[dontbuypotteryfromme]

I have been mucking around with my little tramontia machete and have noticed it just seems easier to sharpen and a better slicer than most of my survival knives.

Same with my roach belly.

I assume it is not some magical steel secret but that these knives are pretty thin.

Is trying to make a thick piece of steel cut working against the actual construction of the knife. In favor of making the knife do stuff it really shouldn't be doing anyway?

I don't have that much knife knowledge but if you are trying to put an edge on a thick knife then you would have to increase the length of that edge.

And that would have to make that edge more brittle.

 

[BFH]

I have been mucking around with my little tramontia machete and have noticed it just seems easier to sharpen and a better slicer than most of my survival knives.

Same with my roach belly.

I assume it is not some magical steel secret but that these knives are pretty thin.

Is trying to make a thick piece of steel cut working against the actual construction of the knife. In favor of making the knife do stuff it really shouldn't be doing anyway?

I don't have that much knife knowledge but if you are trying to put an edge on a thick knife then you would have to increase the length of that edge.

And that would have to make that edge more brittle.

Pretty much. Its like a bk2 vs a mora. The mora is better at being a knife. The bk2 can pry a car door open but sucks as a knife.

 

[RogueSpear2023]

IMO it's tough to have a doall knife, usually you have to carry a few to get what you need, I own a BK2 it works well at some tasks but other is it sucks, when out hunting I use a Buck 119, because it's a better tool for the job.

IMO knives are like guns, you can't find one that is good at everything, which is why you need more than one.

 

[Survivalguy72]

are thick knives inherently flawed?

No............

 

[ROCK6]

The flaw is really with the user and task. Although I often prefer a thinner blade (using a saw for larger sized wood), blade design is the key. Bark River comes to mind when I think of thick blade with exceptional cutting performance and that is through their full convex grinds…there’s nothing like it. Some bushcraft type knives are pretty thick, but have a very steep, no-secondary Scandi-grind that make them perform extremely well with wood.

Again, figure out your tasks. Thick knives are often heavier for a reason; they’re built for abuse, often for chopping and even light prying. This isn’t the knife you want to gut squirrel or trout with and that is why many pair a similar type blade with a smaller knife.

Steep bevels on thicker blades dull quicker and are harder to sharpen in the field in my opinion. They can be done effectively on the right equipment, but a thinner blade is easier to maintain over the course of time; however, I find a well executed convex grind to be equally easy and just as effective on slightly thicker blades.

The experienced woodsmen can make any sharpened piece of steel work within its limitation, but I think most would prefer a thinner blade and edge. They are also prone to have more than one tool such as pairing that smaller, thinner blade with an axe, heavier belt knife and/or saw.

I’ve spent the past couple decades in the Army with numerous field time and my fair share of combat deployments. Most troopers use a multitool or pocket folder for the majority of mundane tasks. A few will be carrying a fixed blade that is smaller and stouter for tougher tasks which often resembles knife-abuse. Most would prefer a sharpened pry bar, but their tasks often include non-typical knife use…match the requirements to the tool and skill.

ROCK6

 

[aimlow]

i find the things i need a thick knife for are usually better suited to a machete/hatchet whereas thicker knives are harder to use for things like skinning and butchering game, whittling, and other normal knife chores.
its the one tool for every job thing, saying a shotgun is flawed because you cant reach out and touch someone and its louder than a .22 is a good example of a similar situation.

 

[dontbuypotteryfromme]

i find the things i need a thick knife for are usually better suited to a machete/hatchet whereas thicker knives are harder to use for things like skinning and butchering game, whittling, and other normal knife chores.
its the one tool for every job thing, saying a shotgun is flawed because you cant reach out and touch someone and its louder than a .22 is a good example of a similar situation.

See I have a thin machete. The tram. Which king of got me on to the idea in the first place.

More about that you need to muck around with complicated grinds to make the knife cut well.

Or you would need to have a really long grind to compensate for the knife thickness.

Both should weaken the edge.

Thicker knives as far as I can figure out baton better.

When I say long. I mean from the edge to bulk of the knife. A thicker knife would have to have a longer edge. Which should mean the edge itself would be thinner.

 

[dontbuypotteryfromme]

No............

Why...……............?

 

[dontbuypotteryfromme]

The flaw is really with the user and task. Although I often prefer a thinner blade (using a saw for larger sized wood), blade design is the key. Bark River comes to mind when I think of thick blade with exceptional cutting performance and that is through their full convex grinds…there’s nothing like it. Some bushcraft type knives are pretty thick, but have a very steep, no-secondary Scandi-grind that make them perform extremely well with wood.

Again, figure out your tasks. Thick knives are often heavier for a reason; they’re built for abuse, often for chopping and even light prying. This isn’t the knife you want to gut squirrel or trout with and that is why many pair a similar type blade with a smaller knife.

Steep bevels on thicker blades dull quicker and are harder to sharpen in the field in my opinion. They can be done effectively on the right equipment, but a thinner blade is easier to maintain over the course of time; however, I find a well executed convex grind to be equally easy and just as effective on slightly thicker blades.

The experienced woodsmen can make any sharpened piece of steel work within its limitation, but I think most would prefer a thinner blade and edge. They are also prone to have more than one tool such as pairing that smaller, thinner blade with an axe, heavier belt knife and/or saw.

I’ve spent the past couple decades in the Army with numerous field time and my fair share of combat deployments. Most troopers use a multitool or pocket folder for the majority of mundane tasks. A few will be carrying a fixed blade that is smaller and stouter for tougher tasks which often resembles knife-abuse. Most would prefer a sharpened pry bar, but their tasks often include non-typical knife use…match the requirements to the tool and skill.

