Thick/Beefy or Thin/Slicey?

[jsharmon7]

I recently picked up a Grayman Dua. I'm amazed at what a well-built and high-quality knife it is. Everything about it is thick/strong and it locks up like a bank vault with no blade play. However, it's not the greatest at slicing due to the thickness of the blade. (EDIT: There's also the very distinct possibility that I just need to do a better job of sharpening the Dua.) So, what are your opinions on the optimal knife thickness? Obviously a large, fixed-blade knife is going to be thicker due to batoning and other hard-use. But what about a folding knife? How "hard-use" do you get with your folding knives? In a folding knife, is it better to have higher quality steel for those hard-use tasks or does the thickness help? I'm trying to narrow down my perfect EDC knife so I'm looking forward to opinions. I've had a couple Zero Tolerance products that struck a nice balance, but what about others?

So, what say you: Thick/Beefy folding knives, or thin/slicey folding knives?

Public poll attached.

 

[traderdan]

Knives are for cutting...Especially folding knives.

 

[danielocean03]

I think blade shape/profile plays a pretty big part in this, as I've found that thicker bladed (around 3/16") knives can still perform plenty of "slicier" tasks depending upon their profile.

My XM-24 measures just under 3/16" at it's thickest, it's high-quality CTS-XHP steel that holds an edge nicely. It's a Spanto (spear-point / tanto mashup of Rick Hinderer's creation) blade profile, so it's not as "slicey" as their slicer (go figure!) or skinner profiled XM-24, but I feel it strikes a useful balance for EDC.

Having said that, my folder rotation is usually between the XM-24 and a Chris Reeve Sebenza (Large 21). The Sebenza is almost the perfect knife, although I tend to like carrying bigger knives as a matter of personal preference.

 

[danielocean03]

I don't really go for super hard use on a folder, that's what fixed blades and hatchets/hawks are for.

 

[Dean C.]

The sliceyness of a knife really depends on how sharp it is. I have seen spydercos that could not cut for crap while my .260 thick medford is a razor blade. Generally I tend to like the .187 thick blades like the Strider SMF, been carrying allot of microtech OTF's though and they are generally .125 thick. Honestly between the Strider and the Microtech I have not noticed one cutting better than the other.

 

[traderdan]

The sliceyness of a knife really depends on how sharp it is. I have seen spydercos that could not cut for crap while my .260 thick medford is a razor blade. Generally I tend to like the .187 thick blades like the Strider SMF, been carrying allot of microtech OTF's though and they are generally .125 thick. Honestly between the Strider and the Microtech I have not noticed one cutting better than the other.

You have not done much butcher work...have you?

 

[jsharmon7]

Yes, I updated my original post to reflect my lackluster sharpening abilities. The Dua is sharp, but not shaving sharp. Tried to cut up some old 5.11 uniform shirts and it ripped more than sliced.

 

[danielocean03]

The sliceyness of a knife really depends on how sharp it is. I have seen spydercos that could not cut for crap while my .260 thick medford is a razor blade. Generally I tend to like the .187 thick blades like the Strider SMF, been carrying allot of microtech OTF's though and they are generally .125 thick. Honestly between the Strider and the Microtech I have not noticed one cutting better than the other.

How much of a taper does your Medford have? 0.260" thick at the spine, but how thick just behind the edge?

 

[traderdan]

I re-edged a Butcher last week. It tapered down to a fairly thin edge.

 

[Woobie]

I have a Gransfors Bruks small forest axe that will shave hair. Shaving/slicing paper don't necessarily tell you how well a knife will slice a given material, it just tells you it's sharp enough to do it cleanly. If we are cutting cardboard, rope, and other fibrous materials, a thick blade will do you fine, as long as it is sharp and has a steel with high wear resistance. But there is a reason you see full flat grinds on french chefs knives, very thin blades on boning and filet knives, and the frankengrind you see on a Japanese Santoku. It's all about efficiency and low friction. Take a Medford to a tomato and you get tomato soup. Take a Santoku to a tomato and you can get paper thin slices. It's all about the intended use of the tool. Take a french chefs knife in the woods and you get a bunch of little pieces of steel. Take a Junglas out there and it's everything you need.

