What MaQes A Chopper

[CitizenQ]

ExQuse my ignorance...I am a newly infected Bladaholic. I am interested in purchasing a "chopper" and I am interested in your wise and experienced opinions. What classifies a knife as a good chopper? What features does one look for in a Quality chopper?

 

[Joe Talmadge]

Citizen, don't take this wrong, but if you don't stop with the stylized "Q" all over, I'm going to smash my head through the screen.

For the particular types of chopping jobs you have, you want a good choice of steel mated to the right heat treat to bring out the best properties of that steel, mated to the right blade shape, mated to the right handle. As always, blade geometry is important, and a steel that's strong and tough enough is what lets you optimize the blade geometry.

 

[CitizenQ]

For the particular types of chopping jobs you have, you want a good choice of steel mated to the right heat treat to bring out the best properties of that steel, mated to the right blade shape, mated to the right handle. As always, blade geometry is important, and a steel that's strong and tough enough is what lets you optimize the blade geometry.

Thank you for this information Mr. Talmadge.

Citizen, don't take this wrong, but if you don't stop with the stylized "Q" all over, I'm going to smash my head through the screen.

I can't help it Mr. Talmadge. On the upside I only have to do it once per post (twice if you count the subject line) in addition to capitalizing all naturally occuring Q's. I hope this does not result in my being banned beQuase I love this place and you will find me to be a good forum citizen.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

What classifies a knife as a good chopper?

It should be balanced to as to allow lots of power on the swing and generate little feedback during impact. It should be ground to allow this power to be efficiently transfered to cutting the wood and thus have the blade sink deep into the wood and not bind. The handle should also be secure and comfortable. The steel should be very hard to prevent deformation and very tough to prevent cracking.

Exact specifics on the shape will depend on the user and wood type, soft wood (convex grinds) vs hard wood (hollow grinds) chopping profiles for example are very different and the physical strength of the user will influence the raw amount of power you want to handle and thus the size/weight of the blade. You can learn a lot from looking at high quality axe heads, the same general principles apply.

-Cliff

 

[CitizenQ]

Cliff thanks. Is it reasonable to assume that -- *all other aspects being equal* -- "the larger the blade the better the chopability?"

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Assuming you are strong enough so that you can move the blade at maximum speed for extended periods of time, yes. Otherwise without the necessary strength the power simply won't develop and the performance will decrease. In general if you do any serious work with your hands you can ignore weight restrictions to a large degree and it is more of a balance issue. There are in general though few knives which are similar enough so that you could ignore everything but length.

-Cliff

 

[Shann]

I can't match the guys who've already spoken. They are right.

I'm just here to invite you over to the Himalayan Imports forum to join in discussions about khukris, which are very good choppers!

 

[CitizenQ]

Assuming you are strong enough...

Cliff, thanQs again for sharing your knowledge...it is much appreciated. Can you name for me "The Top 10 Choppers?"

 

[DaveH]

CitizenQ youQ MiQht be pleaQed to know you aQe now on my iQnore list, Qood LuQ!

 

[G3]

Cliff thanks. Is it reasonable to assume that -- *all other aspects being equal* -- "the larger the blade the better the chopability?"

Don't you mean eQual?

 

[C. STORR]

Hey Q:

The previous posts have given some pretty good information regarding grinds and blade geometry, etc. I would never be able to provide better technical information than that, but one suggestion as far as an actual knife would be a Busse or Swamp Rat. As far as a chopper goes, they are pretty good - a Swamp Rat Battle Rat might be a good start as they are a good size and fairly inexpensive compared to Busse. They are balanced a little forward of the handle which when combined with a good solid swing tends to chop pretty well. The steel quality is pretty good and stands up to some solid abuse. This is only my opinion, but you should go to the Swamp Rat and Busse forums here. There are lots of pictures and anecdotes from folks who have put their blades to the test. I have never tried out a Khukri, but they look like they'd chop pretty well also, and have heard good things about them...I'm sure there are other knives and makers who are good, but I just have not personally tested them yet! BTW, there are a few Battle Rats for sale in the "production knives, for sale by individuals" section right now, at pretty reasonable prices.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

For inexpensive blades, the Tramontina bolo is a good place to start. You will need to tune the edge, and the edge holding will be below the upper quality blades, but it will work well over a fairly broad spectrum of woods. The biggest disadvantage is that it will tend to stick in the harder woods, especially around knots.

