Chisel grind......Opinions??

KBR

KBR

Joined
Feb 12, 2002
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I am curious about the chisel grind, especially on Emerson knives such as the Commander. Many KnifeKnuts have varying viewpoints on this grind type and I'd like to hear some opinions about it. What do you think of its' usefulness in self-defense, utility, etc.?

Thanks for any feedback. :D
 
I like them as utiliy knives,I have carried one as an EDC for over 2 years and use it for everything.I grind mine on the opposite side of the production models except for lefty's.Dave:)
 
I had a chisel ground knife once. I hated it, and will never own another.

The primary reason for woning a knife is to cut things, and I found that a chisel ground knife did not cut things nearly as well as a standard one. The blade led off to the side when cutting anything wider than itself, and the non-ground side would always get hung up when cutting sticky things like package tape.

Even if the chisel grind did not have these problems, I still fail to see how it would be better than a V grind:

Is it stronger? No. There is the same amount of steel behind the cutting edge, the only difference is the angle is twice as steep on one side and nonexistent on the other.

Easier to sharpen? No. The assertion that you only have to sharpen one side is not true. If you want to get rid of that burr, you have to break the edge on both sides, no different from a standard knife. Besides, if you are going to invest in a quality knife you should have a good grasp of how to sharpen the thing regardless.

Sharper? No. Once again, same angle from different directions.

Chisel grinds are cheaper to manufacture, and they look it.
 
I've a chisel edged M16 Tanto zytel version, and I do notice its tendencies of veering off the center when cutting.
I suspect and (confirmed by many) that chisel grounded knives would veer off center more so.
 
yup....as far as I am concerned Chisel Grind is a money saver for the manufacturer and is inferrior to the other grinds in just about every application unless you count uncontroled semi-circle cutting. I can never get em as sharp as I want either.

It confuses me when quality companies adopt this grind.....my beloved SOG (on the recondo)...those crazy Emerson's (all of em I think). But I do like the people at Emerson, they are a fun bunch it seems...just couldnt bring myself to get the chisel grinds. And my irrational hatred of thin liner locks didnt help either.


I do however accept them on serrations, it doesnt seem to decrease the cutting power in that respect.

I try to keep an open mind though, some experiences have got me to come full circle on knife related decisions. I try to make sure it is experience that swings me, and not just the words of others.
 
From personal experience I can say a chisel grind is decent enough if the grind is taken far enough up the blade to leave a serviceably thin edge.
My shop utility knife is one I made from an old planer blade and that sucker cuts everything from wrapping paper to sanding stock off a shop roll and even helps whittling wood. It's not really any better than a standard V ground blade, but it isn't any worse either. It works for me because the grind is taken 80+% of the way up the blade leaving a fairly thin edge.

For the most part I agree with fishbulb's post. He makes many good points. The biggest problems I see with many chisel grinds(factory and custom knives) is the grind angle is just too obtuse to make for an efficient cutting tool. After all, a knife is a cutting tool first and foremost.
 
Not for me. I have turned down a couple of knives when I found they were chisel ground. Just don't like it. My personal preference.
 
Chisel grind and Chisel edge is different.
Chisel grind is when one side is flat while the other side is angled, while a chisel edge is a V grind (sabre/flat/hollow) and the edge is ground like a Chisel.
M16 Zytel Tanto Serrated (at least mine) was an example of chisel edge, while Emersons are chisel grinds.
 
All right.

An Emerson Commander has a chisel edge. It does not have a chisel grind. Same with the spearpoint CQC7, and most of the other spearpoints, I think. I don't know about the other ones.

I owned one for a while, and I did not notice a difference in performance between a chisel edge and a regular edge, except when I was whittling. When I was whittling it worked FAR better, but only on one side of the blade, so I had to hold my knife backwards. Luckily I don't care much about whittling. But cutting up cardboard boxes -- large cardboard boxes -- I didn't notice any veering. Maybe I was compensating, I don't know, but if I compensated and didn't notice I was doing it, it can't be that big a deal.

I actually had someone tell me that they hated chisel edges, especially left handed chisel edges. The example he used was that even Spyderco serrated knives whittled better than chisel edges.

Well, see, I have never seen a serrated knife without a chisel edge. I know that every Spyderco I've ever seen has a chisel edge, and <gasp> it's on the wrong side just like Emerson's are.
 
I had a Benchmade Emerson tactical folder once. Friend of mine got it for me on discount from a knife store he worked at. Beautiful looking knife except it didn't cut like what I expected. The chisel grind was kind of annoying, actually, and was not good for everyday knife chores. I found the edge very inflexible for daily use. Eventually sold it to another friend at a discount. Just my 2 cents.
 
