What are YOUR thoughts on chopper thickness?

3/16" to 1/4" thick, convex grind is what I prefer.
Scott
 
7/16" sounds about right. But then again, my chopper of choice is a khukuri.

hibgrs.jpg
 
Choppers can be great in all sorts of thicknesses, it just depends how they are made and what they are for. I personally lean to the thicker ones.

I have used lightning fast choppers up to .360" thick and if they are made right the extra mass and thickness can really help out.

On the other hand I have some machetes planned that will probably only be a bit over 1/16" thick, they will be perfect at that thickness for their intended use.
 
I like my choppers to be thick...although it doesn't really have to do with performance. I don't have enough experience to truly say thicker is "better" than thinner, but I just like them thick because it makes me feel like the tool is more indestructible.

I have two 5/16s choppers from Scott Gossman and Daniel Fairly, and two 3/8s from Bill Siegle, and what I can say is they are awesome for batonning. Takes much less effort than with blades under .25. But I've also gotten pretty tired from swinging the Gossman Scimitar while chopping too. Having handled his 3/16s Bolo, I don't think I would have gotten as tired swinging that.

Along the same lines, all of these blades will make some nice shavings because the grinds are done right and thin enough at the edge, so in the end I guess thickness and performance is more related to the final grind and edge in my limited opinion.
 
Choppers???

Hell--I KNOW about choppers!!!!

I've got a a A PhD in Chopping!!!
:)

My observations from testing over 250 choppers

Primary thing that effects how well a knife /chopper will work is the type of wood-NOT the thickness of the wood or Blade

I can chop through 3-4" pine way faster than I can a 2" Mesquite

On an overall test of a 3/16" vs 1/4"-vs 5/16"---where the specs of blade length,edge type,etc are the same then the Winner will depend on how fast and strong YOU are.

You will be able to use the lighter weight choppers for a longer amount of time before you start to lose accuracy too.

Most of my choppers are 1/4" and I'm most comfortable with that thinkness.

But the ONLY way you can find out what works best for you is to test as many choppers as you can and find out what works BEST for YOU ---where you LIVE.
 
Thanks to all who weighed in on this thread.

I got a chance to put a few of my choppers to the test in a quick video my son whipped up for me.

I used the Gossman Big Bore Tusker which is 1/4" thick,
the Becker BK-9 at 3/16", and
the Farmer Camp Bolo at 1/8".

They all did a great job.

Personally, I find the Tusker to be the most versatile of the three knives, but this was a chopping comparison only, not a full blown knife review.

If chop count is important to you, here it is:

Gossman- 23
Becker- 27
Farmer-18


To be honest, I'm not that sure this video is proves much of anything except that you can chop with all three knives.

What do YOU GUYS think?

[video=youtube;uASBzer2wLY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uASBzer2wLY&feature=g-all-u&context=G2f13a32FAAAAAAAAAAA[/video]
 
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I've removed all the thick choppers from my collection. The only advantage that I can see with having a thick blade is that it allows more prying action than a thinner knife. I don't really pry much and when I do, I'm more likely to use one of my smaller knives for that purpose. My favorite blade for chopping and general camping chores is the condor 12" bolo machete. Its 1/8" thick but over 2" in blade height which contributes to its stiffness in chopping and batoning. Never had an issue batoning a thinner blade, especially if the knife is significantly longer than the diameter of wood you are splitting. Like Dr. Bill says, this is what works best for me.
 
for me personally .. the kind of chopper Ill grab depends entirely on the job at hand .
sometimes we are just clearing light stuff , brackens and stuff , not big deal

sometimes I want to mess with a bit of desert grown mallee or myal , its fun wood .. used to used for making edged weapons :) it takes a good knife to chop into that ... sabre grinds and flat grinds have problems .. a convex will hold its own usually tho , but a machete will simply roll the edge regardless of grind , it is too soft usually. One of the reasons I kinda love valiant co blades with their differential temper

for most stuff Ill use a thinner blade , when I go bush , and I think we will be going into desert areas , Ill take somethng a bit heavier , little thicker , convex ground .. just because the work , from my experience , requires it .

I have mashed my share of blades messin with the inland hardwoods . But the kind of chopper that works on them , sort of sucks for working on the softer stuff .

so yeah for me , its as much about the wood as the knife .
 
3/16-1/4",8-10" blade & over all weight of 1-1 1/4 lb. for dedicated knife type choppers.I too like the thickness for battening & the weight for chopping.
My experience with machetes is more limited,but I've had great results with a Marbles & lousy results with a cheap 5$ machete from the surplus store.Go figure eh.
The Marbles(sorry I don't remember the model,18" blade I believe) cut through some old seasoned oak like it was green alder with no vibration to the handle,but chopping with the cheapie machete left my hand wishing I hadn't done that.:D
I also have a Tram. I cut down to 12" & it just doesn't have the mass hence chopping ability of a good chopper because of the weight loss.

We also need to consider handles,if it doesn't feel/fit right your not going to get the full potential out of it either.
I forgot to mention I rehandled the Marbles & the Tram.,the Marbles I did right,but the Tram I made too narrow for a good tight hand filling grip so I wrapped it with some insulating tape,but it still doesn't have the mass for the best chopping ability.
It'll do for limbs & grasses,but I wouldn't want to tackle a 4" or larger log with it.

