One of the most infrequently asked questions regarding knives for sale is that of the type of grind that blade possesses. Everyone else is so occupied with arguments surrounding fixed and folding knives, types of locks, blade steels, and scale material, that the grind, which directly affects the capabilities and functionality of the blade, gets entirely overlooked.
We’re going to reverse that trend. Consider this the last resource you’ll ever need to determine whether or not a grind is suitable for the manner in which you intend to use a knife.
● Hollow: The hollow grind didn’t use to be as popular as it is today, but due to influential knife makers like Buck and Gerber, which frequently use hollow grinds, other imitators have jumped on the bandwagon.
Let’s not put the cart before the horse. A blade with a hollow grind will, in cross section, look like a V that has had the sides bent inward. This results in a very fine edge that can be keenly honed. For this reason, hollow ground knives are very effective for slicing chores. Unsurprisingly, nearly all straight razors are produced with a hollow grind because of a hollow grind’s ability to produce a shaving sharp edge.
Many hunting and meat processing knives are also made with hollow grinds, because the hollow grind is adept at slicing through material, particularly soft material. It’s not all good news with a hollow grind, though. These grinds tend to “dive” too deeply into harder materials like wood, and a hollow ground edge is much more likely to chip or break under stress.
● Full flat: The full flat grind is “everyman’s” grind, and in a cross section produces a blade that looks exactly like a narrow V. Grind starts at the spine of the knife and follows all the way to the edge. This type of grind also produces a very fine edge, but one with more metal behind it, that is less likely to chip, roll, break or deform.
Blades with a full flat grind are also excellent at slicing tasks and are less prone to “dive” or “sweep” unduly into wood. They’re also easier to resharpen. Many chef’s knives and bushcraft knives utilize a full flat grind because of the ease of returning an edge to a razor’s profile.
● Half flat, AKA Scandinavian or Scandi: The half flat is a grind that starts halfway up the side of the flat of a knife, resulting in flat cheeks with an additional bevel towards the edge. This style of grind is popular among Scandinavian knives like Mora Knives, Martiini and Helle knives, hence the name.
The benefits of a Scandi grind mirror the benefits of a full flat grind, with the notable exception that, all else being equal, a Scandi ground blade will be significantly tougher than a blade with a full flat grind.
● Convex, AKA axe grind: Finally, for our purposes of exploring the grinds typically encountered among most knives for sale, we have convex grinds, which are also known as axe grinds. This is the opposite of a convex grind, which produces a blade that looks like a “pointed U” in a cross section. This grind is rare, but can be encountered among some survival knives and camp knives because it produces a very, very strong edge that is highly resistant to rolling, chipping or deforming.
What to learn more about the types of grinds that are used to produce the blades of pocket knives, fixed blades and other tools and knives? Visit White Mountain Knives, where you can consult their blog for more information.
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