Thick or thin handles?

Joe Duder

Joe Duder

Joined
Jan 22, 2013
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I know we touched on this subject in the Arête thread, but I think it deserves it's own thread.

I prefer thick handles. I love when old school, thick handle Fiddlebacks come up on the exchange. IMO, they fill the hand better and almost serve as a reminder that you have a 4" razor in hand, be careful. I love Andy's work , don't get me wrong this isn't a bash thin handle thread. Andy and co. put out amazing pieces, it really is perfection, I just prefer his thicker handles.

How 'bout y'all?
 
I was going to start this up if someone else didn't. Thanks Duder.

I like the thicker handles. And I've got smaller hands...and I still like thicker handles. To me, I like thinner if you are doing 'fine' work with the knife. It's easier to lightly grip and maneuver the knife when you want to extend a finger or thumb down the spine and do small, detail work.

Thicker handles are made for the fist. When I grab a thicker handled knife, I instantly ball up my hand. It's just made for full, hard grip.

There are many models of Andy's that I think hit that perfect medium. The bushcrafter for example. I've got an older 5/32nd full tang bushcrafter and that's right on the line between thick and thin. It fits the hand in any configuration. I'd be interested to pick up a recent one and see how much smaller it is.

I'm kinda moving to a 2 knife set though. I've got a camp knife and a karda. THICK and thin. they both serve their roles very well...but you are carrying 2 knives (and 1 pretty large one).
 
Honestly, I can't say one way or the other. I like the feel of a heavy thick handle but it don't necessarily mean it's the right thing on every blade. Both of my bushfingers have somewhat thin handles but are still pretty hefty in weight. I prefer the thin handles on the bushfingers as they feel agile and ready to move so to speak. I've never had the chance to own or put my hands on a older model, but I can say without doubt that I regret letting my big paw bushcrafter go. By far the thickest & heaviest handled F.B. I've owned. I miss it. I guess for me it comes down to weight more so than thickness.
 
I love both. Some knives really benefit from the taper tang, take my Duke for instance. The taper is so perfectly executed it balances right on my first finger.
My bushcraft karda I love the thick handle for the worker it is.
But could not imagine a full tang on my recluse that helped dress off 62 chickens recently.
Balance and indexing is key in so many of my knife task the different handle materials make this a fun feat to get right. Full and tapered tangs help balance and index an array of knives in the same spot if crafted correctly.
YMMV :)
 
Depends on the knife I'm using - but generally the thinner ones. I'm currently down to only 3 older thick handled ones because I was never reaching for them.
 
I like thicker handles and thin blades on most Knives. I also like large breasts and thin legs on most women. Could there be a connection?
 
Having used thicker handled blades for decades, I prefer the thinner handles on the Fiddlebacks, and one of the main reasons I like them so much. But certainly the option of having one or the other would make their models more desirable, but of course maybe not a good choice from their perspective, of having to do batches of thick and thins.
 
For me it depends on usage. I think maw mentioned in the other thread that for EDC type tasks thin is fine but for a user knife he likes a thick handle.

I'd have to agree on this. A thin handled Runt or EDK is great for occasional EDC use of opening the mail, cutting up an apple, etc. But if I'm going to be doing any extended work, it better have a thick handle on it or it becomes uncomfortable quickly.
 
Wow, I was just having an exchange over the net on this very topic!

This is a very tricky thing to have a simple answer for, because it'll vary for me depending on the application, size of the knife, overall shape of the handle, etc.

With that being said, I think I generally prefer thicker handles. My first FB was an 1/8" TT Bushcrafter, and after using it several months, I realized I'd prefer a thicker handle. I have a large palm, and realized during certain push/power cuts, the top of the handle was digging into my palm a bit. I'd likely never part with it, but all my subsequent purchases have been SFTs, but still all 1/8" (that's just a personal preference that I hardly go over 1/8" thickness with my knives).

Sometimes I wonder whether a 5/32" version of a same model will be more filling for my hand, but I'm just adamant/stubborn about having thinner blades.
 
Based on everyone's comments so far its apparent that there is a market for both thin & thicker handles based on user preferences. I personally have larger than average mitts so I tend to lean toward a fuller size handle. However on some models like the Nessmuk that I tend to use more for food prep I've enjoyed a thinner handle. Both Kepharts that I currently own would benefit from fuller handles since they tend to be more suited for bush crafting chores. Personally I'd like to see Andy & Ken offer options from time to time so that we can embrace a "to each his own" preference within the Fiddleback lineup.
 
Personally I'd like to see Andy & Ken offer options from time to time so that we can embrace a "to each his own" preference within the Fiddleback lineup.
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Hear hear.
 
THICK!!!! I appreciate the look of thin handles, but for a true user a thick handle is a must. Thin handles just required too much grip pressure for me. I must say that I do have big hands, but I feel for most hand sizes that a thicker handle is more stable in the hand.

Martin
 
Just out of curiosity, for those who have the 4" blade models in both 1/8" and 5/32", do the handles on 5/32" models come thicker? I wouldn't be surprised if they vary, but I may be tempted for a 5/32" model if that were the case in general.
 
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catalystman80 said:
Just out of curiosity, for those who have the 4" blade models in both 1/8" and 5/32", do the handles on 5/32" models come thicker? I wouldn't be surprised if they vary, but I may be tempted for a 5/32" model if that were the case in general.
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Each one is unique. I have 5/32" with handles thinner than 1/8" and 5/32" with handles that are thicker than 3/16". I don't think there's any general pattern that can be counted on. Even tapered tang vs SFT doesn't dictate handle size. Full is not necessarily thicker than tapered.
 
Woh, didn't know about the TT vs. SFT not being the deciding factor in the handle size! That just blew my mind :eek: (I guess it's not surprising...just a false assumption that I always had I guess...every knife is unique in some ways after all)

Sorry, going on tangents here....but how about balance? I always assumed SFT would generally be more handle heavy than TT.....is that not necessarily the case either?

thurin said:
Each one is unique. I have 5/32" with handles thinner than 1/8" and 5/32" with handles that are thicker than 3/16". I don't think there's any general pattern that can be counted on. Even tapered tang vs SFT doesn't dictate handle size. Full is not necessarily thicker than tapered.
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In my experience with Fiddleback Forge, I prefer "rounder" or "fuller" handles more so than thin. For me, round and thin seem to describe the 2 Bushfingers I have had, one from spring 2011, the other from spring 2013. I would say my hands are medium in size and I'm a small guy for what it's worth, 5'8" 165 lbs.

My original Bushfinger, 5/32 OD over nat can with an orange stripe, had REALLY nice, round, full handles. (Bushfinger note right, oldschool burlap Hunter onthe left.)



My newer Bushfinger, 1/8" tapered tang red Shadetree with black bolsters, has a much thinner and flatter handle. Andy ha admitted that his tastes have changed to thinner handles and on some of the models, he had to make the handle taller to compensate for the change in thickness.

I much prefer the rounder style. For me, it feels like I have to grip the handle with more force on a thinner, flatter handle which lends itself to faster hand fatigue.

Here is that knife compare to a BRKT Gunny-




My Terrasaur has rounder, full handles too and I really like it. I've spent hours carving with it and not had a problem. I wouldn't think to do the same with my current Bushfinger.
 
It seems that most of the decisions for thinner handles, tapered tangs, handle materials....is Andy (and really the custom knife industry) moving toward producing an overall 'lighter' final product.

I think when you adopt that philosophy as your final goal, you see smaller tangs, thinner blade stock, thinner handles... I often think that's why we don't see anything with just G10 as the handle. G10 is the heaviest scale stock (apparently)
 
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