be going, and general tool/threat assessments. With the exception of one Karambit whose titanium blade is 0.09, but is laminated with CF to 0.20".

So far, it seems everyone has said nearly the same thing. 0.093 is a slicing knife. Not a combat/survival thickness, with the few exceptions of a couple people using it on larger blades. There are beautiful slicers out there, but I'm looking for a main blade (like an MBR) which is probably why I'm so hesitant.

But I still do want it.
 
3/32" (0.093") seems very thin. It's slightly thicker than a quarter. On a relatively tall blade, seems like not much material left behind (depending on the grind). I'd probably be okay with that for a single-bevel santoku, but not for a "survival" knife.
 
Should be great for cutting. My wife prefers thinner blades in our kitchen cutlery and they've held up for decades (OK, several are junk steel but still...)
 
catspa said:
He’s not a chump for liking thick blades, he’s just a guy who likes thick blades.

The winners are those whose knives cut their stuff to their satisfaction. The losers can’t cut their stuff, and suffer frustration and higher dental wear due to chewing stuff apart with their teeth. That, and their earlobes go unshaved.

My personal path to winning at cutlery has included thick knives for some tasks, and thin knives for others. But that’s not the only path, and each knife nut must choose their own.

Parker
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I said It with a smirk/smile....... :p







S Seedy Lot could you offer some wisdom on thin knives, and magnacut, and how strong the combo would be for bushcraft/survival?

I assume "Seedy" isn't the poster's maker, that's why I'm calling him out for a non-biased assessment.
*He is Obviously very skilled too, though..... :D
 
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For me, a survival knife is 90% about two things: making shelter and making firewood, (10% zombies).

For me, the knife you’re considering would be too thin for a “survival knife”, but have you considered having a small camp knife made that you could pair with a larger chopper/hatchet, etc.?

Or how about using it as a backpacking knife where you’re already carrying all the shelter/cold-weather gear you need and therefore don’t need a survival/wood working knife?

I carry this tiny/thin (~.10”) titanium knife while backpacking as a table knife. It’s not going to help me very much in shelter making or firewood gathering, but it’s a nice additional tool for only 1/2 ounce of weight.

87AD454F-F81A-4309-AA82-85E3FD5B6F3D.jpeg
 
I'd be interested in the names of knifemakers that use Magnacut for ~4" fixed blades in thin stock like this with good reputations for proper heat treatment and tempering. I have a medium sized knife (not a 4" hunter and not a 6" ESSE fixed blade) that has served me well with its 5/32nds stock in what now is not a premium or "super" steel. It has done all I asked of it but, that did not include cutting railroad ties or batoning huge hackberry stumps! For more normal stuff, it has worked really well in a rural farm setting.

Today, I'd like to find a nice ~4" EDC/Hunter'ish fixed blade with this 0.093" stock personally.
 
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