The "Ask Nathan a question" thread

AnotherDogDown17 said:
I just looked up "proximal taper" and believe I grasp the concept. Could you please explain your thoughts as to how this might relate to the KOD design? My pea brain is thinking more of a "bash vs bite" edge design but I really have no idea.
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Distal taper in thickness results naturally in a full flat ground piece whose blade width narrows towards the tip. A blade shape like a comp chopper that is a constant width won't have distal taper unless you force it.

You want distal taper on a long piece without counterweight in the tang such as ABS style knives. These feel really light and can wave around in the air well but don't actually hit with much power. In knives made for competitive cuts you'll often see as much weight as possible left in the tip. This does two things. One, it increases the moment of inertia of the blade so there is less energy lost to rotation during the initial impact which is where so much of the depth of cut occurs (weight at the end of the tang also helps here, it isn't just about tip weight). Two, it shifts the center of percussion forward so your sweet spot is closer to the tip where you can generate more speed. Both of these add power to the cut in an impact and is one reason why littlebitty Jo can two and three hit 1X4s with a 10" knife.


^ Distal taper won't do that




The length of the tang on this piece adds material (and weight) and that weight is shifted back farther away from the forward hand and the cut, increasing its effectiveness (due to torque). The blade thickness and grind geometry and fuller are sized with this tang to put the balance point one inch ahead of the guard, making it a 29" piece that can be handled effortlessly in one hand. A balance point in this location is ideal for a powerful cutter like this.

The grind angle will be a fraction of a degree more steep than we run on our comp choppers and the thickness behind the edge and the edge angle of the front edge will be a bit thicker than our comp choppers. That, coupled with the material, will provide the toughness needed on the large piece.

I fully expect Dan will be able to one-hit 2X4s with these and could (in theory) cut an full sized person in half with the back of the blade as it is currently designed. Adding distal taper would negatively effect these properties. Adding length would increase the power of that by moving the CP out some, but at the expense of being too long to handle well in many cuts. The same thing could be accomplished with proximal taper (like a Kukri), so there is an argument for that, but we feel the design works right as it is. Dan is still making minor tweaks so I won't rule anything out, but I don't expect there to be distal taper.
 
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Fullflat said:
Nathan,
I’m sure you’ve already addressed my question, but I can’t find the answer. Is the balance point on the HDMC in the same spot as on the MC, or does the 10%ish weight increase shift it a little?
Thanks!
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It's not in the same spot, the additional width of the blade moves it ahead a bit and I shifted it ahead a little more by shortening the fuller, leaving more weight near the tip. The MC is intended to function as a well balanced camp knife, the Heavy variant is intended to smash stuff.
 
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