Best of the Best

O

Oregon Knife Guy

Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
336
Just thought I would get something started here and learn in the process.
In your opinion who makes the best of the different grinds: i.e. Convex, hollow, flat, and scandi.
List your favorite and why. This obviously is your own opinion so don't answer it depends. If you were to own one of each style blade, who would it me made by?
 
I am not familar with all the brands but I have a ton of different ones, While there are many more, Bark River and Falkniven(spelling) Make very good convex edges, There are really to many Scandi's to even mention but Helle comes to mind as well as the Mora's. Buck knives are usual razor sharp from the box and Karshaw are the same. You can't beat the Victorinox as well.
 
Yep - this is tough. Who has evaluated all the knives?

I agree with Bark River and Fallkniven doing convex for a long time. Bark River gets credit for doing full convex grinds where most do a flat with a convex near the bottom edge. Honorable mention go to Scott Gossman who seems to have switched to convex ahead of the curve (I could be wrong there).

Scandi - this is a tough one because there are so many opinions about what makes a great one. Daniel Koster has been cranking out a high end scandi bushcrafter type for a while now and he seems to do a great job. Brian Andrews has been pumping out really impressive scandi grinds of late.

Full flat - this one there is a pile of folks who do it and do it right. Hard to even guess. I like a full flat + convex edge combination myself. Many of the W&SS makers have reverted to this as a standard. JK and Breeden are two of them. I've read good things about Walter's work. There are so many folks including production people who do a full flat well. I like my rat cutlery's and the Ranger knife I just procured. Both came with V-grind edges that I subsequently converted to convex.
 
Matt of ML knives puts a great convexed edge on his knives !!!

P1050006.jpg


P1050001.jpg
 
Last edited:
Just the first makers that come to mind that I'd gravitate to if I were in the market.

Convex - Bark River
Full Flat - Koster
Hollow - Bob Dozier
Scandi - Charles May

Chris
 
I have little experience with the scandi grind other than a Mora. I am very interested in Brian Andrews work, they look like a great knife.
Bark River has intrigued me as well, Once I decide to go for a full convex I may have to look into one of those.
As many of you that have seem the pics of my knives, I go for Dozier for the hollow ground.
In the past couple of years, nearly all of my money that I could spend on a knife has gone to Dozier, I haven't branched out into the convex or scandi grinds yet.
 
Many of us are guilty of having a certain degree of brand and maker loyalty. It comes with a sense of trust that the actual product and the one you think your are purchasing will be the same. Nothing wrong with having your goto knife guy, certainly when it is a top maker like Dozier.
 
Rupestris said:
Convex - Bark River

Hollow - Bob Dozier
Click to expand...

I totally with these two picks. :thumbup: :cool: :thumbup:


These are the guys I trust to make my working knives.

Bark River's Convex for my hard work blades (with the warrantee it's a no-brainer).





Bob Dozier’ High Hollow Grind for my hunting and meat processing knives .







"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."

Big Mike

Forest & Stream
 
Mike, I always liked the look of your Housatonic Hunter! Those two Bark River knives are quite handsome too!
I guess I need to save up some money for a Brian Andrews and a Bark River! My Fiance is going to kill me at some point! I have 4 Doziers on order right now! This madness has got to stop! Someone please ban me from this forum!
 
Oregon Knife Guy said:
Mike, I always liked the look of your Housatonic Hunter! Those two Bark River knives are quite handsome too!
I guess I need to save up some money for a Brian Andrews and a Bark River! My Fiance is going to kill me at some point! I have 4 Doziers on order right now! This madness has got to stop! Someone please ban me from this forum!
Click to expand...

Your banned.....now send me all your Doziers and go find a sensible hobby !!!!!;)
 
I've been enjoying my Koster Bushcrafter with a Scandi edge for a while now. It cuts wonderfully and being 3V steel, it should stand up to whatever you dish out. My Moras also work wonderfully if I keep in mind the tasks they were designed for.

I'm awaiting my Laconico knife with a full flat grind and convex edge. I've heard great stuff about his edges and I find it really cool that he determines the height of the blade (spine to edge) by the thickness of the steel. A knife made of thicker steel (3/16" for example) would have a taller blade than one made from 1/8" stock. In doing this, he keeps a similar grind angle.

This is what I gathered from emails, some research and a bit of head scratching. If I'm misunderstanding, I hope that Ray will chime in and set the record straight.

As for convex, I'm still dipping my toes into the water. I will say that my JK with a full convex edge has struck me as really useful, strong and beautiful in execution.
 
Sorry to custom makers, I thought he was asking about production knives, Most all the custom makers do a great job and most will do your choice of grinds.
 
udtjim said:
Sorry to custom makers, I thought he was asking about production knives, Most all the custom makers do a great job and most will do your choice of grinds.
Click to expand...

Yeah, sure Jim. When was the last time you supported a custom maker? Huh?:rolleyes:

;)
 
I was asking about any knives you guys like, no matter if it is custom or production. All knives are approciated, as well as all views...
Hey Mike, how does your housatonic hunter handle field dressing and skinnig? Do you find it larger than you would want for field work or do you primarily use it after the fact?
 
Oregon Knife Guy said:
Hey Mike, how does your housatonic hunter handle field dressing and skinnig?

Do you find it larger than you would want for field work or do you primarily use it after the fact?
Click to expand...


On whitetails I generally use this little drop point for field dressing.

I made it by cutting down one of the Dozier Kit Knife blades.

Bone scales with red liners, the D2 hollow ground blade has been polished and convexed.



Here’s the pair together. :cool:






"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."

Big Mike

Forest & Stream
 
I have used a lot of knives for hunting since I spent about a dozen years guiding hunters. There are to many good hunting knives to even start to list, However the Grohmann Canadian Belt knife was sure in the cream of the crop. Custom makers are just that, they take your wishes and make them happen.

I field dressed and skinned about a 100 deer a season for quite a few years, add in a few Bears, Moose and elk. I used the Buck 110, the Grohmann and a Mora Clipper the most. I was not into custom knives yet in those years. I had one old stag handles Scandi which I still have. No idea who made it, all it says is Sweden.
 
udtjim said:
I have used a lot of knives for hunting since I spent about a dozen years guiding hunters. There are to many good hunting knives to even start to list, However the Grohmann Canadian Belt knife was sure in the cream of the crop. Custom makers are just that, they take your wishes and make them happen.

I field dressed and skinned about a 100 deer a season for quite a few years, add in a few Bears, Moose and elk. I used the Buck 110, the Grohmann and a Mora Clipper the most. I was not into custom knives yet in those years. I had one old stag handles Scandi which I still have. No idea who made it, all it says is Sweden.
Click to expand...


50+ years and still going strong. The Russell/Grohman CBK is a very clever design indeed. If you've never used one you should give it a go . Wish I'd known about it when I was doing a lot of hunting. Thinking of adding the folding version to my collection.
 
i'm a recent convert to scandi grind for use in our part of the world, for small knives
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top