Slipjoints with thin edges

Q

Quy4n8

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Nov 27, 2002
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659
I have a number of slipjoints, most of which are newer, say less than 25 years old. All of them, except SAK’s have relatively thick edges. If I measure the thickness right at the intersection of the primary and secondary bevel, they are generally around .025” to .030”. I also have two older knives, one a Hen & Rooster from the mid ‘70’s and the other an older Robert Klass Whittler from the late ‘50’s. These measure in the .010” to .015” range. My question is, do any current production knives measure this thin? Victorinox knives might, but those that I have looked at all have gone the route of the tactical knives; but what I am looking at are standard pocket knives, Barlow’s, Peanuts, smaller stockmans, etc. These are all knives that are only around 3 ½” long, closed. Hardly what I would call tactical or meant for heavy duty use. If you have ever used a knife ground with a thin edge, they cut marvelously well and as long as you are not abusing them, the edges don’t chip. So, does anyone currently make a traditional slipjoint with the blades ground to a thin edge? And if not, why??? Thanks.
 
One that comes to mind right away for having extremely thin edges is the Al Mar traditional lockbacks such as the Osprey and the Hawk. These are high quality slicers.
 
This is an excellent point (or should I say "edge") that you raise. I think the main reason that edges aren't thinner is due to the fact that people don't cut as much as they used to so some manufacturers don't pay attention to that. The other reason is that thinness is considered weakness and beefier blades are safer in the hands of an idiot.

I don't have enough experience with the production knives to know who makes the best cutters but you are definitely on the right track to cutting. I find Case knives have a nice toothy edge out of the box but they are generally thicker at the edge than I like, depending on the pattern. I think this is due to the sharpeners at Case OVER sharpening a couple years of edge off the blade. They use 220 grit to establish the edge and then it goes in the box. :eek:

When I grind a blade, I will typically strive to take the edge down to .010-.013". This makes for the ideal cutter and is easier to sharpen.
 
I just bought a real gem of a pocket knife, the Queen Dan Burke half whittler. It is slimmer than my CASE peanut, but just a bit longer. This thing is like a little swiss watch. It was actually designed as a slicer and it doesn't disappoint.

It has a wharncliffe style main blade and a kind of modified pen blade as a secondary. The small pen blade has a cutting edge of only about 3/4" or so. The blades themselves are wickedly thin and flex very easily in use.

This knife was never meant to be a work knife of any sort other than for smaller slicing chores. With the ultra thin blades it has, it is great for just that. While I don't think a construction worker's pocketknife edges need to be stropped (mine, specifically), I couldn't resist on this one. The edges were so thin and fine they just begged for it. After stropping it is almost like having a portable scalpel or Exacto knife in my pocket. When I use the small blade to "V" cut my cigars, they look like they were cut with laser.

With my micrometer at the shop (as opposed to at my home with the computer), I can only measure the thickness in relation to inches and tell you that the main blade is about 1/16 of an inch thick at the spine, and the small blade is less than that! Keep in mind that these blades are full flat ground, so the resulting cutting edge is very, very thin.

I thought this knife was a bit bigger when I purchased it, but I am very, very pleased with it. I know it sounds silly, but because of the blade geometry, you feel like you have a precision slicing instrument in your hand when you use it, not just a sharp knife.

Robert
 
Some how i like a thicker blade such as case/bose dogleg, it's because am not such a "gentle" kinda man, and i use my knives for rather EDC "heavy-duty" task. any way, if it's a slip joint, i think case barlow is good slicer with a rather thin blade (at least for me)...:)



falah
 
theblindog said:
Some how i like a thicker blade such as case/bose dogleg, it's because am not such a "gentle" kinda man, and i use my knives for rather EDC "heavy-duty" task. any way, if it's a slip joint, i think case barlow is good slicer with a rather thin blade (at least for me)...:)



falah
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I keep hearing about this "Heavy duty" or "hard use" knives.
A knife is meant to cut. That's it.
What exactly can a "heavy duty" pocketknife do that midnight flyer's thin Queen Dan Burke half whittler can't?
 
Voltron said:
I keep hearing about this "Heavy duty" or "hard use" knives.
A knife is meant to cut. That's it.
What exactly can a "heavy duty" pocketknife do that midnight flyer's thin Queen Dan Burke half whittler can't?
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:) off course, a knife is meant to cut sir, how ever, one of my "heavy duty" task is: i like to do some wood carving, almost every day, and i use my knives to do that (it is my personal option to use a knife for carving). a thin blade, would not last long with the way my clumsy hand carved those hard wood, (i broke my hen n rooster snowbelly ones). if a man with rather "gentle" and much more skill than i am in carving, the Queen Dan Burke half whittler would certainly do the job. i never said a thin knives can't do what a thick knives does.

please noted i said " it's because am not such a "gentle" kinda man" so it is a personal option.:)

falah
 
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I wasn't being sarcastic or anything. I just never got the "heavy duty" label.
I have used thin, flexible knives to do all sorts of "heavy duty" tasks, but in the end, it comes down to what you said. It's all in how you use it.
 
