Ideal thickness for chopper blade

R

RiccardoC

Joined
Apr 10, 2020
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Hello, I would like to make a big chopper knife with a 13.77" long blade. Total length 18.5". Blade height around 2".
Not for batoning. What thickness do you recommend?
 
What do you want to chop with it? Light, green vegetation? Softwood? Hardwood? Is it for trail clearing? Wood processing?
 
There is a lot more to this than a fine edge on a good piece of steel. If you plan to split hardwood you are going to want a 1/4” + blade, that can help by acting like a wedge. For light brush you want thin 1/16” or less, that will move fast and cut rather push the material aside.

n2s
 
That's a big blade, and the thicker the stock the more weight and the more unwieldy and fatigue becomes an issue. The scrap yard 1311 is similar size and 3/16" thick and a heck of a chopper, at 1/4" thick it would be pretty heavy.
 
With those blade dimensions, 3/16" tops, probably.

Perhaps think more like a "heavy duty" machete with 1/8" stock, depending on what grind you're going with.

So, depending on grind, I'd say between 1/8" and 3/16".
Although you could make it manageable with 1/4" if you do a full height flat grind...but I'd probably go with 3/16" myself.
 
I agree with 3/16"
I don't want a heavy knife just for chopping. I want a lightweight knife I will carry that can chop & do other tasks as well.
 
A chopper needs to start out thicker at the hilt and taper thinner towards the tip (commonly referred to as distal taper) to have proper dynamic balance. The tang should also taper thinner towards the butt, and depending on your design goals, a pommel can be used to adjust the sweet spot and handling properties.

I notice a number of smiths use 50 percent taper as a good rough starting point. That is, the tip area should only be half as thick as the ricasso. Some use even more taper. This means you have to start out with pretty thick stock, but it ends up being even faster to swing.
 
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