what is a "distal taper"?

That is where the blade get thinner as it get closer to the point. Say your blade is 1/4" thick at ricasso it might be 3/16" at point, and that is before bevels are out on.

It make for a well balanced knife.

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-Greg Johnson
ICQ#4236341

 
This is a great way to get a thin cutting edge on a blade without using a stock so thin, the knife feels weak.

I think of this as a requirement for sknners and fighting knives. But it does add to the cost. The only factory knife I've seen with a distal taper is the Spyderco Moran.
 
The majority of bladesmiths I know incorporate distal tapers for three reasons
1. weight reduction
2. balance
3. (a bit more complex reason): a distal taper will allow a blade to endure more stress, while enhancing flexibility for a given design over a blade of the same material, without a distal taper. Heres how it works:
A blade that maintains the same thickness throughout most of it's length, when stressed/bent, will concentrate the stress into one general location. Whereas a blade which is tapered from ricasso to point will evenly distribute the stress throughout the entire arc of the blade's length. Imagine a leaf spring on a car. It is tapered from the center out. This design even distributes stress thoughtout the spring, otherwise the spring would routinely break in the center since thats where the stresses would normally be the greatest. Kind of long winded, but thats the idea.
http://www.mtn-webtech.com/~caffrey

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Ed Caffrey
"The Montana Bladesmith"


 
Well explained ED!!
That's it, I'm starting and Ed Caffrey disk. This is about the 10th thing that Ed has posted that I found so well explained, I had to save it for future reference!
I use a distinct distal taper and my Large Hunter in combination with the tapered tang. The whole knife will bend in an arc, handle and all!! I just could't put the explanation in words like that!
Neil

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Update in process! New knives, pictures, Sheaths!!
http://www.geocities.com/Eureka/Meeting/5520/index.html


 
So, is the taper generally a gradual reduction in spine thickness beginning at the ricasso all the way to the point? Or does the taper generally start closer to the tip For instance, where the clip point would begin on a bowie.
 
On full tang knives I prefer that the thickest portion of the blade be just forward of the guard or handle material, and that the taper begin there, and run both directions for the entire length of the blade, and tang.
This is the same formula I also apply to hidden (or stick tang) construction. Generally any blade up to 12" will come out extremely well balanced if this method is applied.
http://www.mtn-webtech.com/~caffrey

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Ed Caffrey
"The Montana Bladesmith"


 
Any properly flat gound blade with a point that is lower than the top will have a distall taper. How much the taper is will depend on how thick the steel is to start with,how thin the edge is, and how far the edge is dropped. An example would be my "Sniper" which is a wharncliffe, it has a continous taper to the point. The taper is more gradual on models like my "Tracker" which are patterned as a drop point.


PS Sabre ground blade usually have not distal taper (except in the beveled area near the point), because they are not ground to the back of the blade.
Hope that helps,

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Lynn Griffith-Knifemaker

My website
GriffithKN@aol.com


 
Some of the Henckel (I have a 6" one) chef knives are distally tapered. It means that you can do fine cutting nearer the tip, but with the heel of the blade you can cleave through shells and small bones without fear of damaging the blade. Like two knives in one.
 
All I was looking for were the fine descriptions by gregj62 and tallwingedgoat, but along comes Ed Caffrey to deliver a gem (and very concisely, not longwinded at all!). Ed, you even make my question sound smart! Thanks for that illuminating #3.

Neil/Dr Lathe (“Mr D2”!): I’m with you. Ed elevates every thread he graces w/his wisdom (remember his comparison of forging O1 and 52100 in Shoptalk?).

John Yeackley: so were you puzzled by those “arcane” refs in prior threads. Now if I can only find them, to see now what they were saying...

Thanks R. Reagan for elaborating on my Q, Lynn and Little Claw for elaborating on the answers -- you’ve all turned my flat-footed Q into a very valuable thread!

Glen

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DISCONFECT (dis kon fekt') v. To sterilize the piece of candy you dropped on the floor by blowing on it, assuming this will somehow “remove” all the germs.
 
Use the search function and go to the Year One archive. Look for a thread captioned "Bowie Knives" by Chicahiro Ishida. There is a wonderful discussion of the advantages of forging versus stock removal by Mr. Jerry Fisk, an American landmark in bladesmithing. Part of that discussion includes his comments on distal taper, but his comments in general should be pulled out and put into FAQs or something. They are true gems!

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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
Arlington, Virginia

 
The CS Master Hunter has a distinct distal taper, even more than some of their first models, I think. Looks like it would be a challenge to grind. Colorado Cutlery's small hunter drop-point also has a distal taper.
 
Per the condition that Lynn describes the clip blades on my Old Timers have a distal taper.
 
To clarify, saber-ground blades do not automatically get a distal taper in the course of grinding the primary grind. The knifemaker can add a distal taper to them but isn't forced to.

Most of the saber-ground blades I have have at least a little distal taper near the point. I think I have several folders that don't, though (too lazy to go look at the moment), and I've seen saber-ground real knives with no distal taper.


The opposite of distal taper is a reinforced point, where the spine gets thicker as it approaches the point. Reinforced points were popular in the days when penetrating armor was a consideration. They're occasionally seen on forged chopping knives, too, to move the balance forward. It usually goes along with an increase in width toward the point.

-Cougar Allen :{)
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This post is not merely the author's opinions; it is the trrrrrruth. This post is intended to cause dissension and unrest and upset people, and ultimately drive them mad. Please do not misinterpret my intentions in posting this.
 
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