defending my thinner blade theory

Dan,

Great video, thanks. I am a "thin is in" knife guy too, and prefer thin blades for most all knives. I can see where a chopping knife might benefit from being obese, but have done pretty well with machetes that are thin. Because blades come in a diversity of thicknesses, folks have a lot of choices.
 
I've always had a particular penchant for thicker blades I'll admit. However, I have noticed in the limited time I have been doing research on steel characteristics, heat treat processes and durability testing, I have come to agree that, a well made thin blade can be just as effective and robust as a thicker blade.

Great work helping me and others change our thinking on thin bladed knives.
 
When I first designed the Tango, I made four prototypes out of 1/8" thick 1095 and those were the test knives that got the snot beaten out of them. I finally destroyed one on purpose to have a look at grain structure and it took far more than the typical "hard use" you would normally put on a woods knife. Though the thicknesses I use on each blade are chosen by geometry and physics of what I'm trying to achieve with each one, I wholeheartedly agree that thin knives are perfectly fine for hard use. One of the greatest demonstrations of that point are everything you see ESEE knives put through. The ESEE-3 is my all-time favorite production knife and it is 1/8" thick. I, as well as the other 100,000 people or so that take one everywhere, have abused the crap out of it and it laughs at the job.
 
Saying "Thin is In" tells me two things. You're maybe well versed in steels, grinds, and materials, but have a ways to go with your knife skills. That is because all knives are thin. Except for those 1/4" thick things, that's just overselling steel with inferior design for a higher price. Don't buy inefficient tools. To us chefs, a fast slicing blade, is worth the money, since time is money in the kitchen after all. Oh yea, for the big game naysayers I've been using the same mac 2.0mm thick knife for years to butcher white tail, mule, birds, and fish, cows, goats, pigs. A thinner blade will make your knife skill silky and smooth. Slice not bash and don't blame the gear for your skills.
 
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Hell yeah! I had an argument with Mike Stewart once regarding his over heated edged knives. 2 or 3 years ago before he thickened the edges on his knives, he said that his knives are ground thin to be a good slicer and not meant for batoning and i said if the knives were properly tempered and HT'd the edge shouldn't deform or chip. anyway i sold the knife
 
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