why not thinner blades?

[Gator97]

...Naturally, 1/16" blades would need to be made out of tougher material. If the 1/16" knife was made out of ultra-tough steel like S5, it would be tougher than the vast majority of 1/8" knives. At 60 rc, S5 has 3 times the impact toughness as L6. CPM 3V and CPM M4 are also excellent options if more wear resistance is needed...

Actually Phil Wilson is finishing up my CPM 3V knife, which should be 1.5-2mm thick, 62HRC, flat ground. It's rather small knife, mainly for kitchen use, but I'll certainly do cardboard and wood whittling tests to see how it will hold up, but I'm fairly sure there will be no problems with that.

Rarely used for what?

Rarely used compared to chef's knife or other more general purpose kitchen knives.

I just measured a mass produced utility knife to be 1/16". There have to be millions of them in the market...they are perfect for what they are perfect for.

If you are referring to kitchen utility knives, they're one of the most useless kitchen knives ever made. Extremely limited use compared to even the paring knives, let alone chefs knives, santukos etc... They're perfect knife block fillers, but as far as actual kitchen use goes, next to worthless.

 

[me2]

My favorite knife is probably 2mm. Its a Faberware 8" chef's knife and it cuts and cuts and cuts, even when slightly dull. The weight and balance are perfect for all sorts of fun cutting, like empty soda cans and soda bottles, paper towel tubes, etc. The relatively shallow hollow grind is not as good as thinner grinds for food prep, but it works for that as well.

I have a knife that is 1/16" thick made from M2 with a ~10 degree convex bevel on the flat stock. Reported hardness is in the 64-66 range. I batoned it with a 4 lb hammer (eat it Noss) and had no durability issues. In fact, the spine dented the face of the hammer. It was from a saw blade sent to me by Sodak. I love that thing, and need to put a proper handle on it, instead of the slotted, glued one I had. I also need a new belt sander so I can sharpen the f'en thing.

The thickest knife I have is 3/16. I dont have anything against thicker knives, and have used them before. With proper edge grinds, they cut well and have extra weight when needed. However, for 90% of knife use, 3/32" or 1/8" will do the trick. I keep telling myself that because I dont have the gear to grind 1/4" stock.

 

[Ramm9]

Rarely used compared to chef's knife or other more general purpose kitchen knives.

I think that's your imagination because many "other more general purpose knives" are 1/16th inch. The 1/16th (1.5mm) blade is used in a lot of styles...combine all those 1/16" styles and they probably get plenty of use.

If you are referring to kitchen utility knives,

No, not referring to "utility knives" or any specific knife style but referring to the wide availability
of 1/16" blades that are anything but "rare" on the market.

I like 1/16" blades. They cut well. They are very rare on the market. Why is that?

They can be made tough if the steel is tough. There are videos of 1/16" blades batonning through concrete block, nails, etc.

 

[theonew]

I can understand a little more thickness on a large chopper type knife but what I don't get are the little ~3 inch blades that are a quarter inch thick To me those just seem like novelty knives.

 

[A_Blade_Afficionado]

I can understand a little more thickness on a large chopper type knife but what I don't get are the little ~3 inch blades that are a quarter inch thick To me those just seem like novelty knives.

If you live in a city with strict limits but require a very tough knife for your line of work they fit the niche nicely.

 

[TheCarbideRat]

Anyone try convexing their thicker blades? I have a 1/4" folder convexed and its a cutting machine very capable of fine cuts, I cut some rubber hose very precisely [and easily] with it last night.

 

[JediKnight86]

I like 1/16" blades. They cut well. They are very rare on the market. Why is that?

They can be made tough if the steel is tough. There are videos of 1/16" blades batonning through concrete block, nails, etc.

PM sent, too much chatter on here.

 

[Gator97]

...combine all those 1/16" styles and they probably get plenty of use.

I was referring to the use of paring knives vs. other types of the knives in the kitchen.

...referring to the wide availability
of 1/16" blades that are anything but "rare" on the market.

