Why Broad Blades?

[aesmith]

Hi,

This may be a very superficial view, but it seems to me that Spydercos tend to have broad, rather than narrow blades. When I say "broad", I mean the dimension of the blade from spine to edge, relative to the edge. And it seems that this may be even more so with smaller blades, for example if you look as the UKPK, Urban, Squeak the shorter bladed knives seem to have almost the same breadth. What are the advantages, compared to what I think of as more traditional blade shapes and proportions (e.g. Opinel, Buck, Victorinox)?

Tony S

[hoimin]

The broader blade is primarily for facilitating a reasonably sized opening hole and still maintaining sufficient strength after that much removal.

[Ignaz]

In the case of full flat grinds broader blades allow a better edge geometry. The broader the blade the lower the angle of the primary grind.

[aesmith]

In the case of full flat grinds broader blades allow a better edge geometry. The broader the blade the lower the angle of the primary grind.

Only if you're assuming a given thickness at the spine.

[awa54]

the three posts above this support each other; given a blade will have a certain acceptable spine thickness and need to structurally support the Spyder hole as well as have a useful bevel angle, a tall blade profile is the obvious solution.

If you look at the Jester, Stretch or Worker, you will see thinner points in blades which still have a tall base (base as in end near the tang) to support the opening hole.

I reprofiled a Ladybug to a pseudo-Jester shape (thinner top to bottom profile ahead of the hole) with a long/progressive convex edge grind so that there was less area for packing tape to grab when I was working grocery and had to open and break down dozens of boxes every day, after modification it was much better at the job than the original taller profile and hollow grind had been.

[tvenuto]

It's the hole. You need either a broad blade or a hump. Even if it has some drawbacks the hole is worth it.

[gdwtvb]

I prefer a broader blade for another reason. For me, my pocketknife is my go to tool. Have you ever tried to make a sandwich and apply mayonnaise, jelly, peanut butter, or tuna salad to bread? One time I decided to try carrying a traditional slip joint and needed to make a sandwich at work, I immediately had an epiphany that I didn't much care for long thin trapper style clip point blades. (I don't care for soggy pre-made sandwiches and hadn't packed other utensils...because I always had my knife on me.)

You can go to far in any direction, and broader blades aren't perfect for everything. Generally, the broader the blade the less point. to me the Spyderco leaf shaped blade is almost a perfect compromise. YMMV

Grizz

[aesmith]

... Have you ever tried to make a sandwich and apply mayonnaise, jelly, peanut butter, or tuna salad to bread? One time I decided to try carrying a traditional slip joint and needed to make a sandwich at work, I immediately had an epiphany that I didn't much care for long thin trapper style clip point blades.

I guess that must be a matter of preference, if I was making a sandwich in the kitchen at home I'd be using a table knife with blade around 3/4" or a little less in width. Might it be the thin point that didn't work for you? My non-Spyderco pocket knives mostly have a drop or spear point and work OK for sandwich making, if maybe a tiny touch narrower than ideal for spreading.

I've actually slimmed the blade on a "drop point" UKPK a little, mainly to make it slimmer when folded. It needs a touch more really to make the curve smooth, but I'm in no hurry since I can't put steel back on.

[BTG]

For me, the broad leaf shaped blade is what attracted me to spyderco, then the solidness and quality set the hook. I still tend to favor the wider blades in the spyderco line up...ya want skinny I like the Ayoob when I go that direction, you can find a spyderco for every situation.

[Donut]

Who doesn't like broads?

Oh wait... :p

[Blerv]

I think it's a bunch of reasons ranging from style to function. Drilling a large hole into a blade that isn't too close to the handle for ease of opening, maintaining strength with this material removed, allows enough room for a proper grind in the case of FFG, etc. I do like the "wide" aesthetic though more than the "hump" due to the opening hole/thumb ramp.

My main problem with the wide blades (besides pocket comfort) is they tend to have quite a bit of belly and a less acute tip. Comparing the Caly line to the Dialex Jr for example is a huge functional difference. IMHO, I would like to see more clip points in the Spydie collection...you get the broad blade, no thumb hump, and a great tip.

[Bill1170]

Broad blades are somewhat self guided in straight cuts, while narrow blades excel at turning in the cut. As already noted above, better FFG geometry for a given spine thickness is a benefit of broad blades; they combine good cutting power with decent lateral rigidity when done well.

[twinboysdad]

I have eaten coleslaw off of my Pingo turned sideways when KFC screwed me on a fork at the drive thru! Try that with a Case melon tester...sometimes the usefulness is found in the most dire (I do love coleslaw) situations

[Mad Mac]

The broad blade on the Tenacious allowed me to grasp the spine and control the carving, gouging, cutting, chipping and scoring on this watermelon.



Also, chicks dig big blades.

"Is that your Spyderco or are you excited to see me?"

[palonej]

^^^^^ YUP!!!
That's what I'm talkin about!!!

[Evil D]

Couple reasons.

1) Because when you add a hole to the blade, it weakens the blade. So, a wider blade adds more material, and should also make the blade stronger to compensate for the hole.
2) As mentioned, the height is a byproduct of the thumb hole. If you ever get to see the earliest prototypes of the first Spyderco knives, they were standard sized blades with metal welded to the top to create a thumb hole.
3) With a shorter height blade, you only have so much distance between the edge and spine to transition a grind. This means that you almost inevitably end up with a blade that's thick behind the edge if you're using thick blade stock. Knives like Victorinox and Opinel use very thin blade stock, so it's much easier to transition the grind and not end up with a door stop of a blade.

This pic illustrates what I'm talking about. This is of course two extremes meant to illustrate my point, but both of these blades are the same width at the spine. It's not hard to see which one will slice better.

[paladin]

Broad blades are somewhat self guided in straight cuts, while narrow blades excel at turning in the cut. As already noted above, better FFG geometry for a given spine thickness is a benefit of broad blades; they combine good cutting power with decent lateral rigidity when done well.

This is my experience

[jackknifeh]

One benefit of a wider blade (edge to spine) is you have much more steel to sharpen away before you have a folding toothpick. I wouldn't select a knife based on this though. If for some reason the wider blade makes it a poor tool for the job I'd want a different knife. But, we've all seen the knives our grandfather or someone used for years and half the blade was gone. With proper sharpening technique on a wider blade we can keep the blade sharp and slicing well for many years and still have strength in the blade. You just need to thin the blade occasionally when it gets thicker at the edge. This is a great benefit for the guys who always use the same knife all the time. OTOH, some people have lots of knives and use most of them in a rotation of their choice. I'm sure none of those guys hang around knife forums though. :)

Jack

[awa54]

I prefer a broader blade for another reason. For me, my pocketknife is my go to tool. Have you ever tried to make a sandwich and apply mayonnaise, jelly, peanut butter, or tuna salad to bread? One time I decided to try carrying a traditional slip joint and needed to make a sandwich at work, I immediately had an epiphany that I didn't much care for long thin trapper style clip point blades. (I don't care for soggy pre-made sandwiches and hadn't packed other utensils...because I always had my knife on me.)

You can go to far in any direction, and broader blades aren't perfect for everything. Generally, the broader the blade the less point. to me the Spyderco leaf shaped blade is almost a perfect compromise. YMMV

Grizz

I used to carry Opinel folders when camping and picnicking, but had the exact same issue; after all, evenly spread mustard on a hot dog is just as important as neatly cut kindling

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I too prefer the broad blades with more metal and strength.