Distal taper or no Distal taper

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panzerjunky

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Aug 13, 2022
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I see the value of a distal taper for balance and even aesthetics but That is my Question, albeit not horribly hard to do, is a distal taper on the blade necessary? Is it more of a design element or is the poupous it serves worth the work. as on a fighter or a camp /utility knife wouldn't I want as much forward weight as possible. That is Mabee 2 separate questions . I am an amateur maker so please be kind LOL.
 
I love a distal taper on the blade as well as tang.

The blade for cutting geometry, and the tang purely balance and aesthetics.

It sorta is a neat way for a maker to flex their talent as well.
 
Generally you want a taper
Stress is generally concentrated around the start of the tang, so greater thickness there helps with strength. For a lot of things where you want weight at the end, making the blade taller is more effective as it still has a shallow angle for cutting. Making the blade thicker instead would make it more likely to wedge things apart.
Look at kukri, broken back seaxs and falchions for examples here. From a quick search it looks like cleavers often have some taper.

My theory is that for a lot of things without taper it's a manufacturing choice; it's very easy to take 2mm plate, cut a shape and glue scales on. Look at modern machetes and industrial cai dao.

IMO, if you really want something for cutting wood make a lighter knife and carry a hatchet.
 
Love Carry a knife and a hatchet Exactly what I do in the field. Would you fellas care to elaborate on how you do your distal tapers, Then I can compare against my method and adjust where needed
Thanks Jerry
 
What kind of blade? Kitchen knife? If so yes. At least preferably. A nice distal taper does a couple things when you put it on a kitchen knife. If you have a shinogi line, then to keep that line straight you need to have a more obtuse angle near the heal and gradually becoming more acute towards the tip. This allows for a stronger heel for harder chopping work, and a slicker tip for fine work. That is in my mind the optimal way for a gyuto or chef knife to be shaped, some peoples opinions and preferences may vary. Also the amount of taper people prefer can vary.

Anything else, I would say, its probably just a design choice, and personal preference.
 
When the Becker BK62 first came out, I was lucky to be able to nab one of the earliest ones to market.
The original Kephart design has a tapered tang.

In My hands, the BK62 felt too thin. So I added liners.
I made mine out to brass, so It looked nice with the hardware mods i did.
It added considerable weight to the knife.

In My opinion that extra weight in the handle area increased the performance of the knife. I prefer it this way.
Your results may vary.

*Edited
I do like a distal taper of the blade....... the tang, I'm still on the fence as to if it's just for looks?
 
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Just decide how thick you want the tang to be at the butt end.

Mark half that distance on each side of your center line. Grind a 45° angle to that line like you would when grinding your bevels, then walk that grind line up to the ricasso end of the tang.

Or use a surface grinder and a sine bar.
 
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I think I posted in a bevel grinding thread you'd posted earlier about grinding bevels and keeping the grind line straight.
Unless there is a reason not to have distal taper in a blade, then it is a must. First off it makes grinding the bevels easier because you're not fighting that blade thickness forward if it's removed by grinding the distal taper early on.
All blades benefit from distal taper unless they are built to split materials, such as a splitting maul or machete. A blade that is made to stab benefits from distal taper because it is thinner forward. A blade that is meant to slice will function better with distal taper because the bevels are thinner forwards on the blade.
The cutting ability of a blade is dictated by what is behind the edge; how thick is the blade behind the edge? If a blade is ground with distal taper, then it is thinner as you go from edge to spine. A blade with distal taper will have more edge options because it is thinner behind the edge.
Bottom line is; if there is not a good reason to not grind distal taper into a blade, then grind distal taper into the blade. You'll be making a better knife.
Regards, Fred

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Fred.Rowe said:
I think I posted in a bevel grinding thread you'd posted earlier about grinding bevels and keeping the grind line straight.
Unless there is a reason not to have distal taper in a blade, then it is a must. First off it makes grinding the bevels easier because you're not fighting that blade thickness forward if it's removed by grinding the distal taper early on.
All blades benefit from distal taper unless they are built to split materials, such as a splitting maul or machete. A blade that is made to stab benefits from distal taper because it is thinner forward. A blade that is meant to slice will function better with distal taper because the bevels are thinner forwards on the blade.
The cutting ability of a blade is dictated by what is behind the edge; how thick is the blade behind the edge? If a blade is ground with distal taper, then it is thinner as you go from edge to spine. A blade with distal taper will have more edge options because it is thinner behind the edge.
Bottom line is; if there is not a good reason to not grind distal taper into a blade, then grind distal taper into the blade. You'll be making a better knife.
Regards, Fred

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Click to expand...
Thank Fred and I just ordered one of your bubble Jigs like 20 min ago.
Thanks Jerry
 
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