 

[deseag007]

I enjoy collecting knives and my Personal favorite is a bush craft style knife. I can use it for any camp style activities and not worry about it failing on me. For my EDC knife I have a Kershaw that is with me where ever I go.

 

[chezuki]

I enjoy collecting knives and my Personal favorite is a bush craft style knife. I can use it for any camp style activities and not worry about it failing on me. For my EDC knife I have a Kershaw that is with me where ever I go.

You should change your avatar... It'll really confuse people around here

 

[deseag007]

You should change your avatar... It'll really confuse people around here

This was like the third time someone had mentioned my avatar. Sorry was unaware another user had also selected it. I have changed it up a bit.

 

[Dean C.]

How much of a taper does your Medford have? 0.260" thick at the spine, but how thick just behind the edge?

I will take the calipers to it when I get home, it should be relatively thin as it is a pretty large hallow grind.

 

[lovemachine]

I love my Spyderco PM2, and am partial to my Spydero Manix 2XL. I don't have any beefy folders, unless you count my ZT0350.

I don't know if I'd like a large beefy folder or not, but I want to buy one to try it out.

 

[danielocean03]

I have a Gransfors Bruks small forest axe that will shave hair. Shaving/slicing paper don't necessarily tell you how well a knife will slice a given material, it just tells you it's sharp enough to do it cleanly. If we are cutting cardboard, rope, and other fibrous materials, a thick blade will do you fine, as long as it is sharp and has a steel with high wear resistance. But there is a reason you see full flat grinds on french chefs knives, very thin blades on boning and filet knives, and the frankengrind you see on a Japanese Santoku. It's all about efficiency and low friction. Take a Medford to a tomato and you get tomato soup. Take a Santoku to a tomato and you can get paper thin slices. It's all about the intended use of the tool. Take a french chefs knife in the woods and you get a bunch of little pieces of steel. Take a Junglas out there and it's everything you need.

Excellent post.

 

[rhino]

THIN & SLICEY! I DEMAND IT!

I have a few beefy knives, but I use the slicey knives a lot more because . . . they cut better. I think knives made from 1/8 inch stock yield the best compromise between slicing and strength. For slipjoint folders, thinner stock. For some fixed blades, maybe a little thicker.

If I need thick & beefy, I want an axe or hatchet.

Oh, I should add . . . if a blade is wide, it can be fairly thick at the spine and still be thin at the edge and have very little drag when cutting. An example is the AdV Trailboss. It's thick at the spine, but wide . . . wide . . . and flat ground. It cuts meat really, really well.

 

[Woobie]

THIN & SLICEY! I DEMAND IT!

I have a few beefy knives, but I use the slicey knives a lot more because . . . they cut better. I think knives made from 1/8 inch stock yield the best compromise between slicing and strength. For slipjoint folders, thinner stock. For some fixed blades, maybe a little thicker.

If I need thick & beefy, I want an axe or hatchet.

Oh, I should add . . . if a blade is wide, it can be fairly thick at the spine and still be thin at the edge and have very little drag when cutting. An example is the AdV Trailboss. It's thick at the spine, but wide . . . wide . . . and flat ground. It cuts meat really, really well.

 

[M67]

I tend to like thicker knives

Personal preference but that's what I prefer. My thick knives cut as well as I need them to and I can pry/chop if need be, and yes I've done it with a folder.

 

[Gabriel]

I like thicker knives also. They can be made to slice pretty well, but hair shaving sharp is good enough.

The Grayman knives are pretty notorious for having a "toothy" working edge that isn't that sharp. My Satu was like that also, but I cleaned it up a little. I never touched the Dua since, after seeing it's size, I was pretty sure I would end up selling it eventually.