Random Thought Thread

If you look at that sword, the failure mode was never going to be in that tang area. And cutting that weight out from that location does not reduce the strength of that tang in a way that you could cause the failure mode to move there. The tang is that dimension for the hand grip design. But, left solid, it is so much bigger, so much thicker, so much heavier than the blade, that having a solid tang there was contributing nothing to the actual strength of the sword. We removed material that was not contributing useful strength to the blade, but it was adding weight in a location that was not helpful.
 
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It is thicker towards the front where there is more stress. I'm more aggressive in the second hole towards the back because that is less stressed. And there is a web in between.

The tang is the dimension that it is, not for structural reasons but because it has to fit the handle design. This can leave meat in the middle that isn't actually doing any work except making the blade heavy.
 
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This is a race knife. It looks like I was aggressive, but that handle had a lot of meat in it. It's quite thick actually. And the blade is quite thin, so, despite being aggressive with the material removal, it is still not the weak area on this knife. You'll notice I leave it solid at the end. We experimented with welding weights on the end of blades and have found that a weighted pommel was actually helpful in increasing cutting power. The improved balance is just a bonus.

It makes sense if you think about it, during an impact anywhere other than the perfect center of percussion, that impact is going to try to induce a rotational moment and any weight on the blade will resist that rotation. And the farther away that weight is from the center of rotation (the greater the moment of inertia) the more effective that weight is in resisting rotation. We want to resist converting cutting forces into unproductive rotational movement that is then arrested by the competitor without contributing any power in the cut.

Many knives receive a tapered tang that should not. In this design, weight at the butt is helpful so that material is left solid even though it is not serving a structural purpose, it is still serving a functional purpose.

^ The same is true for the solid butt in the Shiv. Stabbing weapons benefit from weight on the ends. It helps them resist deflection.
 
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Blues said:
I don't think we should clutter the "Ask Nathan a Question" thread with an extended discussion of another maker's work. Just my opinion, fellas...but I think it's the right thing to do. There are better places for that conversation if it needs to be had.S
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Sorry, I'll edit it out. Just to be clear, I do think that the overall better knife is a CPK. Great ergonomics and all the small features add up to a great package. And of course you get a fantastic sheath!
 
unwisefool said:
Sorry, I'll edit it out. Just to be clear, I do think that the overall better knife is a CPK. Great ergonomics and all the small features add up to a great package. And of course you get a fantastic sheath!
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By doing the black and white thing you are doing many of us a disfavor. Of course I’m a CPK fan, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. But CPK is a smaller company. Try to find - say - a 10“ CPK chopper - any - for a reasonable price today. Much easier for the other maker and you have a dozen or so variations to choose from. No critique from me at all, it is what it is. But having easy access to the next best is good for us, IMO. It’s cool to be able to use both, as many blades are complementary.
 
ferider said:
By doing the black and white thing you are doing many of us a disfavor. Of course I’m a CPK fan, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. But CPK is a smaller company. Try to find - say - a 10“ CPK chopper - any - for a reasonable price today. No critique from me at all. it is what it is. But having easy access to the next best is good for us, IMO. It’s cool to be able to use both, as many blades are complementary.
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What black and white thing?
 
Nathan - From reading through your explanation of skeletonizing the handles, I have no doubt that a series of chamfered holes on the handle of the upcoming neck knife will have any effect on durability. It won't be a hard use knife anyway, so the weight reduction will be quite beneficial. Please proceed as planned. Thanks.
 
ferider said:
Thanks for the move, E or N.



„The overall better knife is CPK“

Which knife ?
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Not a specific model, I'm saying that CPK knives to me are overall better than Busse in terms of fit, finish, and small details. Also you get a nice sheath. Not knocking Busse as they make a great knife and I have a ton of them, and will recommend either brand, but CPK is just more refined and consistent.
 
Grumpy Old Man said:
I think it's over now. Knives I mean, not me (yet). I am selling everything except the Microtech Alpha Mini Signature Series and Spyderco Vallotto Sub-Hilt and will use the money for a new aortic valve...........B.B.F.N.
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I hope you’re doing well. We haven’t seen you since last Wednesday.
 
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