So i have been making knives for a couple of months now, and have made various designs from Kerambits, bowies, sheepsfoots, and all sorts of different things. I have mostly been working in the 1/8" x 1" as well as 3/16" x 1.5, and the occasional 1/4" piece. I am planning on starting a dagger soon, 

 

My basic concept for the dagger is based on the classic arming sword design. With a few design changes, with a maximum length of around 14" , a blade at the hilt slightly wider than an inch or so, in between 1.25" and 1.5" With either a very slight taper to the tip, or none until about an 1" from the tip. For the cross section i would like flat grind on both sides and a central spine on each side of the blade or in other words <> . Now my question for you guys is this, i am completely unsure of what thickness to start with to reach that profile. I feel like 3/16 and 1/4 or to thin, how ever i don't have a big background in blades, much less historical blades. So my question is this what is your recommended thickness to start with? 

Historical I can't say to much, exept that most reproductions are way to thick and heavy. As to the thickness, 1/4 is thick, the Fairborn/Syks and Aplegate/Syks daggers used by the British army have 3/16 blades, and at a bit hilt ecsentric, balancing on the quilions or just behind.

Depending pn your shop skills you may need extra thickness for waste when you try that blade  contour....Or you can work with mild steel until you have it dialed in..

Both wonderful pieces of advice Thank you. I guess that is why my conception is so skewed, having seen almost nothing but reproductions my mental image would be way to thick and heavy. I guess i need to find some real examples of historical blades, Can any one recommend a decent title that would be helpful to a bladesmtih in that it list pertinent specifications?

stop by a museum, and ask. you may be supprised :)

*scampers off to the interwebs to find an arms museum locally* *hope in his eyes* I am headed to the guild meeting tonight, and i know there is at least one bladesmith among them who has done larger pieces, hopefully he will have time to talk with me. I wish i could find someone in the area willing to have an apprentice or at the very least a shadow for a day or 2. 

The old catalog of the Wallace Collection had several hundred well detailed blades in it.  I used it as one of the sources when I did an analysis of the weight of a "using sword"  (averaged around 2.5 pounds over nearly 1000 years.)

If only i were in Europe, i imagine a search of arms and an armor within museums turns up quite different results than it does here on the east coast. Most of my local museums including the wonderful Smithsonians are very limited in arms, especially edged arms. What there is present is typically Naval edged weaponry,as well as bayonets, and fighting knives. Indigenous weaponry does appear, both for Native Americans, and from other races whom we have quarreled with which while interesting isn't quite the same as Arming swords, dussacks, and other such classic European weaponry. Guess a trip abroad is in order, maybe in a few years where i can be far more help in a blacksmith shop i will have to do a tour of blacksmiths and bladesmiths trading work for experience.