Best Blade Grind for a bush/camp knife ?

[Silverthorn]

What is in fact the best blade grind for a bush/camp/wilderness survival knife ?
I understand to some extent that this is subjective,but it is also very objective in that certain grinds just plain work better for certain tasks.

 

[Slider817]

Personally, I have trouble doing real heavy duty reprofiling on a knife unless it has a V grind or a Scandi grind, because I can bring a DMT Diafold or similar Diamond sharpener in the woods and have a similar one at home at can easily fix up and sharpen a blade, and if I'm not happy with the edge geometry from the Factory a Diamond sharpener can sharpen even the hardest modern steels.
However, with a convex grind without a belt sander or similar equipment doing allot of stock removal is a challenge.

But in terms of performance, if there is a good edge geometry I think pretty much any grind type is fine. For me the most important thing is sharpening, and I can get a ruined V or Scandi edge with chips and everything even if it's an S30V or D2 back into hair shaving sharp, but I can't do that with a Convex edge, especially in the Bush.

 

[hughewil]

scandi grind if your not looking to chop and baton.

 

[Karda]

As this isnt specifically an H.I. related question, i must move it to he Cantina.

 

[Silverthorn]

What about sabre grind or full flat? like on some of the Ontario knives.

 

[Cpl Punishment]

For a heavy chopping implement (just to throw some kukri info out), a convex works best. With a kukri specifically, the final bevel is all that needs to be convexed. An Axe head, has much more of it convexed.

For slicing, Either a very narrow convex, or a full flat ending in a convex edge will work best.

If you freehand sharpen, you'll eventually put some sort of convex on any blade. It may be harder to follow a factory convex, but it can be learned, and they are maintained primarily by stropping.

 

[Silverthorn]

Thanks Cpl, and thanks to everyone else too, seems to be a resounding response that convex is the way to go.
Hoping I can get my Ontario Kuk properly convex if it isn't already.

Do HI Kuks come with a convex edge already ? I am looking to buy a proper Kuk to replace my Ontario one and wanted to know.

 

[Cpl Punishment]

The final bevel on my HI kukri came with anything from zero edge straight bevel to hollow ground (very slightly) to convex, depending on the kami and such. The safest way to get a good convex, if it doesn't come that way (and the Ontario won't), is to send it off to one of the members who has done it a lot. Next safest wat is to use the mousepad and sandpaper method, though that will take a while on a large blade. If you are adventurous, you can use a 1x42 belt sander, but if you don't know what your are doing, you can ruin the temper and/or seriously dull the blade, and commonly remove the tip.

I used the sandpaper over mousepad method myself. Do a search, there's lots of posts on how to do it and moire than one video bouncing around on it.

 

[Steve Tall]

I manually put sharp convex edges on khukuris and machetes by "stropping" the edge using sanding belts. I described this method in a previous post (copied below). The sanding belts can be "rotated" over time to get even wear over their entire length.

Sharpening with sanding belt "strops":

After some touch-ups with a file, I was able to put a hair-shaving convex edge on the blade, using only sanding belts (without the belt sander) and long strops made from old leather belts with polishing compound. I loop a 60" or 72" sanding belt around an axe handle and stand on the handle with both feet, straddling the belt. Then I pull it tight and use it like a barber's strop, leading with the spine of the blade, holding a steady angle with quick downward strokes while trying to keep the blade from getting scratched up. The stroke goes from handle to tip, with the tip completely coming off the strop edge at the end of the stroke (which is quicker than ending the stroke with the tip on the strop and carefully lifting it off). I use a progression of grits, from 120 to 800, then I use a leather belt with green chrome buffing compound. I finish by stropping with a plain leather belt, likewise attached to the axe handle. The resulting convex edge can shave bald patches on my arm.

(Inspiration for this sharpening method came from a post from Cliff Stamp in the BladeForums archives titled "Sharpening for Dummies".)