Thanks for the replies, one and all. I was curious about this type of grind because I just received an Emerson Commander(2000) that I believe has it and I haven't really put it to use yet to know how it cuts.

Would it be a pain to change the grind from chisel to full flat grind? I would imagine that quite a bit of steel would need to be removed. Any thoughts??
 
Funny you should ask...I was just getting into chisel grinds myself (just got a Farid)...

Anyway, I just had to say something...this talk about chisel grinds being a money saver and that it is impossible to get them sharp is nonsense...the sharpest knife that I have ever handled was a chisel grind...an RJ Martin, to be exact (RJ is reputed to have the some of the sharpest knives...and most are chisel grind)...also, Phil Hartsfield is LEGENDARY for having the sharpest knives in existence...oh yeah, he's also famous for popularizing the chisel grind...

True, chisel grinds have their limitations but the intended purpose of the knife must be kept in mind...for example, the Emerson CQC6 was not designed to dice onions

RL
 
Just as a matter of curiosity, as I'm FAR from a knife expert, and havent' seen every knife by a long shot: Anyone make a hollow chisel grind? Ie, only one side, but hollow ground? It seems that you could get a more effective edge this way. Just an idea.

once I get my 2x72 maybe I'll give it a try. ;)

Only chisel grind blades I've ever had are serrations, but I will say one nice thing about chisel grinds. When you're getting started on knife making, and are making Americanized tantos or similar blades with very distinct bevels that run all the way to the edge, it's a lot easier to have a more "professional" looking grind with chisel. Because it takes some noticable practice to make the bevels/grinds on each side mirror each other. And I dunno about anyone else, but unmatched grinds like that stand out glaringly to me. I know,t hat's why the tanto in my truck got relegated to truck duty in the first place.
 
My email addy sorta gives it away, I like Chiseledges but also like conventional ones as well...
Reasons:

No drag on the flat side as it moves through material...no drag means faster-easier cutting! One type of material where the chisel edge excels in, is hard plastic, other knives can slide off where the chisel edge bites...deep!

Sharpening, well both styles of grinds can be sharpened, but the Chiseledge has a slight advantage with only having to maintain the one side, and yes you do have to remove the burr but that is a flat type of grinding or sharpening, pretty easy to accomplish. I had a Jimmy Fikes Cabin Boy...nice knife! and that was THE sharpest knife I've own...bar none, it would easily tree top cut the hair on my arm, taking off the tip top of the hair without bringing the knife to the skin...very sharp!

I prefer the right side grind, being right handed...it does take a knack to cutting to keep the cut straight if you are going through heavy material but I've not found it to be too difficult.

But to each his own, right now I only have a Swiss Army Florist knife that has a chiseledge, though down at the Baltimore show I may find one for me!

G2
 
Perhaps this piece by Jeff Hall??

JH02117.jpg


Or Mike Snody

Warchild.jpg


RL
 
I just had my '02 Commander changed from a chisel to a V not to long ago. I'm much happier with it this way.

It serves its utility purposes better because it can cut in straight lines more accurately now. Also it's a lot easier to sharpen on my 204 with this grind.
 
Originally posted by etp777
Just as a matter of curiosity, as I'm FAR from a knife expert, and havent' seen every knife by a long shot: Anyone make a hollow chisel grind? Ie, only one side, but hollow ground? It seems that you could get a more effective edge this way. Just an idea.
Click to expand...

Kathleen Tomey uses a hollow chisel grind on her Thumb Tacs. Here's a picture from her website:
MVC-256F.JPG

I have one of the wharncliffe Thumb Tacs. I'm not a real big fan of chisel grinds, but I do like this one; it's a handy little knife.
 
Thanks much dsvirsky. It seemed to me like it'd be a good idea, and combat some of complaints peole have with chisel grind, just had never heard of anone doing it.

Nice looking knives too.
 
Right you are Calyth. I misread the question and immediately started thinking about the grind and not just the edge.
 
I recently bought the Buck Intrepid Tanto 6 3/4 inch, for heavy duty work. I must admit the one reservation I had was the chisel blade. Today I cleared some storm damage from my local shooting club ground (dense woodland). The blade is awesome, i abandoned hacksaws and axes and used the knife alone to clear branches and trunks up to 6" thick, a clean strike with the blade will sink 3" through green wood; my opinion now, Chisels rock!(maybe it's just Buck's steel, this knife seem indestructable.)
 
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