Valiant Golok's are a big step up in most respects, but I have seen problems with hardening and handle construction. Others have had better performance though and customer service seems to be solid aside from recent problems due to family health problems.

Himalayan Imports makes a wealth of nice chopping blades, I personally like the 18" Ang Khola. They basically have all the requirements I listed in the above. They are fairly heavy in hand though.

The new "Scrap Yard" blades from Busse should be pretty solid in that respect, moving more away from longer parang designs and more towards more knife like ability combined with the ability to handle decent chopping tasks. Likely you will want to add a relief to the edge for optimal chopping performance.

Justin of Ranger Knives has started recently adjusting the profiles on his blades to more wood working rather than "tactical" users and has shown a willingness to work with customers and his prices are very low. They would also be a very nice place to start and users willing to get serious use out of the knives and give feedback will only help them evolve.

With more money look to makers like Kirk and Fikes who craft 10" blades which rip through 2x4's in seconds. There is a lot of the maker skill and ability there of course, not everyone with the same knife could do that but they would still appreciate the cutting ability. Some of these makers will also take production knives and adust the edge bevels to radially increase performance, a 50% increase isn't unreasonable.

Is the Q thing an OCD?

-Cliff

 

[DaveH]

Is the Q thing an OCD?

Don't you mean QCD?

 

[C. STORR]

With more money look to makers like Kirk and Fikes who craft 10" blades which rip through 2x4's in seconds.
-Cliff

This maker sounds awesome...off I go to find them on the web....:thumbup:

 

[CitizenQ]

Don't you mean eQual?

Damn.

Hey Q:...

For inexpensive blades...

Wow...great stuff here fellas...I really appreciate the wisom and experience and for putting up with me...thanks a million . I belive I've decided on a Rat or a Busse and I've been creeping around the SRKW forum for 6 months or so....but I can only afford one single high-end knife and I kinda think I life a 7 or 7.5 inch blade. I decided on a Ratweiler a coupla days too late, so now I wait for "the new line" and lust over the Busse offerings. Before I purchase a Busse I need to obtain more experience as there are so many offerings.

...Is the Q thing an OCD?

I dunno! Maybe I need to see a...doQtor.

 

[Troy H]

Is the Q thing an OCD?

I would imagine that it's a great social guage. You can tell a lot about a community by how they react to something small, inconsequential but different.

(BTW, no digs intended. I've seen some pretty severe reactions to silly stuff on different forums. BF has always been one of the good ones. )

 

[tsdevanna]

Other makers - Warren Osborne, Gayle Bradley, Daniel Winkler, John Fitch, Jim Crowell to name a few.

 

[DaveH]

I would imagine that it's a great social guage. You can tell a lot about a community by how they react to something small, inconsequential but different.

Or, how they react to someone who's an inconsiderate PIA.

 

[cgd160]

Or, how they react to someone who's an inconsiderate PIA.

Oh great and wonderful self appointed post etiQuette enforcer, just who is the inconsiderate PIA?
I'd like to know, because unfortunately I just don't get bent out of shape easily and only see 1 PIA in this thread (maybe there are 2 now).

 

[CitizenQ]

It tends to serve as a virtual mirror reflecting each individual's point of view and emotional makeup. Those who have humor react with humor. Those who are focused on the point concentrate on the subject matter at hand. Those those who are judgemental and angry express their anger. Ad infinatum. It don't matter to 'ol Q brothers...to paraphrase Johnny Goethe: "you can only see what you know." But what do I know.

But hey! I know I lot more about choppers now thanks to Cliff and you other guys. Thanks again!