Slim bladed folders

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Gary W. Graley

Gary W. Graley

“Imagination is more important than knowledge"
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Morning folks and Happy September! I was comparing blades on some folders and most if not all seem to be quite thick. Not making for very good slicing, probably tougher maybe but a small folding knife's first criteria should be able to slice easily, at least in my way of thinking. But I can't recall any folders made recently that have thin blades. On some older folders, which I no longer have :( those had very slim ground blades.

So I put this question to you traditional loving knife enthusiasts, what would be a good two bladed traditional folder with thin blades?

I have a Schatt & Morgan that has a spey blade that measures .041" on the spine out near the tip of the blade with the tang starting around .077" so that is what I'm kinda shooting for, the main blade is much thicker at .099" at the tang and tapering slightly towards the tip.

It's a nice folder, one gifted to me by everyone's favourite fellow here waynorth waynorth a few years ago, thanks again! but looking for another with possibly thinner blades and smaller overall size, this one is just over 3 3/4" closed





So, let me know what you guys and gals think, I'm guessing that I might need to go custom in order to find something like that.
G2
 
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SAK Recruit? 4 blades if you count the can opener and cap lifter, but still narrower than a Scout/Camp or Demo knife ... lighter weight, too.
I think it has a pen blade rather than a punch/awl/reamer or fingernail file.
All my SAK's are as slicy as a paring knife.
 
I've only done some brief searches on this. It seemed like maybe some of the slimline trappers feel thinner but I have not actually checked. I was planning to look more in that direction. But it tends to be the smaller knives with the thin blades in that little searching I did.. I am interested what people post too.
 
Yes a SAK has fairly slim blades, but looking for, what we consider, more traditional style. The Case blades still seem a bit thicker than what I am looking for.
G2
 
I had a slimline trapper and while living up to its name -slim- in aesthetics, the blade stock did actually seem very thick. Probably the thickest traditional knife I’ve seen.

Compared to a Spyderco, Cold Steel, etc, any traditional is likely to have noticeably, nay, dramatically thinner blades, which contribute to good everyday cutting performance.
 
I'm thinking that the older Case folders might have been of thinner blade stock? Any more they do seem thicker, maybe to protect from customers that get too heavy handed
G2
 
Gary W. Graley said:
I'm thinking that the older Case folders might have been of thinner blade stock? Any more they do seem thicker, maybe to protect from customers that get too heavy handed
G2
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The older Case (pre-64) are much thinner than newer. But even many of the newer don’t stand out too much for thickness. Patterns differ.

Some GECs are exceptionally thin.

I will try to measure a few later -I realize it’s not helpful to say “this is thin” and provide no basis for comparison!
 
My pinch and your pinch may vary greatly for sure ;) that's why I dug out my calipers to check a few.
Appreciate the replies, also looking for one that isn't too long as well, the one in my first post above at 3 3/4" is as long as I'd like and that's a bit longish actually for me.

G2
 
GaiusJulius said:
The older Case (pre-64) are much thinner than newer. But even many of the newer don’t stand out too much for thickness. Patterns differ.

Some GECs are exceptionally thin.

I will try to measure a few later -I realize it’s not helpful to say “this is thin” and provide no basis for comparison!
Click to expand...
FWIW, a dealer website that reports "blade thickness" claims a Case slimline trapper has thickness of .08".
(I couldn't find an explanation of where on the blade they measured thickness; seems to me they'd want to measure the maximum blade thickness.)

- GT
 
Happy Labor Day, Gary! I hope you receive some helpful responses. I am posting about a Boker Gent that does not meet your 2-blade requirement, but I wanted to share my thoughts. The blade thickness at the tang is just under 3/32" (apologies, my calipers are currently missing), and with the wide, flat ground spearpoint blade, this knife cuts like a demon. It is 3 3/4" closed with an incredibly slim profile. It's a joy to carry and use.
If you are ever up this way let me know. We can meet for coffee and I'll bring it along.
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From the same dealer site I mentioned above, here are some blade thickness measurements for a few randomly chosen knives with which I'm familiar. (I didn't pay much attention to number of blades.)
CASE
Medium stockman (6318) .08"
Canoe .05"
Sowbelly Stockman thickness unreported
Mini trapper .08"
Trapper .11"
Peanut .05" or .06" several of each
Large stockman (6375) .11"

Chinese SCHRADE OLD TIMERS
33OT Middleman Jack .09"
12OT Pal (2.75" closed) .08"
8OT Senior stockman .08"
93OT Wrangler .09"

ROUGH RYDER
Granddad Barlow .06"
Barlow .06"
Half Hawk (carbon steel) .06"
Trapper (carbon steel) .06
Many patterns for which no blade thickness reported

BÖKER
Trapper .09"
Rangebuster (Solingen) .09"
Rangebuster (China) .08"
Copperhead (China) .09"
Medium stockman ("GERMANY" shield) .07"
Barlow Expedition (Solingen) .11"
Scout (China) .09"
Club (Solingen) .09"
Beer Barrel Congress (Solingen) .06
- GT
 
Nice Peregrin Peregrin and I'll remember to remind you when I am next up your way

and 5K Qs 5K Qs that is a great listing you put together there, Many thanks! I appreciate it, my run ins with Rough Ryder I don't recall them being that thin but I don't remember which models I had, but worth checking out!
G2
 
5K Qs said:
From the same dealer site I mentioned above, here are some blade thickness measurements for a few randomly chosen knives with which I'm familiar. (I didn't pay much attention to number of blades.)
CASE
Medium stockman (6318) .08"
Canoe .05"
Sowbelly Stockman thickness unreported
Mini trapper .08"
Trapper .11"
Peanut .05" or .06" several of each
Large stockman (6375) .11"

Chinese SCHRADE OLD TIMERS
33OT Middleman Jack .09"
12OT Pal (2.75" closed) .08"
8OT Senior stockman .08"
93OT Wrangler .09"

ROUGH RYDER
Granddad Barlow .06"
Barlow .06"
Half Hawk (carbon steel) .06"
Trapper (carbon steel) .06
Many patterns for which no blade thickness reported

BÖKER
Trapper .09"
Rangebuster (Solingen) .09"
Rangebuster (China) .08"
Copperhead (China) .09"
Medium stockman ("GERMANY" shield) .07"
Barlow Expedition (Solingen) .11"
Scout (China) .09"
Club (Solingen) .09"
Beer Barrel Congress (Solingen) .06
- GT
Click to expand...
Wow, maybe I need to try a canoe, or a boker.
 
That does look quite thin!
G2
 
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