Why are people making knives so Thick?

There's plenty of people who just like beefy blades, lot of media and discussion surrounding the topics of bushcraft, survival and self defense over the last decade that's mostly focused on strong and thick blades. Nothin' wrong with that, and for a one knife do all option it seems popular still.

I've gravitated towards smaller thinner fixed blades, SAK's and Opinel's over the last 5-6 years and haven't looked back. A Puukko style knife of some variety and a SAK are my usual outdoor companions, I'll bring an axe or a saw along for adventures depending on what I need and what time of year it is but its rare for me to take a big or heavy knife. Still have my Esee 5 and won't get rid of it.

Opinels are easy to get scary sharp and they've become my favorite for making snacks or harvesting/eating things out of the garden.
 
mph57 said:
Nice! I grew up hunting in Nevada. Now I’m on the “old side” and don’t get out much to hunt anymore. Where’d you get the elk?
Click to expand...
I’m in New Mexico. I’ve been on 4 elk kills this year, an oryx and a mule deer. I have a mule deer hunt in January. Archery. This last hunt was a youth hunt. The camp I was in got 3 out of 4 tags last weekend! I took my buddies daughter, and got her her first elk!! My son will be old enough to start hunting next year. Hopefully he can draw a tag!
 
droddy386 said:
What is with knives being thicker than 1/8"? Hunting knives and others .2 inches thick seems like massive overkill, especially with modern steel. Has someone confused them with a hatchet?
If the knife is supposed to be good at cutting or slicing then it is counterproductive.
Click to expand...

Unless you've been living in a cave, thick knives have been around as long and maybe longer than thin knives. The reason being that there are plenty of tasks where a thicker blade is necessary. Just because you aren't a fan, doesn't make it wrong. And just because a knife is thick at the spine, doesn't mean that it will have poor edge geometry. Draw a triangle with the spine being 1/8 inch and the blade having a width of 3/4 inch. If you extend that triangle out to 1.5 inches, the spine is now 1/4 inch, yet the geometry has not changed. Just wondering, what kind of thin bladed knives do you own or like? Moras? kitchen blades?

I saw that you posted what you like here. I have a few very old knives from the early 1900's that are thick. Most frontier blades were on the thicker side and they used them for everything including skinning. Very old japanese tanto knives that I have seen have been in the 0.2 inch thickness range and these were 400 year old knives.
droddy386 said:
I've seen a few on the forums here. The majority on here appear to be around .15" which is still exceedingly thick. Anything above 1/8" is overkill in my opinion. .09" is a good thickness for most. I am just wondering why people want to carry around a truck leaf spring as a knife?

I remember years ago that even machetes were thin.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Obviously depends on the application. Folders in the .14 range by CRK are among the best. Big bowies by cold steel in the .30 range still have great edge geometry and do what they are made for very well.
 
HexY3co said:
Obviously depends on the application. Folders in the .14 range by CRK are among the best. Big bowies by cold steel in the .30 range still have great edge geometry and do what they are made for very well.
Click to expand...
Which CRKs would those be? Mine seem to be around .20+ (which isn't bad IMO).
 
I might like to try making something in 3/8" stock one of these days just for fun, but that bulldozer is a hard pass from me.
 
I think people do not know how to use knives so they use force more than technique.
Look at the busse group, they just bash things with it. Love my TGLB though, great camp knife.
 
HwangJino said:
I think people do not know how to use knives so they use force more than technique.
Look at the busse group, they just bash things with it. Love my TGLB though, great camp knife.
Click to expand...
You have a point, however there were legitimate reasons for heavier knives. When you look at commercial Industrial tools like butcher or slaughter house meat processing knives, they came in a variety of shapes and sizes to optimize specific tasks, some of which were very thick. We also should consider that most people have access to a folding knife and when they add a fixed blade they are looking to supplement the smaller lighter blade that is already on their person.

n2s
 
I'll just add that 'All Knives Matter' 👍 😎B.T.B
David Mary said:
There are good reasons to use thinner stock.
Click to expand...

David Mary said:
OOPS...My apologies, I inadvertently cut out your post, Doh!
Click to expand...
Nicely outlined & explained 👍
Kettleman said:
Same reason they make yoga pants in 4x…thick has become acceptable and popular these days.
Click to expand...
No Thanks...I'm Ol' School 🙄
eveled said:
View attachment 2406368
This a Randall model 21. I cannot believe how thin it is ground. It is really difficult to photograph. But there is a pencil on the edge.
Click to expand...
What is that , some kinky knoif porn ? Lol 😄

David Mary said:
I might like to try making something in 3/8" stock one of these days just for fun, but that bulldozer is a hard pass from me.
Click to expand...
Maybe just a 'Calf Snoozer' instead ? ☺

B.T.B.
 
Last edited:
I agree with this as far as hunting knives are concerned, especially American made hunting knives. A thin blade makes a better slicer that’s easier to sharpen. Many US hunting knives are made with blades that are.17” or even thicker. My theory is that manufacturers use thicker blades for hunting knives because consumers insist on slamming those knives through thick pieces of hardwood (just like on YouTube! 🙄) and the manufacturers get tired of warranty claims.
 
Companies make these knives thicker these days because customers are stupid and suffer from a lack of personal accountability, and so they have to compensate for that. That's it, that's the primary reason.

90% of the knife buying market had zero training in how to use a knife as children, and it shows. Ever notice how if you just use a knife as a knife, you never seem to have any issues? Yeah, a lot of people never learned that (or thanks to YouBoob doofuses and abuse videos. UNlearned that). So, that's why we have so many knives out there that are great designs, beautifully made, but are poor cutters. Make great batoning froes, though. 😒
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top