My Moore Maker stock knives (made by Queen) have some very thin 1095 blades allowing for a very thin edge bevel. They were probably ground that way to allow for fitting the blades in the frame but it turned into a blessing in disguise (assuming you don't mind a thin, somewhat flexible blade).
 
GEC makes one for the Northwoods Scagel brand. These are single blade trappers made by GEC and flat ground down to a typical Bark Rive edge (by Bark River).

It is a great slicer, but expensive in stag, bone, ivory and rams horn. Clip or wharncliffe blades.
 
Thanks guys, the Moore Maker and the Dan Burke sound like what I am looking for. Does anyone know if the Dan Burke Barlow is ground like the half whittler?
 
comoha said:
One that comes to mind right away for having extremely thin edges is the Al Mar traditional lockbacks such as the Osprey and the Hawk. These are high quality slicers.
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I really like those knives. I've had three hawks in my life. I had one stolen out of my office desk and gave the other two to friends that were retiring. I'm wanting an FG eagle now.

Ed
 
Quy4n8 said:
Thanks guys, the Moore Maker and the Dan Burke sound like what I am looking for. Does anyone know if the Dan Burke Barlow is ground like the half whittler?
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I have the Dan Burke Barlow, and love it as well. Not as big as some Barlow patterns, it's only about 3" in length. But it is a real handful of pocketknife.

The blades are flat ground. You could ease them back as far as you wanted. I put a lot flatter grinds on mine, and it slices very well. That little wharncliffe secondary blade is a great design, and will reprofile easily.

But the blades are much thicker than the DB half whittler, as in keeping with the tradition of the Barlow, it is a workman's knife. To me, that means it will be tasked to do things that stretch a normal knife's duties.

In reference to the earlier comments about "heavy duty" knives, I have my own take on that. When I am out on the job and need to cut heavy fiberglass reinforced strapping that is holding down a lift of plywood, I use my JYD II combo edge to cut right through it. If I cut a piece of siding that needs an edge trim, or need to cut into some sheetrock or roofing, the JYD II or my RAT 1 gets the call. But for the little whittler, it would be too much. It would be like using a flyswatter to kill the Terminator.

On the other hand, for a tiny shave on a piece of trim, removing a deeply embedded splinter (field surgery!), cutting out a profile section from a set of plans, trimming wall paper, opening small packages of parts, etc., the whittler is tough to beat.

As we say in the trades, get the right tool for he job. I am a two knife guy, so I rarely leave the house without a large folder and a small slicer in my pocket.

But when I worked in finance for a while I only carried a small knife. I carried a small Eye Brand canoe that I still have to this day. I rotated with a Kershaw Whiskey Gap, as well as a Gerber Seki City Silver Knight, and a small Buck whose model number escapes me. They were kept as slicers, and I had no need to trim 2X4s, cut strapping, open several large cardboard containers a day, etc. They were perfect EDCs for me at the time.

Robert
 
I don't have a set of calipers to measure, but my Boker Barlow has a pretty thin main blade compared to the Schrade 330T and others. The Queen City Trappers have some pretty thin blades too.
 
The Steel Warrior I bought 6 weeks ago has a small wharncliffe and spearpoint blades, it is a cigar whittler, that are the thinnest blades I've seen. They are razor sharp though and will slice and cut almost as good as a fresh single edge razor blade. I don't know if all SW knives are like this, I know my Case Humpback Whittler is not near as thin on it's two small blades.
 
eswartz said:
GEC makes one for the Northwoods Scagel brand. These are single blade trappers made by GEC and flat ground down to a typical Bark Rive edge (by Bark River).

It is a great slicer, but expensive in stag, bone, ivory and rams horn. Clip or wharncliffe blades.
Click to expand...

I've been EDC'ing a bone, clip for a a few weeks, now. For a day to day medium-duty worker, they're fantastic. But, as noted, they ain't cheap. Still worth it, IMHO.
 
i believe the thin bevel behind the edge of most gecs are what give them such great cutting ability. however most gecs are needing a tuneup before going to work. once they are sharp they cut like a lazer.
dennis
 
My Queen Cozy Glen small trapper has a very thin clip blade. You can actually flex it pretty good. If it wasn't a safe queen it would make for a great fillet knife. My Mooremaker by camillus muskrats blades are pretty slender, but with a bit thicker spine making the blades a bit stiffer.
 
My Queen-made Moore Maker stockman has very thin edges, and my Queen City Cutlery Co teardrop has fairly thin edges, too.

My GEC toothpick has an edge about the same as most of my Victorinox knives, and my GEC furtaker trapper has even thinner edges.
 
The second and third blades (spey and pen) on the GEC stockman whittlers are still quite long, but very thin,
and even a little flexible--terrific slicers once sharpened up a bit (mine have come sharp, but not REAL sharp).
 
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