Do thick blades signify "heavy duty" performance?

[miklobe]

I know very thin razor blades can be very sharp, but I am wondering whether extra thick pocket knife blades are especially tough/strong?

Thanks in advance for any information you all can provide.

[muskrat man]

I think the biggest thing to focus on for a "heavy duty" pocket knife would be the strength of the pivot, not the thickness of the blade, without a good strong pivot, even the thickest of blades will fail. However I do not consider folding knives very heavy duty, thats what fixed blades are for

[orvet]

I have to agree with Kaleb, with one small exception. I think there are folders that are heavier duty than others. A Schrade LB7 is much heavier duty than a 34OT, as a for instance. There are some of the newer locking mechanisms which they claim are nearly as good as a fixed blade............but.........IMO, it may be stronger than most, but it is still a folder.

He was quite right that the weakest point in a folder is the pivot pin. That is why some folders get some side to side wobble in the blade. Often this is a result of someone using the knife as a pry bar. I used to tell my customers that pry bars are cheap. Even a middle of the road knife is the most expensive pry bar you will ever use.

The blade may be indestructible (in theory) but the handle & pivot pin are not. If you break the pin or handle, even the toughest blade is virtually useless if you can't hold on to it to properly deploy it.

Just my $.02,
Dale

[jonet143]

assuming you are'nt using as a pry bar, thicker blades are for heavier duty cutting, like a whittler has a thick main cutting blade and two smaller, thinner blades for detail work.

[justold52]

"heavy duty" performance? Speeking of pry bars,

Here is one boss pry bar by Schrade 171 UH I think it weighs more than a tire iron. It will cut up a tire fast and is a real good wacker.