Are grind lines from hollow grinding inherently more crisp?

M

Maelstrom78

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Sep 21, 2013
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As I'm trying to not smooth out my lines during hand sanding I wonderedif the lines from hollow grinding are inherently more hollow crisp. Does the curvature of the wheel immediately makes a larger "dip" then flat grinding.
 
I don't think so. Grinding on a somewhat soft contact wheel probably isn't quite as crisp is grinding on a hard platen.

Using a new belt is a good way to keep plunge lines sharp.

Sometimes a belt will grind cleaner on one side than the other. You have to turn your belt around to compensate for it.
 
Maelstrom78 said:
As I'm trying to not smooth out my lines during hand sanding I wonderedif the lines from hollow grinding are inherently more hollow crisp. Does the curvature of the wheel immediately makes a larger "dip" then flat grinding.
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If I am thinking of the correct lines you are talking about (those that run horizontally on each side near the top of the blade?), then yes, a hollow inherently has a slightly greater angle there, due to the dip you are talking about - if all other things are equal. However, you have to judge how you like the look of the lines on hollow vs. flat. For example, a flat ground blade reflects light differently than a hollow ground. Given the large flat surface that abuts that line on a flat ground blade, it can really make that line stand out. Again, it is all just personal preference. Good excuse to make both and see which you like better! I am constantly playing with my grind lines. Sometimes I make them dip and give them a belly, other times I just go straight, other times I angle up. I still don't know which I like best! Some days I make one I fall in love with and the next day I look at it and feel differently. Go figure.
Ditto to the advice given by grizzled. Sharp belt.
Have fun and I hope I didn't confuse things even more!
 
I think you can get sharp lines with either grind. I get pretty sharp horizontal lines when hollow grinding with an 8 inch wheel where I have to pull up the grind to get closer to the spine of the knife and the finer grit belt I use the sharper the line gets. What I hate is making a beautiful grind and then it looks awful after heat treat and I have to re smooth the grind lines both flat and hollow to get back to shiny and crisp but that is the process every time. I whole heatedly agree with the comments made by Grizzled and Marcus about using a new belt. Every time things are not going fast or well I put on a new belt and like magic every thing cleans up. Larry
 
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