As far as I can tell you're including 3$ flea market knives in the equation, and OP was not really about those. How may 1/16" thick knives can you name from Benchmade, Spyderco, Kabar, TOPS, BRK and other makers, custom knifemakers...

 

[cotdt]

Actually Phil Wilson is finishing up my CPM 3V knife, which should be 1.5-2mm thick, 62HRC, flat ground. It's rather small knife, mainly for kitchen use, but I'll certainly do cardboard and wood whittling tests to see how it will hold up, but I'm fairly sure there will be no problems with that.

That's the perfect use for 3V! I'm very curious to read your impressions about it.

Anyone try convexing their thicker blades? I have a 1/4" folder convexed and its a cutting machine very capable of fine cuts, I cut some rubber hose very precisely [and easily] with it last night.

I assume you mean concave. My straight razors are essentially 1/4" spines with a hollow grind. It couldn't cut through the rubber hose though, well... I never tried and won't =P

Hollow grinds do make the blade cut better... until you reach the spine.

Pics or it didn't happen.......

I can post pics but there is nothing to see about it. Just a 1/16" utility knife in S30V I made for myself, because they are not available on the market.

Rarely used for what?

I just measured a mass produced utility knife to be 1/16". There have to be millions of them in the market...

If 1/16" or 3/32" is the "excellent" thickness, split the difference and go with 2mm...again, millions.....

There are millions for a reason...they are perfect for what they are perfect for.

Those mass market knives are terrible. They can't take an edge, so they don't count. I have razor blades that are thinner than 1/32", there are probably billions of them made. What's your point?

 

[TheCarbideRat]

No, I meant convex.

May I recomend BF member and knifemaker / re-grinder Richardj as a source on convexing.

 

[Gator97]

I assume you still mean convex edges right? Whether it's done with a paper wheel, belt grinder, whetstone or sandpaper over mousepad, it is still a convex edge, or you're referring to something else?

 

[TheCarbideRat]

I assume you still mean convex edges right? Whether it's done with a paper wheel, belt grinder, whetstone or sandpaper over mousepad, it is still a convex edge, or you're referring to something else?

Me? yes, I did refer to a convex edge and how its cuts real good and stuff.

What are YOU talking about?

 

[shunsui]

Ah, another wise knifeowner thread. Once we get everyone on the same page about how silly thick knives are, no one will mind when we ban them. Who'd want one ?

Argue all you want, they're going to try to ban them ALL.

Little, itty, bitty, skinny, pink, no lock, no point, folders too.

 

[akadave2]

I have a tendency to think that blades are getting excessively thick too. I was looking at some of the Bark River hunting knives and they are just too darned thick I think to be very good slicers. They could also benefit from distal taper. If the blade is going to be thick then I think some distal taper would go a long way to make if more effective for cutting. My best slicing folders are all Spyderco's with thinner blades and distal taper...Im not a big fan of how they look but they sure do cut.

 

[cotdt]

I can understand a little more thickness on a large chopper type knife but what I don't get are the little ~3 inch blades that are a quarter inch thick To me those just seem like novelty knives.

May be useful for stabbing the table during office meetings to express anger, without broken tip.

For a typical 1/8" blade, you can clamp the handle to the edge of a table, and step on the blade with your entire weight, and the blade would not break unless you weigh over 500 pounds. So I don't see any reason to go 1/4" for smaller blades other than for stabbing/prying.

Ah, another wise knifeowner thread. Once we get everyone on the same page about how silly thick knives are, no one will mind when we ban them. Who'd want one ?

Argue all you want, they're going to try to ban them ALL.

Little, itty, bitty, skinny, pink, no lock, no point, folders too.

If they ban thin knives, then I guess I will carry a thick one.

 

[goodeyesniper]

Just gonna bump this as I was thinking about how I wish my Tenacious and Native had thinner blades, like my new Centofante 4 has.

I can see the purpose on plenty of fixed blade knives, but I really don't get it on these 3" blade folders.... I would imagine that even things like broken tips have a lot more to do with blade geometry and grind, than overall thickness. You can look at how Spyderco had more "pointy tipped" models in the past, and they've moved towards a much less drastic tip. I've never had a task with a folding knife where I have wished for a thicker blade, or been thankful that it already had a thick blade. Even cutting down a few thick saplings, and debarking/shaping them into spears, poles, etc... in one day with my Tenacious could have easily been done with a thinner blade.

