Originally posted by tom mayo:
well I glanced down the posts and it seems I am in the minority. I have to say that everyone is probably right about flat being stronger....but in reality...how much... with the steels and heat treating that we are getting today I just dont see people breaking their knives using them in a normal fashion....that said....hollow grind lends itself to resharping half way up the blade with the same edge geometry....I have seen umpteen Randalls with edges thicker than an axe after many years of use.....thats what turns me off about flat grinds.
Great points, Tom. Years down the road, I can imagine what my Busse Mean Street will look like. But what about blades that are much thinner than Randalls? And the width (not thickness) has to play a role as well, doesn't it? A really wide, thin blade would seem to me to be better flat ground--although my old carbon steel Chicago Cutlery butcher knife is thin, wide, and hollow ground and boy can it slice! But--I don't use the butcher knife for anything but cutting food on a cutting board. I could quickly destroy the blade if I used it otherwise.
And I think the "old timey" view was that flat ground was the best but, as you pointed out, steel is not what it used to be. We have knife steels out there now that can put up with a lot more abuse than our grandfathers' steel. At least I think that's true, isn't it? It would be interesting if someone knowledgable about such things would comment. Was the steel used for quality knives around the turn of the century (and earlier) really poor compared to modern steels. Or what about back in the 40s and 50s, when people were using (and are still using) springs from cars to forge blades?
Here's what Ed Fowler had to say about hollow grinds: "What is not generally known is that the first hollow-ground blades were made by a knife manufacturer and sold to slaughter houses as a cheap "disposable" knife to replace the more traditional blades supplied at the time. The manufacturer could save time and labor grinding hollow-ground blades because they were easier to sharpen. They were also money makers because they did not last as long as the more traditional blades and were discarded when no longer serviceable. They didn't last--the edges chipped out when put to heavy work and hollow-ground blades were soon abandoned for such work."
Now I'm wondering, was part of the problem with hollow ground blades in those days just poor steel?
BTW, here is Ed's comments about flat ground blades: "The problem with the flat-ground blade is that the cut is made with three surfaces. A second problem is that the blade is thin near the edge and can chip out when put to hard use."
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Hoodoo
I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
[This message has been edited by Hoodoo (edited 11-25-2000).]
