How much does knife thickness matter?
I was looking to buy myself a chef's knife, and was interested in either the Richardson Sheffield V Sabatier range, or their Sabatier Trompette range. Now, the latter is a bit cheaper, and the only difference I can see between the two is that one seems slightly thicker than the other. Neither is flimsy, but the V Sabatier's blade is about a millimeter thicker.
I am looking for a good quality knife that will last me, but I don't want to spend more money than is necessary. Is the extra thickness worth a ~£10 premium?
Best Answer
Extra thickness can be useful, but it can be quite annoying too. We have some real knife experts here who will probably go into more detail, but as a kitchen amateur (using the sort of grade knife you're looking at) I tend to use a thinner knife for most things. Much of what you use a knife for is slicing, and a thick knife adds nothing there. It can even mean that slices break or fall away before you're ready.
A thick, heavy knife is useful for various things, like fine chopping at one extreme, or getting through a butternut squash at the other, but I wouldn't want to only have thick knives (my thickest knives are tucked away in the second knife block).
Pictures about "How much does knife thickness matter?"
How thick should a knife be?
For the beginner, a blade thickness of no more than 1/8 inch is good because there is not as much material to grind off. The tendency today is to make hunting and utility knives out of 1/4-inch-thick steel.Are thick knives better?
Thicker blades will be stronger. Thinner blades will have a slimmer profile - which allows for easier and better slicing. The choice of blade thickness comes down to compromising between strength and slicing ability.How thick should kitchen knives be?
Even if the knife needs sharpening, a thin knife will still cut reasonably well. 0.35 mm is a perfect thickness for a carving knife. For a chef's knife that deals with more pressure, the thickness can be a bit higher: 0.45 mm is then still perfect.How thick should a combat knife be?
A good general rule is about 3/16 - 1/4 of an inch thickness is the best for survival knives. A knife of that thickness will be extremely solid and able withstand the abuse of wood chopping, batoning and prying. You do not want a survival knife that has a lot of flex in the blade.Knife Knowledge: Does Size Matter? Big knife versus little knife!
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Ron Lach, RODNAE Productions, Yaroslav Shuraev, Yaroslav Shuraev