There are some general rules of thumb, but they only occasionally hold true.

For example, conventional wisdom says that choppers should be thick, yet my Cold Steel LTC Kukri (pretty thin blade, especially by Busse standards) handily out-chopped every single knife I put it up against in a recent chopoff. Some of those knives were easily twice as thick as the LTC, yet it still chopped better.


Thickness is only a tiny part of the equation - edge style, blade grind, weight distribution will all play an important role. A 3/16 inch knife with a hollow grind will slice better than the exact same knife, except given a saber grind.