having trouble deciding on blade thickness for bushcraft/camp knife

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glocke12

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Apr 1, 2012
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about to pull the trigger on a custom knife, blade thickness options are 3, 3.5 and 4 mm.

This will really be an all around general purpose knife used for general camp chores such as batoning and feather stick making as well as some food prep (will be used for more of the former however).

I am really torn between 3 mm and 3.5 mm. 3.5 mm seems like a good compromise in terms of strength, but am wondering if it's actually giving you that much more over a 3 mm blade.

Really my only experience with bushcraft knives so far are BR bravo ones which are brutes. Admittedly I have found you can beat on it all day long, but when it comes to finer tasks it can be a little difficult to work with.

steer me in one direction or another.
 
I would view it as less about strength and more about rigidity. A 3mm flat ground 7" blade is surprisingly flexible. In a good way for the most part. If it didn't flex it would snap in two, and the sign of a good blade is the ability to bend and return to true like a spring.

Really you aren't choosing between a stronger blade and a weaker blade. You are choosing how rigid you want your blade to be and how much weight you want to carry. The thinner blade will be easy to strap on your hip, while the thicker you might choose to put in the pack until you reach camp. If you are looking for a belt knife I'd go with the 3mm option. I usually carry my fixed blade in my pack and only strap it on my hip when I know I'm going to be using it, relying on a folder in my pocket for routine knife chores otherwise.

You already have burly knives, so you aren't looking for a demo bar with an edge. I don't know what grind you are looking at getting or the length of your blade, but IMHO a 3mm 4" belt knife would be the sweet spot for weight, flexibility and rigidity. Perhaps 3.5mm if I wanted a flat or hollow grind. I'm not saying a 3mm hollow grind is floppy, just that all things being equal the scandi or saber grind will be heavier and stiffer for a given length and thickness.
 
Recommend spending $30 to buy both a Mora Companion (2.5 mm) and a Companion HD (3.2 mm).

Take them to your garage or wherever and split up a mess of kindling. Then put them in your kitchen drawer and use them as kitchen knives. The use them side by each to make feather sticks.

The knives will tell your hands which you prefer. Only you can decide.

The only risk here is that this may destroy the value of a custom for you.
 
If it's a scandi, go with 3mm, if it's full flat grind go with 3.5mm. You can have a stiffer knife that's thinner at the edge by going the FFG route.
 
No one has asked you blade dimensions, especially width, which will impact geometry and final thickness. So what size knife are you looking into. Really, kinda hard to recommend anything without knowing that.
 
If you are going to baton with it, then I would suggest 3.5mm minimum. Sure, the thinner blade is better for fine work, but when you start to baton or use it to pry with, go a bit thicker than the 3mm.
My favorite is the SurviveKnife GSO 3.5 in CPM-3V, which is a wickedly tough steel. Lots of YT videos on this company and steel.
Blade Material: CPM-3V or CPM-20CV
Blade Length: 3.56" (tip to front of handle)
Blade Height: 1.18"
Blade Thickness: .140"
Overall Length: 8.25"
Weight: TBD
 
glocke12 said:
about to pull the trigger on a custom knife, blade thickness options are 3, 3.5 and 4 mm.

This will really be an all around general purpose knife used for general camp chores such as batoning and feather stick making as well as some food prep (will be used for more of the former however).

I am really torn between 3 mm and 3.5 mm. 3.5 mm seems like a good compromise in terms of strength, but am wondering if it's actually giving you that much more over a 3 mm blade.

Really my only experience with bushcraft knives so far are BR bravo ones which are brutes. Admittedly I have found you can beat on it all day long, but when it comes to finer tasks it can be a little difficult to work with.

steer me in one direction or another.
Click to expand...

Flexibility is not bad, however, a solid stiff blade is also a good thing. Best approach, test everything, allot!


pinnah said:
Recommend spending $30 to buy both a Mora Companion (2.5 mm) and a Companion HD (3.2 mm).

Take them to your garage or wherever and split up a mess of kindling. Then put them in your kitchen drawer and use them as kitchen knives. The use them side by each to make feather sticks.

The knives will tell your hands which you prefer. Only you can decide.

The only risk here is that this may destroy the value of a custom for you.
Click to expand...

Totally agree! Love my Moraknivs!
 
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Honestly man thin is in IMOP!!!

Go 3mm max in a med height flat grind and don't worry about breakage.

Camp cooking and carving suck with some of the prybars I have purchased.

I have a Culberson 5.25in by 1/8 camp knife that is flat ground and has a rapid distal taper to a very thin front half and its a slicing machine that can handle a lot.
 
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