This is from Joe Talmadge, hope it helps... sorry about it being sooooo long.
Blade shapes
- Clip Point
A blade format where the top of the blade has a cut-out -- or "clip" -- at the top of the blade. The cutout is either concave or straight. Clipping the blade brings the point of the knife lower, for control; it also makes the tip sharper. Since the sharp point is one of the goals of this format, you will often see the clip accompanied by a false edge. This format is also often accompanied by a good-sized curving belly, for slicing ability. The combination of a controllable, sharp point and plenty of belly makes the clip point an excellent all-around format, and is used on such widely-differing knives as hunters, military knives, utility knives, and bowies.
- Drop Point
A drop-point blade is characterized by a slow convex-curved drop in the point. The classic Loveless-style hunter is a drop-point pattern. The drop-point format lowers the point for control, but leaves the point extremely strong. Usually coupled with plenty of belly for slicing, this format is often used for hunting knives. This is also an extremely good all-around format, and like the clip-point, the drop-point is seen in a wide range of knives from hunters to military knives to utility knives and beyond.
- Tanto
The classic Japanese tanto shape has the point exactly inline with the spine of the blade, and has a graceful belly curve. Most tantos seen on the American cutlery market are the Americanized-tantos formats. Like the Japanese tanto, the Americanized tanto has a high-point in-line with the spine. A flat grind is applied to the point, leaving it very thick and massively strong. The front edge meets the bottom edge at an obtuse angle, rather than curving to meet it as in the Japanese tanto. There is a separate grind applied to the bottom edge, often a hollow grind to leave this edge extremely sharp. Other tanto formats have become popular also, and modifications such as clipping the point or applying a chisel-grind are often seen.
- Sheepsfoot
A format in which the spine of the blade curves down to meet the edge. This format has no point, and very little or no belly. It is used in applications where slicing is the main requirement, and a point is either not needed or would actively get in the way. For example, emergency rescue blades are of this format, and the lack of a point prevents a rescuer from accidently poking a victim who is being cut out of a seat belt. Mariner knives are usually this format as well.
- Trailing Point
A trailing point blade has the point higher than the spine, and a lot of curving belly. Most popular on skinning knives, this format leaves the point high and out of the way, while providing an abundant belly for slicing jobs.
- Hookblade
Hookblades have long been popular as gardening knives, and have recently undergone a resurgence in the tactical market as well. The format forces the material towards the sweet spot of the curve, where a lot of slicing power is available.
Blade Grinds
- Hollow
For a hollow grind, the edge is made by two concave scoops. If done right, this leaves the edge extremely thin and sharp, for exceptionally-good slicing ability. This type of edge works best when high-performance cutting is needed. It is less suitable for chopping tasks, because the same thinness that gives the edge such great slicing performance also makes this format more prone to chipping or rolling during high-impact activities. That makes this edge especially good for chores that emphasize cutting over impact uses.
- Convex
This grind has the sides of the blade arcing down in a convex curve to the edge. The edge on this format is often very sharp, because the convex curves run all the way to the edge without a secondary bevel. It is also a strong edge format, because the thin edge thickens quickly enough to have plenty of metal behind it. The main drawback of this format is that it is extraordinarily difficult to re-sharpen. Knifemakers today tend to use a slack-belt grinder to apply this edge format. You can sharpen the edge in a normal bevelled manner, but then you'll end up with just a regular bevelled edge that thickens quickly, a format that will be strong but won't be the best cutting format.
- Flat
The flat grind is a format that combines most of the cutting ability of the hollow grind, with most of the strength of a sabre grind. Flat bevels run all the way from spine to the edge bevels. This can leave the edge thin for high-performance. However, the edge thickens linearly as it moves up, so it ends up stronger than a hollow grind. This grind is also expensive to make, as the maker is required to remove a lot of metal. The combination of cutting ability and strength makes this a great all-around grind. From kitchen knives (which require thin, hi-performance cutting edges) to kukris (which require strong, shearing edges), and all uses in between, the flat grind is often an excellent choice.
- Sabre
The sabre grind has flat edge bevels that normally start around the middle of the blade, and run to the edge bevel. The kabar and many other military knives show this grind. The emphasis on this grind is strength, as the edge is often left thick, and thickens dramatically and quickly past the edge. Cutting ability is sacrificed to some extent for durability. This is a format you'll often see on knives that will take prying, digging, and chopping abuse, such as the "sharpened prybar" type knives. This grind does show up for other uses as well, such as utility use.
- Chisel
The chisel grind is ground on one side only. One side of the blade has an edge bevel on it, the other side is completely flat. Because of this, the edge on a chisel-ground knife is usually extremely thin and sharp and cuts very well. On the downside, the asymmetrical grind causes the knife to veer off course during cutting chores; it also thickens dramatically. This format has become popular on tactical knives, often coupled with a clip-point Americanized-tanto blade.
- Scandanavian Single-Bevel
Scandanavian knives, such as the puukko, often sport a grind that looks like a sabre grind. However, there are no secondary edge bevels, which leaves the edge extremely thin and incredibly sharp. Due to the sharpness of the edge, these knives will often outcut just about anything.
