Knife making

T

tinkerer

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Oct 6, 2009
Messages
368
Amateur question,

I've been playing with blade making for a couple of years and I have a question.

Is there a "magic" proportion to a blade (fixed) where its just right. Length X height X thickness?

To me the Big Bear Class is perfect, but there are others I like. And Claudio's blades are dynamite.

Opinions solicited.

Larry
Tinkerer
 
That is almost like asking what size/shape of woman is "just right".

The answer is to build knives that are pleasing to you and any customers you have.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
That is almost like asking what size/shape of woman is "just right".

The answer is to build knives that are pleasing to you and any customers you have.
Click to expand...
41DD - 25 - 37. What can I say...I like odd numbers and a little bit to grab on to.

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk
 
aarongb said:
Maybe the Golden Ratio? Its something like 3:5.
Click to expand...

That sounds good until you apply it. A Bowie with an 9" blade would have a 5.4 inch handle - not too bad.
A bird and trout blade that is 2" long would have a 1.2" handle - a bit short for most folks. Even if you reversed the ratio, it would have a 3.3" handle.

And that does not even consider the blade width issue.


On the more serious side:

The best general ratio for a user knife is a 3" blade and a 4" handle with the height of the blade at the ricasso around 1".

Handle size - Most new makers make handles far too fat. A good starter length is about 4" long. The thickness varies, but 5/8" to 3/4" at the fat part is a good starting place. Height should reflect the blade size at the ricasso. There is a lot more than this, but those are good starting numbers for a sketch.
The handle bottom should be smooth and ergonomic. A slight swell in the middle is all that is needed to maintain grip. Finger grooves and big curves are not good in most cases. The overall cross section of the handle should be an oval or egg shape. Most new makers make the handle a rounded corner rectangle.

Blade length - Most new makers make the blade too long. Most user knives (except slicers, fighters, choppers, and fillet blades) don't need more than 3" of blade. 4" is about all a camp/hunting knife needs.

Blade height - Most new makers make the blade about twice as wide as needed. The edge is what cuts. The bevel above it provides mass where it is needed, and little else unless it is used to pick up cut veggies. A normal blade made to cut softer things, like a hunter, does well with a blade between 3/4" and 1" high.

Shape - Most new makers make a knife that is far too straight. The handle looks and feels better with a bit of drop to the butt. The blade looks best with a little drop toward the tip. The overall effect should be a slight curve to the spine line from butt to tip. You don't want a banana, just a very slight curve of 1/8" to 1/4" makes a big improvement in the look.
The edge should be rather straight until it smoothly curves up to the tip. The spine should normal smoothly drop to the tip ... not be angular.
 
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What if a 1.2" handle is perfect for me? You making fun of my tiny hands?!
:D

But seriously, not advocating it, I've just seen it discussed around these parts in the past. Then again, I've seen it used to diagram a certain candidates hair profile as well...
 
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