Best applications/strengths of hollow, saber, and full flat grind

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DangerZone98

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Dec 7, 2019
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All these grinds have their place in the knife world, but what kind of applications are each generally suited for? Any particular brand or model that does a grind especially well?

Feel free to discuss other grinds as you see fit as well. :)
 
For me, hollow grinds work well for hunting/skinning knives since they are so thin behind the edge. A good example is a Buck 110 or 119. Saber grinds (Benchmade Griptilian or KaBar USMC) are strongest and FFG blades are in between (Chef knife or Spyderco Tenacious)
But convex grinds are my favorite!
 
I'd be interested in 'why' for the recurve? I get it for a sword but I don't get it for pocket knives. What advantage does it bring to the table?
 
I have found I prefer a saber grind for a large outdoors/wood processing knife. Scandi works for carving wood, but I don't like it otherwise. I hate scandi for game processing as the edge seems to dig into material instead of cutting along meat, hide, etc. Hollow grinds seems to work very well for most everything, the only real drawback being that it's not the strongest edge for hard use. FFG is OK, but not may favorite for woods use.

They all work well for opening a bag of trail mix;)
 
Hollow: Works well for most things.
High/Full Hollow: Even better for general EDC use. Could work in the kitchen similar to a flat grind.
Full Flat: A bit stronger than a hollow grind. Good for just about anything.
Sabre: A "heavy duty" grind. Not super useful for me.
Scandi: OK for wood, but not really efficient for anything else IMO.
Convex: I only use this on machetes or axes where I want a durable secondary edge.
Chisel (Either flat or hollow): Works about like a hollow grind to me. EDC, defensive or kitchen use if you are into Japanese cutlery.
 
Mitchell Knives said:
Hollow: Works well for most things.
High/Full Hollow: Even better for general EDC use. Could work in the kitchen similar to a flat grind.
Full Flat: A bit stronger than a hollow grind. Good for just about anything.
Sabre: A "heavy duty" grind. Not super useful for me.
Scandi: OK for wood, but not really efficient for anything else IMO.
Convex: I only use this on machetes or axes where I want a durable secondary edge.
Chisel (Either flat or hollow): Works about like a hollow grind to me. EDC, defensive or kitchen use if you are into Japanese cutlery.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mitchell. I’ll use this as a quick-and-dirty guide for future considerations.

Pomsbz said:
I'd be interested in 'why' for the recurve? I get it for a sword but I don't get it for pocket knives. What advantage does it bring to the table?
Click to expand...
If I’m not mistaken, I think the recurve supposedly helps with cutting rope. Something about the curve “grabbing” the rope more effectively than a straight edged knife.
 
^^In addition to that the belly in a recurve can be a really good slicer while also allowing one to use the point for finer work or, in larger blades, the added forward weight can make for an excellent chopper.
 
DangerZone98 said:
Thanks Mitchell. I’ll use this as a quick-and-dirty guide for future considerations.


If I’m not mistaken, I think the recurve supposedly helps with cutting rope. Something about the curve “grabbing” the rope more effectively than a straight edged knife.
Click to expand...
Recurve is a blade profile that allows more Length of edge within the same length of blade. It isn’t a grind. Recurve is nasty for slashing!
 
I think about it this way:

Hollow: think razor. Great for cutting gashes into stuff.
FFG: think kitchen knife. Great for slicing veggies against your fingers, etc. Easier for whittling, too.

No surprise, hollow ground kitchen knives are rare and special purpose.

Sabre and Scandi are just stronger FFG; a hollow grind can start lower, too.

Not sure how I feel about Convex. None in my household - well except in the workshop, for example on my axe.

Just a user's two cents.

Roland.
 
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Echoing others here mostly.

Hollow: best slicing performance for a given grind height, thinnest and weakest grind.
Flat (v-grind): good performance, more stout than a comparable hollow grind.
"Saber": just the term for a low flat or hollow grind. I avoid these.
Convex: can cut terribly or really well depending on how they're made, and will have correspondingly excellent or terrible durability, respectively. No such thing as a free lunch with a convex grind.
Flat (chisel): Just a v-grind tilted to one side, with the same inclusive edge angle as the v-grind for a given grind height and stock thickness. Aside from specific cutting tasks (like where you're parting small slices of soft material away from a larger item and need the small pieces to stay perfectly straight, as in cutting sashimi), these are less useful than a regular v-ground knife. They should be paired to a user's preferred hand but they're usually backwards for reasons of aesthetics, making them even less useful. A lot of bad, nearly mythical attributes to these that are not based in reality.
 
Pomsbz said:
I'd be interested in 'why' for the recurve? I get it for a sword but I don't get it for pocket knives. What advantage does it bring to the table?
Click to expand...

I am not a fan of recurves on pocket knives - if the intended result is better slashing performance or more forward momentum, then all of that is lost on a pocket knife (at least with any that fall within a normal size range).

That said, a recurve is excellent on a heavy field/camp knife. Makes for an excellent chopper and if the recurve is pronounced enough, it can be used as an effective draw knife when shaping timber out in the woods. The Becker BK-4 comes to mind in this regard: Some lads and I were out in the woods at one of our favorite haunts a couple of years ago. We built a raft and a tree platform out of fallen timber - that BK-4 was a masterful tool.
 
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