What are YOUR thoughts on chopper thickness?

beanbag

beanbag

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Apr 1, 2009
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I love choppers.

I love taking my choppers out and just wailing on wood. Sometimes I use them purposefully, sometimes for testing, and sometimes just for exercise and to take my aggressions out on a chunk of wood.

I'm starting to lean towards a chopper thickness of less than 1/4". I find I can move them faster, and with the thinner blade stock they bite deeper.

1/8" choppers are lightning fast, but don't have enough mass for me.

I'm thinking 3/16" is the best compromise.

Obviously grind style is also important. I'm usually using full flat or high sabre.

All the above assumes a standard length chopper of 10" +/-, I'm not really talking about machetes here.

How about you? Do you have an optimal chopper thickness?

Edit: Of course blade height is an important factor also. Come to think of it, maybe there are just too many variables, and my original focus on thickness is just absurd. Perhaps this is just a stupid question. Feel free to disregard.

Gentlemen, as you were.
 
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I like 5/16" with a full distal taper. It increases speed and distributes the mass better making it hit harder.
 
1/8" or less and BROAD. Also, somewhere in the 16"-24" range. Trust me--it'll chop PLENTY well enough. :D:D:D
 
I prefer 1/4 inch to 5/16 thick or Daniel Fairly .36 thick choppers. My Gossman BBT has handled all I have thrown at it!
 
I'm not a fan of thin choppers. I like something that almost swings me. The Busse NMFBM is my ideal chopper, but only after some serious reprofiling. I do think it could be just a tad thinner.
A shallow convex grind with plenty of weight behind it makes a great tree buster.
A heavier knife requires more effort to swing, but it bites deep and gives the user a great workout.
Probably not the best knife to lug around on a long-distance hike though.
 
As the blade gets longer, it can often get thinner, height is also very important as 42 said. An 1/8" thick Ontario 18" machete has lots of power, but that's the length adding the weight, but we're not talking machetes.
Here's a pic of 4 "choppers", all very different.

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All four of these blades have such different profiles, grinds, and thickness. The Bolok and the Junglas are 3/16" thick, well Bruce calls his a fat 3/16", it's actually 13/64" thick. The FFG of the Junglas makes it light, and fast in hand, yet I find it lacks power. I like the grind of my Bolok, it seems to throw chunks out of the notch when I'm chopping. It makes the blade rigid as well, but of course a bit heavy. It's all relative, I weight 200 lbs, so I can add it to my pack without too much pain.

This is my favorite chopper, and it's got the best edge retention I've ever seen, forged 5160..

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I haven't noticed any one thickness being better overall then another given the balance and edge geometry are good.
 
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Revolverrodger said:
I prefer .20 thickness. The reason is that it is stronger for battoning.
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Is it? I've batoned 1/16" machetes quite a lot and haven't broken one. From my use thick knives are only better at prying where you're putting lateral force on the blade. A wide thin machete I find to be plenty strong for batoning.
 
Not sure how the strength plays into it but ...

Say a blade 2" tall and .25" thick ... acts like a wedge and magnifies the the outward pressure to split wood.

A thinner blade will drive in easier but has less wedging affect and in tough wood has a greater chance of getting stuck.
 
It depends. I have two Culbersons with a blade around .28, that I absolutely love. I also have a Koyote around 3/16 that I love. I like around 3/16 - 5/16 I guess. Although I do have a couple that are thinner and they chop great, too, they are more like machetes, though.
 
Dammit,
I like them all!

I love machete's, and Bowies, dedicated choppers...all of them.
Whats the best? I don't know...
All of my BIG knives do their job well, or I wouldn't own them.

My personal favorite is my Fox Golok at 1/4" thick fully convexed...its a beast, and pretty fast in hand. I also love the Junglas, what a great half breed (part machete, part bowie).
The Cold Steel trailmaster SanMai is a beast of its own...fighting knife, chopper, machete...it does it all VERY well....(I am just guessing on the fighting part, but I bet no one wants to get stuck by one!!! :) ).
Another REALLY great knife for the money is the Ontario 5160 SP50. Its a pretty tough knife at 1/4" thick, flat grind, and chops very well. Being hidden tang, it is super fast in hand, and as far as tough goes...me and 2 other co-workers tested it to its limits..or so we thought.
We had 5 rolls of super thick carpet we needed to recycle. We had to fit them into a standard pickup. They were huge, maybe 16 or 18 feet long.
We cut them into lengths of 6" or so. This is no easy job on a cold New England day...we chopped, sawed, and cut our way through all of it with my then "new" SP50 just for fun. that knife was SO scratched and dull...man what a beating. BUT, it took all of our good natured abuse and laughed at it. I wish I had a video of that day. Ontario would like to see what we did to that knife.
Its a keeper for sure.

Anyways..as far as thickness goes, its all in the design. Like many have stated, machetes at around 1/16" thick can be monster choppers..its all in the width and ergo's.

Junglas, SP50, Cold Steel Trail Master and FOX Golok
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For a ~10" blade I prefer 3/16" to 1/4" depending on how wide it is. I agree for a longer blade greater than 15 inches going to 1/8" works fine and is my preference.

Been digging this one lately though and it is only about 5/32" thick.

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Brian Sargent said:
Not sure how the strength plays into it but ...

Say a blade 2" tall and .25" thick ... acts like a wedge and magnifies the the outward pressure to split wood.

A thinner blade will drive in easier but has less wedging affect and in tough wood has a greater chance of getting stuck.
Click to expand...

I can see this though I've never had a machete stick. It's definitely a trade off. Like you say, thick knives are harder to start but split the wood faster. Thin ones are easier to baton but take more whacks to make it through the wood.
 
Shotgun said:
I can see this though I've never had a machete stick. It's definitely a trade off. Like you say, thick knives are harder to start but split the wood faster. Thin ones are easier to baton but take more whacks to make it through the wood.
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I think the wood plays a big part.

I've split big pieces of Pine in one whack!

Then someone will show up to a campout with a pile of Eucalyptus. :grumpy:

Not only does it burn like crap but I've had to use wedges to get out the wedges that were going to get out my blade! :D

Some woods just blow.
 
Brian Sargent said:
I think the wood plays a big part.

I've split big pieces of Pine in one whack!

Then someone will show up to a campout with a pile of Eucalyptus. :grumpy:

Not only does it burn like crap but I've had to use wedges to get out the wedges that were going to get out my blade! :D

Some woods just blow.
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Sounds like you should make a flute then. :)

Splitting wood can be a pain in the ass. WITH A KNIFE. IF I get nuts, and try..I usually make a wedge..and work it all out. Frozen wood splits pretty well..I always use a bit of the same wood...green wedges don't do it.
 
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