any point to bringing up the (m)[censored] issue?

i say you need .01 inches blade thickness per 10 lbs bodyweight (if you're in shape).. @ 140 lbs the *average* thickness of *all* my knives would settle out somewhere around .14" .. and a guy twice my weight could certainly justify a blade of .285 just because he is able to put a heck of a lot more torque and stress on the blade without using a cheater to increase the leverage.

i might be off on the numbers, first guess and certainly a rough one, and there are sure folks smaller than me who love thick blades, and great big guys who like delicate thin ones. . but there's SOME correlation between size, weight, strength of the person.. and size, weight, strength of the knife. One size does NOT fit all.

I carry a hatchet in the woods and don't mind bragging that it's a sharp hatchet, and *from my point of view*.. that tool is more purpose built for chopping than almost ANY knife (a machete for cane & vines the exception) ..

but I don't regard the thickness as the issue, rather edge geometry, leverage from the handle length, and the concentration of momentum in a narrow band which all combined allows greater penetration than a more general purpose built tool. With care, you could build a knife that had a similar length, weight distribution, and 'sweet spot' for chopping, that MIGHT chop better than a hatchet. . but what's it cost to manufacture? THAT matters too.. an EXCEPTIONAL knife *might* do better than a hatchet but how many exceptional hatchets are there to test against directly? And moreso, how many people have the skill to use one optimally? You don't learn axework in a week.. or a year, unless you're doing it every day to stay alive..

I prefer blades from .1-.2 thickness, more has no purpose for me. Thinner seems fragile to me even if it's not, for the application. I want flat grind with convex edges for the kitchen, and full convex for camping.. and the harder the steel is, the thinner it SHOULD be.. and the less it should be thought of as a chopper and more a slicer.. I don't know of any choppers under .15" that have a good reputation (are there any?) .. nor do i know of any slicers that work exceptionally well that don't have a fairly thin profile AT the edge, no matter how thick the spine is. I can shave with a properly honed hatchet, at least enough to prove it's possible, but it's certainly been thinned a LOT behind the edge, and the first inch of the blade back from the edge is no thicker than an extreme duty knife .. (.25-.3) ..

Big boys like bigger knives cause they can break thinner ones, and it makes them nervous to trust a tool they can break. Reasonable... Skinny little poots like thinner harder slicers, cause they aren't as good with choppers and certainly aren't going to BREAK one.. just not enough (m)[censored]. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> sez me, the guy with no butt.. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />