The Razor's Edge

[RedLynx]

Hi guys,

So, we've been talking a bit recently about thin vs. thick knives. Why do we like thin knives, why thick, etc.

Personally I really like a lot of both. But I was wondering, when you need a knife to cut like a razor, or as close to a razor as possible (thick or thin) what knife do you prefer. What knife gives you that razor's edge?

For me, in the thin category, Opinel, and interestingly, my Hossom Retribution folder, although much thicker, also does this well.

 

[Charr]

Most recently my Diskin Fire has been the most razor-like of my normally carried knives. My Opinel is the thinnest, but the Fire is very thin behind the edge, and takes and keeps a screaming edge. Another good one is my Dorado, though that one is a little thicker and not as much of a slicer.

 

[marcinek]

Opinel.

 

[Steel130]

Some steels are capable of holding very thin angles, edges, and thinnesses behind the edge. So not utilizing that ability is like have a sports car that you never put in fifth gear. Sure it will work, but not at it's peak performance. Most knives today are more robust, and thicker behind the edge than necessary. I don't really understand this because a knifes primary function is to cut. That is the beauty to me.

As for my razor knife. It is a Joe Calton Fish Knife. .008" behind the edge.

 

[chiral.grolim]

I reviewed some smaller blades in comparison to a knife from Tim Johnson of Blackstone K&T. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...r-knives-and-a-TIMOS-handmade-knife-(feature)

That blade is ~0.005" at the shoulder, and its design outperforms razor-utility blades. i compared its geometry to that of a standard boxcutter, the Spyderco CalyIII, and an ESEE Izula which has the same geometry as my Rodent Solution:

It takes a shaving edge with minimal effort and slices with more ease than any knife I own including straight-razors (which have a dramatic hollow grind). Can it shave? Oh yes:

[video=youtube;5OuPwN7MUts]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OuPwN7MUts[/video]

But for most of my cutting tasks around my budding homestead, i need a bit more confidence in the lateral strength and impact resistance of my knives - carving hard oak, a bit of prying and chopping - so most are closer to 0.030" at the shoulder. While that is still thicker than necessary for most tasks, I enjoy the level of abuse my Rodent Solution can handle:

Or the GSO-4.1:

And while these knives are certainly thicker than the Blackstone knife and cannot slice with its level of efficiency, they are still able to be kept shaving sharp:

[video=youtube;MKjI0Vjt80I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKjI0Vjt80I[/video]


So for me, it is not about a shaving-sharp razor vs a dull knife - I keep all apexed ~15-dps. It is about a thin slicer vs a thick carver to accomplish the task at hand as efficiently as possible :thumbup:

 

[Shotgun]

IMO there's more to a knife than thick vs thin. There's how the edge is sharpened(i.e. polish), there's how the blade is angled in relation to the body, the geometry of the blade in ALL directions, the quality of HT, what kind of distal taper etc. For instance while the Spydie military is thick both in the edge and at the spine near the base of the blade, it has a curve all the way through, has a distal taper which makes a good half of the knife skinny and is angled correctly for the hand IMO. I read a while back two knife makers who couldn't understand why so many thought the military was such a good slicer because the edge was X inches thick Y inches back. IMO they couldn't figure it out because they were stuck on a single aspect of the knife's design.

If I had to pick the best slicer I have to give it up to this one below. David Farmer, 3/32" thick 1095 and screaming sharp. I was making fuzz sticks with a large piece of firewood one time. It was a full sized round that I was just experimenting with. I'm used to small sticks and thought I'd give a big one a try. My thumb was resting alongside the wood because the piece was too big to wrap the thumb over. The knife removed layers of wood so fast that I didn't put 2 and 2 together in time to realize that every layer removed was a step closer to said thumb. Eventually it got there. It sliced half my thumbnail clean off and I barely felt it. Crazy good slicer. And lesson learned.