How thick should a high performance kitchen knife be?

BossDog

BossDog

KnifeDogs.com & USAknifemaker.com Owner
Staff member
How thick should a high performance kitchen knife be?
 
Personally, I like a spine of about 3/16" and a super thin edge (flat ground) on about a 2" wide blade for a chef knife.
 
A popular saying is to grind it as thin as you dare to and then do it again and you'll be about right.

3/32" stock is a good starting point.
 
I kind of like what Murph mentioned up above. I'm not a big fan of super thin just because it's in the kitchen and 'flex' is rarely needed or desired for me. I don't want clunky, but I don't think a handmade chef's knife of the various styles, should seem like it's stamped out of sheet metal.

I like enough thickness to see a distinct and graceful distal taper for a given length. I suppose it matters though what 'high performance' means.

Take care, Craig
 
From my kitchen:

The thickest part of the spine on my favorite chef's knife measures .075". Has a pleasing distal taper. The width is just under 2"; blade length 8.5". I have longer and shorter knives with varying thickness, but this performs the best for me.

An old 9" butcher's knife measures .090" at the spine.

The smaller knives (boning, utility, parer, etc.) measure .050" or less.

The only exception is obviously the cleaver, massively measuring .115" at spine with nearly 4" width, but I don't count that as a knife.

"Thin is in" when talking about kitchen blades, with the goals being speed and ease of use (cutting with little pressure).
But I like balance, too. A 10" blade with .065" thickness didn't feel right to me; felt like I was cutting a lettuce head with a giant fillet knife.

The rage for at least the past ten years amongst the "pros" (meaning real chefs who are willing to pay $600+ for a kitchen knife) has been increasingly thinner blades constructed of ever-evolving steels with proper heat treatment.
 
I would say it all depends on the type of kitchen knife but as a general overall I would say to start with 1 3/32 blank and
have a full flat grind all the way to the spine.
 
Whats a "High Performance kitchen knife" I mean there are many knives commonly used. and the one in my hand at the time is my high performance kitchen knife..
 
I keep hearing 3/32" is the maximum for a slicer. A chopper is something different.
 
In the world of professional chefs and serious foodies, many japanese knife styles have become popular in the last 10 years or so. They have taken precedence over the european styles, although the most popular of these styles the gyoto, shares many similarities with both the french and german chefs knife. There are several reasons for this, one is that the japanese blades tend to be harder, requiring fewer sharpenings, and they tend to be thinner, which allows for easier slicing. The term "High performance kitchen knife" embodies these characteristics. The other reason for the switch is that the japanese seem to have a particular style of knife for every task, I certianly have seen more styles attributed to them than any other culture.
The trend at the moment seems to revolve mostly around the thinner styles, with wide blades and quite long.
Please keep in mind that some of these guys use their knives for 8-10 hours a day and up to 6 days a week, they really demand high performance.
 
After taking a long hiatus from kitchen cutlery, I've found myself dabbling again. While no expert, I have to agree with the above sentiments. I've been working on a set of four as a Christmas present for my mom, and three of them are 3/32. The other is a kind of funky hybrid chef’s knife that is about 1/8 at the ricasso, but has a distal taper all the way down. Not sure what it measures at the tip, but it's fairly thin. It's worth mentioning that it's also at least two inches tall at the highest point. By the way Tracy, I really like the idea of this sub-forum.... I can tell it's going to be a lot of fun!
 
I have 2 very old french chefs knives. I'll post pics tonight.

101/2" blade 2" wide at hilt
Thickness at spine :

Hilt-.150
3" from hilt- .180
6" from hilt- .170"
tip- .025"

91/2" blade13/4" wide at hilt

Thickness at spine:

Hilt .110"
2" from hilt .075
4" from hilt-.060
6" " -.035
8" to tip- .020 to .010

I have a gerber and henkels I'll measure tonight, they are 8" blade.
 
For a chopper you can almost go any thickness you want but weight becomes an issue. You dont want something heavy in the kitchen.
I would have to say 3/16'' to 5/32'' max again with a full flat grind.

Cleaver go with 1''.......................lol
Ok maybe not but there is a 5/32'' to 1/4'' all day.

Funny story. I bought a cheap kitchen set when we moved into our house, One day I was trying to clear some brush and to fiance brought out our cleaver.
She said we never use it so go ahead.

Now the edge is all bent and dented, Its not even heat treated........Surprised the heck out of me.
 
When we say chopper, what do we mean by that?

If its a bone copped I want it with a thick edge.

If its a veggie chopper I want it just as thin if not thinner than a slicer.
 
I've made a few paring knives and a couple of slicers out of 01, flat ground with a distal taper. I usually start with 3/32" for larger knives and 1/16" for some of the smaller ones.


Ric
 
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