When you're dealing with a knife that's already "broken" like a folder is, I really don't get how some massively thick blade (not that the tenacious or native have super thick blades or anything) is going to somehow make it stronger, when it has inherent weaknesses outside of the blade thickness....

 

[Dr. Pepper]

I have a tendency to think that blades are getting excessively thick too. I was looking at some of the Bark River hunting knives and they are just too darned thick I think to be very good slicers. They could also benefit from distal taper. If the blade is going to be thick then I think some distal taper would go a long way to make if more effective for cutting. My best slicing folders are all Spyderco's with thinner blades and distal taper...Im not a big fan of how they look but they sure do cut.

Research the Manitou.....it starts out thick and has a lot of distal taper to a very fine point

 

[coop1957]

I hope Tom Krein gets some customers out of all this discussion. I had him do a full flat grind on my Delica 4. Now it cuts better than any of the 80 folders I have.

 

[jackknife]

A great deal of the thick blade popularity is due to the hype put out by the knife makers themselves. They have to justify the high prices by giving you a knife suited for zombi warfare, or other than real world knife duties.

If thin blades were not good, I doubt the old mountain men would have held the Russell's Green River butcher knives in such high esteem. Blade thinckness less than 1/8, more like 3/32ds if that. The Tramontina machete and other of the the type that clear forest in central and South America is 3/32 and down. Yet they can stand up for a lot of chopping abuse.

When the greatest generation went off to a world war, the issue Ka-bar made a reputation with the Marines. It had a 5/32 blade. It worked well. I know that there is tales of them breaking, but it's funny how that tale is always being told in an article on a knife maker who makes a heavier duty knife. I knew many WW2 servicemen growing up in the years just after the war, but I never knew one or ever heard of one breaking his issue Camillus MK2. But I did know several who came home with the issue knife and treasured it greatly.

In the over 30 years I had the honor of calling Bill Moran friend, I saw a steady trend of him going to thinner and thinner stock for his camp knives. His Rio Grande campknife was almost 1/4 at the hilt with a strong distal taper to the the tip. His later Colorado campknife was 3/16ths with a good taper. His later still evelution of the campknife, his Maryland campknife was 1/8 inch at the hilt on some models. Bill would take a finished knife out back of his shop in the little woods there, and hack away to see how it worked. In the last several years of his life, I never saw him make a using knife over 1/8 inch thick. And that was at the hilt. It tapered out to a very thin tip. I never saw Bill break a knife by hacking away in those woods. His own personal knife that he carried for years was 3/32 at the handle, and tapered down to a bit less than 1/16 at the tip. It was a pointy razor sharp little cutter about 4 1/2 inches in the blade shaped like a little chefs knife.

With about 50 years of camping/backpacking/fishing/and genral outdoors in the woods experiance, I've never really had the need for a heavy knife. In my younger days I carried a Randall 14 as my woods knife. I endeded up selling it off and replacing it with a Frosts mora number 1 because I never used it that heavy in real world woods use. The mora was a better cutter, so the boat anchor heavy Randall went. If the mora wont handle what needs to be cut, then thats what the Gerber sliding blade saw is for, but I rarely even use that expept for harvesting hardwood sapplings for the hiking sticks I make for family and sales.

When you need to cut something, thin is good.

 

[Gadgetaholic]

I like 1/16" blades. They cut well. They are very rare on the market. Why is that?

I thought I'd try out my Spyderco Endura 4 with slicing a tomato - I was very pleased with how that cut, I would definitely say it cut well too. I am not too sure why the 3mm or so thick (a bit under 1/8" thick) blades that are easy to find in the market would be all that bad for most cutting & slicing tasks. I would agree that a hulking great 1/4" blade might be a bit thick for delicate slicing but I don't see that you necessarily need as thin as 1/16" to do the job well.