Sooo..IMO 3/16-1/4" for chopping knives & anything around 1/8" for machete type choppers.

I also have a Koyote Chopper/Cleaver thats got a 3/32" thick blade at 10 3/4" that I haven't had a chance to use yet.
It just might blow my thinking about blade thickness out of the water.We'll see.......
 
There is a balance of weight for inertia to cut deep and speed. That balance, in my experience, tips a bit towards the speed side of things being more important. I don't see no reason to make a heavy tool. :)

All dimensions on my blades are approximate as they are made by feel, but I almost never have anything come out much over 1/4". On the big chopping blades like my bush swords, they may actually distally taper from the chopping sweet spot to the tip and to the handle, so that the thickest point is right over the swell of the belly. A lot of times that thickest point may be around 1/4" thick, but the rest of the blade isn't.

So I would vote 1/4" as the upper limit of what I consider reasonable, with the caveate that I make my blades with a full flat bevel (forged and filed), so a 1/4" blade with a short flat grind would not be the same by any means.

But, as with most things, your mileage may vary.
 
kgd said:
I've removed all the thick choppers from my collection. The only advantage that I can see with having a thick blade is that it allows more prying action than a thinner knife. I don't really pry much and when I do, I'm more likely to use one of my smaller knives for that purpose. My favorite blade for chopping and general camping chores is the condor 12" bolo machete. Its 1/8" thick but over 2" in blade height which contributes to its stiffness in chopping and batoning. Never had an issue batoning a thinner blade, especially if the knife is significantly longer than the diameter of wood you are splitting. Like Dr. Bill says, this is what works best for me.
Click to expand...

I'm moving in that same direction I have some large thick knives but find I enjoy chopping more with a thinner knife say 1/8 or 5/32 maybe. I have a barong shaped Fiddleback 12" machete that is 1/8" thick and I love how it performs. I'd love to try the same thing in 5/32 but don't think I'd want to go any thicker with it. I use my smaller knives for prying with as well so I find I'm liking thicker smaller blades and thinner choppers.

[youtube]btNpMC_x5aA&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
 
Like Dr. Bill says ......

This is a chopper, of more accurately a cleaver
I have had this for 40 years, mainly in a drawer

This is a Sabitier Meat Cleaver 7" long and 1/16" in carbon, where I have lazily convexed the edge
It is between an hatchet and a machete
Has a wonderful sweet point
There is enough weight for it to just cut, and cut deep

attachment.php


And I am sure this will be ignored as it is too outside the box.........
LOL
 
neeman said:
Like Dr. Bill says ......

This is a chopper, of more accurately a cleaver
I have had this for 40 years, mainly in a drawer

This is a Sabitier Meat Cleaver 7" long and 1/16" in carbon, where I have lazily convexed the edge
It is between an hatchet and a machete
Has a wonderful sweet point
There is enough weight for it to just cut, and cut deep

attachment.php


And I am sure this will be ignored as it is too outside the box.........
LOL
Click to expand...

I seem to have noticed a growing trend towards bushcraft cleavers. I like it. :D
 
neeman said:
It is great chopper and outdoor knife
Click to expand...

There were green special operations soldiers in Vietnam who carried cleavers to the bush. I had what I think was a Vietnamese cane knife once...burned in a house fire...that was made much like a cleaver but sharpened only on one side, was a great knife for cutting cane and green vegetation.
 
neeman said:
Like Dr. Bill says ......

This is a chopper, of more accurately a cleaver
I have had this for 40 years, mainly in a drawer

This is a Sabitier Meat Cleaver 7" long and 1/16" in carbon, where I have lazily convexed the edge
It is between an hatchet and a machete
Has a wonderful sweet point
There is enough weight for it to just cut, and cut deep

attachment.php


And I am sure this will be ignored as it is too outside the box.........
LOL
Click to expand...

One of these days I'll have a custom cleaver. I like them quite a bit. I think I would go for 3/16 or 1/8 though just to give it a little more weight. Cool knife though.
 
These are designed with a old and tried shape as classic chopper
So it has a very definte chop with a very define sweet spot
Because it is so thin with such a deep blade it cuts very deep at a single chop
The grind was very obtuse for cutting bones, but now is convexed to do fine work

And it batons with no problem

attachment.php
 
Never really thought about using a thinner blade until I saw your video Beanbag. Great thread.
 
I've been giving this alot of thought lately. Here's what I think

For a big 10in + chopper that's still a knife like a battle mistress, I really believe that about .22 is the perfect thickness. At this thickness the blade is fast and bites very deep but still has enough weight that it swings with it's own mass. Ultra thick 5/16th + choppers don't bite deep and weigh too much making them bad a brush clearing and less effective at chopping. Basically I think .25 or below is an ideal thickness for a blade up to about 14 inches.

After about 14 inches or so the blade is more a sword or machete. At this length thin is better but not too thin. 3/16th is good because it has mass but speed.

16in + blades that are true machetes I think 1/8th is best. 1/16th is just too floppy but that's just me.
 
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