Thickness for something scary?

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Sep 5, 2010
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So I have a few friends who serve over seas and abroad. I've made a few knives for them. A squad wants all matching knives, they will not be using them for crates and boxes and tool usage(they already have that bit of the kit covered) they described it as sentry removal which gives me the willys. However I want to make the best tool I can plus I like knowing something I made can get them home safe.

Anyways, 1" wide blade, in the 4.5-6" length, double ground but only halfway on the spine side.

Would 1/8" be thick enough? I like the idea that it would cut and penetrate better, and these won't be used for prying and the like. Or 5/32?

Love to hear any and all thoughts. I won't use 1/4" and even 3/16" feels too thick for something only 1" tall.

Thanks
 
Assuming it's hollow ground, I'd probably go for 5/32 or 3/16 myself. And I'm usually one for thin blades.
I'm currently making myself a Loveless style chute knife (about like what you're describing) and it's 3/16 154cm. It doesn't feel at all chunky. I've got a couple of lambs to butcher soon, so I can even give a real world report of how it does for dispatching something.
 
I am no expert but my personal feeling is that the knife may have to penetrate clothing, perhaps even webbing or some other gear. 1/4" may be um, overkill. I think 3/16" would be my preference. Once the bevels are ground it will be quite light and agile. I would think the blade should be long enough to reach vital organs so if I were making that knife for myself I'd want it to be closer to the long end of your specified range, maybe 5.5-6". Leave the tip a robust thickness.
 
If I may give my opinion. When one goes about making a knife one has to envision the knife finished and not raw. That is why a popular method of knife making is called stock reduction. Grab a bar of 3/16 inch material which is almost always thicker than that and profile it and make it flat on both sides and it will be smaller. Now grind a nearly full hollow on it and it will most certainly weigh a bunch less. What is it that most knife makers often say? "you can always take some off but you can't put it back". By the time you finish the knife it will be much more deft in the hands and lovely to look at. Don't be afraid to use thicker stock to sculpt something beautiful. Larry

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The original Farbain-Sykes dagger was pretty thin. Troops complained it was too thin to open crates without breaking but that's not what it was made for. Thin = penetration. Modern steel choices help with that, like 1/8" in CPM 3v perhaps. Maybe try grinding the same shape in 1/8 and 3/16 and 1/4 in some basic steel, you don't even need to harden them but test how each slashes and stabs through a leather jacket - then please let us know the results!
 
So I have a few friends who serve over seas and abroad. I've made a few knives for them. A squad wants all matching knives, they will not be using them for crates and boxes and tool usage(they already have that bit of the kit covered) they described it as sentry removal which gives me the willys. However I want to make the best tool I can plus I like knowing something I made can get them home safe.

Anyways, 1" wide blade, in the 4.5-6" length, double ground but only halfway on the spine side.

Would 1/8" be thick enough? I like the idea that it would cut and penetrate better, and these won't be used for prying and the like. Or 5/32?

Love to hear any and all thoughts. I won't use 1/4" and even 3/16" feels too thick for something only 1" tall.

Thanks


So you are going to make either 9 or 13 matching knives for this "squad" that your friends are part of? Wow! It takes me quite some time when I have 2-3 knives to finish at once. But an Army squad of 9 knives to make looming over head would be quite a daunting task. That, and while a folder is no big deal, I do know that personal equipment is typically
a big NO-NO for Servicemen & women. While one would be risking punishment, a squad all carrying the same illegal blade, would surely gain some attention from a CO.

In any case concerning the "knife" you are making, if being used solely as a cutting instrument, 1/8" stock would be perfect when using a steel like CPM3V. I would opt for at least 5/32 or 3/16 with forging steels or standard steels, i.e., A2, D2, etc.
 
I would personally go for either 5/32 or 3/16. Most likely 3/16 hollow ground. I know they say they won't be using it for utility purposes, but people often use what's readily available. For that reason, I'd want a thicker stock.

As far as blade steel I'd probably use CPM-35v or maybe Elmax. If they're gonna be in a hotter climate, they're going to be sweating. That moisture will produce rust pretty bad. For that reason I'd go for a tougher stainless steel. If you could Get INFI, that would be very tough and a few percentage points from being "stainless." Also, along that same line of reasoning 3v would be a good option. For a personal blade, if I was gonna be over there, I'd definitely use 3v. If it's not a utility blade then most likely it will be used once in a great while(hopefully). But when it IS used it will be hard use by way of impact. Having a knife blade snap during hand to hand combat is NOT good to say the least.

In the end, I imagine our military teaches tip driven(stabbing, not slashing) knife fighting techniques. In that regard, having the knife be .050" thicker isn't going to comprise it ability to stab. If you're worried about it being too thick, you could always use a smaller contact wheel for grinding the bevels...

Good luck, you've got your work cut out for you with having to make so many.
 
I would make a dagger, L6, 15n20 or even 1070. I won't go into the wear resistent type of steels, but into the thougher.
10 - 12 inches of blade.
4-5 mm thick at the ricasso and plenty of distal taper. Go and see Kevin Cashen lecture on daggers and how the correct profile modify the penetration ability
 
3/16" should be fine-but you can grind a very light, very quick dagger out of 1/4" on an 8" contact wheel-and it gives you a little leeway to tune up your grinds if something goes agley.
When i was in the only time you got hassled for a blade was if it was over 6", and that was in garrison or in the field. Downrange all bets are off (and when I was in the only blade yougot issued was an m9, which isn't even useful as a bayonet IMO)
 
I know at least in Canada it wouldn't matter. I have a few people both army and navy carrying knives of mine daily, they've never had an issue.
 
Appreciate all the responses guys. David the CO is my buddy and would like matching knives for both fire teams in his squad.

On base they are restricted to length but when overseas no one cares. Especially if the army didn't foot the bill.

To clarify I'll be using s7. Gonna shoot for 59 with cryo. It will be dlc coated, then I plan to etch each one either grenadier, riflemen, machine gunner, sgt, etc.

One of my first few knives is in the hands of a marine, and it's only o1 and if you know any marines you know there is tough and then marine tough so I'm hoping s7 will see them through. But I am also going thinner than I have in the past because it was specified they have hawks and utility blades for the other tasks.

I've also done 20 matching knives for groomsmen and their dad's for a wedding. I like working in batches. For some reason doing glue up and handles and grinds and what not in stages makes more sense.

Guys thank you for all the responses. Really appreciate the help.

I'll update this with pictures when I get closer. I might not do any logos but have small patches sewn into the sheaths. Gonna be jumpable

Edit to add Also yes as far as they have shown me definitely more of a stab focus, but still want a usable edge for slashing.
 
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Were you thinking full tang, or hidden tang? Given the amount of gear that soldiers have to carry, I would imagine that if a knife can't do more than remove sentries it had better be light as a feather for the 99% time that it is just being carried around. There is a good deal of mass in full tangs.

Chris
 
"Anyways, 1" wide blade, in the 4.5-6" length, double ground but only halfway on the spine side. "

What you are decribing here is a WW1 German trench knife.
WW1 trenches were one of the most extreme enviroments where knives were used as weapons or to remove sentries etc.
I like to learn from history, have a look what they came up with.
Try searching "Grabendolch" and "WK1 Grabendolch"
There were many variations but most stayed just under 6" in lenght, a bit under 1"wide and were 4 to 5mm thick

5508-1_1280x1280@2x.jpg
 
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