Why are people making knives so Thick?

Thick knives have their place. For my outdoor/camping needs I like something that can chop as well as slice. My current favorite is the White River FC7. I can beat the heck out of it and it still looks new. It goes real well with my EDC- Benchmade Taggedout. Love the thin blade on that knife. I'm glad we have so many choices, but I agree, thick blades seem to be the latest rage.
 
carnifex knifeworks said:
I think way too many opinions are getting thrown around like they're facts.

I'll say this, CPK makes an SDFK model, which is about .250 thick at the spine. It cuts really well. I doubt many people know more about making knives than CPK.

Is it going to cut with the same ease as an aebl kitchen knife that's made from .080 stock? No.

Does it cut rope, skin/process game, open packages, gut fish, trim fabric, carve wood, process food, trim fingernails, etc. very well? Yeah, it really does.

I don't agree with reducing an issue to oversimplified statements. Thick spines don't equal poor cutting abilities and thinner stock doesn't equal better cutting performance.

Just like @David Mary pointed out, there's a lot more to it than spine thickness.

Bottom line is that there are different tools for different jobs. Some knives are ONLY designed for kitchen use. Others are actually designed to cut well AND baton wood. They aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

There's a demand for knives of varying thicknesses, so there's a supply too. I think prosperity and collecting is what drives it. Buying multiple knives that generally all serve a similar (or even the same) purpose causes people to want different features and designs.
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"I think way too many opinions get thrown around like they are facts"

Yep, I agree with This.....
 
Let's see, there exists perception and reality. It is easy to perceive a thicker blade as tougher, no matter what steel it is made of, while reality is that there are some steels that can be far thinner and still be as strong. It is a perception that generally all knife manufacturers are concerned about warranty claims, reality is most don't have that good a warranty anyway and will deny them. It is a perception that thick knives can't cut as well as thin ones, reality says it depends on many factors, and often either can work equally well. It is a perception (as well as a mistake) that we on this forum, account for a large percentage of buyers, reality we probaably don't even make it to 1% of knife buyers. We can speculate all we want on why a manufacturer might decide to go thicker or thinner, change blade steel, vary the hardness, etc. etc. however, unless you contact all of them and ask, no one really can answer this question on their behalf. Reality is manufacturers are concerned with selling every knife they make and they have eyes and ears out there researching what will sell, and also where they can save costs, so if you are going to replace a belt on a sharpening machine for every 5 m390 blades that are run at 61RC but you can get 15 done with 58-59RC, you will run it lower, the general public that buys most of the knives made won't know the difference, only we knife nuts will know.

My point is this, while these questions drum up a lot of opinions, and usually good possible explainations, we are still dealing with nothing more than perception vs. reality. Now, if you change the question to why do you like thick knives vs. thin knives, the conversation will take on a whole different path.
 
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HexY3co said:
My inkosi is .14 per the website.
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Drop point? My Inkosi Tanto is .20 and .22 at the angle. That’s interesting if they differ between grinds.

I’ll have to measure my DP. Just assumed they would all be the same.
 
David Mary said:
I use this mostly for processing wood for my stove and cutting down thistles in the pasture.
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carnifex knifeworks said:
Others are actually designed to cut well AND baton wood.
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Sorry David, Carnifex, but Quiet says knives aren’t designed to do that. None of them. So you must be doing something wrong… 🤷‍♂️

Quiet said:
Also, using a knife to process wood, I get the appeal, but it's still not what knives were designed to do.
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🙄
 
scdub said:
Sorry David, Carnifex, but Quiet says knives aren’t designed to do that. None of them. So you must be doing something wrong… 🤷‍♂️



🙄
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Actually, that's not what I said.

:rolleyes:
 
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......... I mean....I like both thick and thin..... makers are generally predisposed to meet what the market demands, but the beauty of choice is that not one of us is bound by a rule of only think of thing. Of course to me .25 is on the thin side... ;) :D :)
 
carnifex knifeworks said:
I think way too many opinions are getting thrown around like they're facts.

I'll say this, CPK makes an SDFK model, which is about .250 thick at the spine. It cuts really well. I doubt many people know more about making knives than CPK.

Is it going to cut with the same ease as an aebl kitchen knife that's made from .080 stock? No.

Does it cut rope, skin/process game, open packages, gut fish, trim fabric, carve wood, process food, trim fingernails, etc. very well? Yeah, it really does.

I don't agree with reducing an issue to oversimplified statements. Thick spines don't equal poor cutting abilities and thinner stock doesn't equal better cutting performance.

Just like @David Mary pointed out, there's a lot more to it than spine thickness.

Bottom line is that there are different tools for different jobs. Some knives are ONLY designed for kitchen use. Others are actually designed to cut well AND baton wood. They aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

There's a demand for knives of varying thicknesses, so there's a supply too. I think prosperity and collecting is what drives it. Buying multiple knives that generally all serve a similar (or even the same) purpose causes people to want different features and designs.
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The first thing I like to do with a new knife is prep a meal with it. It helps me determine, without arranging some time outside, how well a knife is going to perform using fine motor skills - this is something I do from small(ish) slip joints to knives that are in the SDFK size range.

The SDFK, love it as I do, is not the best knife in the kitchen, though it does get the job done. Will it do it all as a proper camp knife should though? Yes, and one would probably be hard pressed to find a finer example too. Somewhat related, I did use my SDFK to spatchcock my bird on Turkey Day - cut the spine out and split the breastbone (I'm sure you know how well it performed in that regard 😁 )

More to the topic, I find uses for both thick and thin blades - it is all in how the maker/manufacturer executed the design. The old Hudson Bay camp knives from back in the day were considered big heavy affairs for their time and though they weren't necessarily carried as belt knives, they were still used for clearing camp, bushwhacking, and processing large game. They are widely considered to be the predecessors of what we consider a modern camp knife these days. It's worth noting though that despite their heft and size, they probably weren't that thick by our standards today.
 
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Here’s my take as to why there are so many thick blades:

We live in an incredibly dangerous world. We always have, but our exposure to those dangers has increased exponentially with information technology.

We now understand, often from graphic video, how people can easily succumb to a wide variety of hazards, and as the born survivalists that many of us are, we gravitate towards those pieces of gear that are likely to keep us, our families, and if we can manage it our friends alive in an emergency situation.

Knives are essential emergency gear. A broken knife is a terrible thing in an emergency.
 
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They do it because they want to do it. They do it because there are people who want to buy it. There are people who love. You shouldn't attach too much meaning to some things. Why do you have pocket knives with handles made of titanium, copper, etc.? Why do you have knives made of different steels? Honestly, you can spend your life with four or five knives. If you want your knives to be thin, buy them that way. It's ridiculous to question the reasons why they should be thick. What's the point? You want to change your mind and someone has to convince you? Sometimes it's just a matter of taste. Sometimes it's just a conversation piece. A new flavor in a collection. I have knives of absurd thickness with no practical use. I'm very happy to own every one of them. For example, a knife 0.10 thick and that has no practical use.


 
scdub said:
Here’s my take as to why there are so many thick blades:

We live in an incredibly dangerous world. We always have, but our exposure to those dangers has increased exponentially with information technology.

We now understand, often from graphic video, how people can easily succumb to a wide variety of hazards, and as the born survivalists that many of us are, we gravitate towards those pieces of gear that are likely to keep us, our families, and if we can manage it our friends alive in an emergency situation.

Knives are essential emergency gear. A broken knife is a terrible thing in an emergency.
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Yes, I agree with this statment as to what people may think......

But...... With the advent of "Super Steels" you get the same toughness (Better) with less needed blade size.

*So why are there .1875" - .25" 3V knives? (and there are LOTS of them)

That might be equivalent to a 7/16" thick Becker!!!


Do we really need That?


*I know That is a silly question.
 
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