I spent a nice afternoon comparing two blades and spent over three hours chopping branches from an oak tree. One knife was 9" long and 3/16" thick and the other one was a Busse HOGFSH at about 8.5" long and 5/16" thick. The HOGFSH was the winner! It went through everything much better than the lighter, thinner knife. For the work I did today, the thicker, heavier knife suited me fine.