ROCK6

And there you are dealing with man made material.opening cans. Prying lids and stuff. I think that was the traditional survival knife idea that you would have to cut your way out of a plane first.
Hence these sort of saw backs?

 

[dontbuypotteryfromme]

IMO it's tough to have a doall knife, usually you have to carry a few to get what you need, I own a BK2 it works well at some tasks but other is it sucks, when out hunting I use a Buck 119, because it's a better tool for the job.

IMO knives are like guns, you can't find one that is good at everything, which is why you need more than one.

What tasks does the bk2 do better?

 

[convoy669]

It all depends on the angle or angles of the edge and quality of steel used to make it. Top quality steel will flex a bit when thicker (say 1/4 inch) but are also strong enough to go through anything. Sharpening them you will find adding 2 angles to the edge will help keep it's edge sharper for longer - think how an ax is made from thick steel but is tapered off then an edge is placed on it. This is more so the blade doesn't fight whatever your cutting - same as chef knifes but this is something you can do yourself.

But back to original question - steel of high quality from sweden, germany, canada, and australia is extremely expensive. To give you an idea how expensive a set of butchering knifes (12 inch steak knife, 4 inch boning knife, and a fillet knife) can run up to $800 and what your paying for is the quality of steel that last longer (up to 10 year butchering). Granted you can pay as little as $100 for a set like this but they wear out extremely fast (about 2 year of butchering).

 

[dontbuypotteryfromme]

It all depends on the angle or angles of the edge and quality of steel used to make it. Top quality steel will flex a bit when thicker (say 1/4 inch) but are also strong enough to go through anything. Sharpening them you will find adding 2 angles to the edge will help keep it's edge sharper for longer - think how an ax is made from thick steel but is tapered off then an edge is placed on it. This is more so the blade doesn't fight whatever your cutting - same as chef knifes but this is something you can do yourself.

But back to original question - steel of high quality from sweden, germany, canada, and australia is extremely expensive. To give you an idea how expensive a set of butchering knifes (12 inch steak knife, 4 inch boning knife, and a fillet knife) can run up to $800 and what your paying for is the quality of steel that last longer (up to 10 year butchering). Granted you can pay as little as $100 for a set like this but they wear out extremely fast (about 2 year of butchering).

Yeah I get you.

That is how that long edge thing is handled

 

[ppine]

I used to have a heavy sheath knife made in Wyo by a local guy. It had a very thick heavy blade but a great hollow ground. It was easy to sharpen carbon steel. It had heft for any job. I could split a pelvis on a deer or elk tapping it with a piece of wood. Great knife.

 

[ShellbackBill]

A sharp edge is two polished edges that intersect.

You can shave with a properly polished block of steel that meets at 90 degrees.

The difference between a thick knife and a thin one is when cutting is the thick one requires that which you are cutting to be pushed further out of the way than the thin one.

The harder to bend the material you are cutting the more you see the difference between the two, thick vs thin.

Skinning a deer you may not notice the difference. Cutting through tendons to to separate legs joints, and you probably will feel the difference. Whittling shaving for kindling you will feel the difference.

That is why in my mind, it is best to have a honkin thick knife for rough work and a smaller thinner knife for skinning and "kitchen" use.

Of course in reality, I'll probably have 5 or 6.

 

[dontbuypotteryfromme]

A sharp edge is two polished edges that intersect.

You can shave with a properly polished block of steel that meets at 90 degrees.

The difference between a thick knife and a thin one is when cutting is the thick one requires that which you are cutting to be pushed further out of the way than the thin one.

The harder to bend the material you are cutting the more you see the difference between the two, thick vs thin.

Skinning a deer you may not notice the difference. Cutting through tendons to to separate legs joints, and you probably will feel the difference. Whittling shaving for kindling you will feel the difference.

That is why in my mind, it is best to have a honkin thick knife for rough work and a smaller thinner knife for skinning and "kitchen" use.

Of course in reality, I'll probably have 5 or 6.

Which the paper cut test seems to demonstrate the difference most for me.

 

[jmbroberts]

Have a look at the many knives in museums and private collections that were actually carried by Mountain Men and Native Americans in the early-mid 19th century. Usually they are hard to distinguish from common kitchen knives. They had to use these knives every day of their lives and their livelihoods depended on them. Some have been sharpened repeatedly down to slivers. For heavier work they had hatchets. Purpose-made "hunting knives" came later and were sold to sportsmen. The Bowie knife was a fad, intended as an intimidating weapon and few of the surviving examples show signs of much use. And everyone had pocket knives, also thin-bladed, that were probably used more than any other kind.

 

[lilred06]

I have 2 knives that I made out of an old rusty machete. The metal can't be but about 1/8" thick. They seem plenty strong for most tasks. I also have the BK2 which we all know is crazy thick. I can see merits to both knives. The thick blades probably hold up better to prying and such, thin ones do a better job at cutting/slicing. Simple as that. I could honestly see a thicker knife being better for urban situations where there's a lot of windows and doors to be broken into and so on. Thinner knives probably do better in a woods environment. Right tool for the given job and all that jazz.

 

[REB1]

Thanks for the information I too believe you need to use a knife for what it's made for
Thanks

 

[Coyotebc]

Well I have different knives for different jobs
My most used hunting knife was made circa 1936 and is about 1/8" thick
My two thickest knives are 0.285" and 0.333" respective and are just plain fun to beat on while camping

 

[JDH]

And there you are dealing with man made material.opening cans. Prying lids and stuff. I think that was the traditional survival knife idea that you would have to cut your way out of a plane first.
Hence these sort of saw backs?

Yes, that is an Air Force Survival knife. The saw back on it is optimized for ripping sheets aluminum such as aircraft skin. It really sucks at cutting wood.