Different Grind Types - Pros & Cons

IMO,
Saber gives the most strength while being able to cut somewhat.
Flat gives you the best slicer for a given spine thickness.
Convex gives a very good durability/strength ratio.
 
so for an Active Duty (if you have one) would you say a saber ground Milliganze for example would be a better overall knife than a Boney AD ??
 
And saber LOOKS the best :D

Kidding aside, I do like the retention of spine strength while still being able to make a knife potentially lighter and faster with a saber grind. Or, given the same spine thickness, you can keep more weight forward with the saber grind making a better chopper.

examples:
3/16 saber grind satin jack is a good example of a well balanced but still tough as nails knife.

1/4 Mofo is heavy, but will spank a flat ground Mojo in chopping all day long, and I don't see any noticeable slicing difference (not in a knife that large.) Although the Mojo would have the advantage in a true fighter category primarily because of the more neutral balance.


What would be interesting to hear is a comparison of the original saber ground Active Duty vs the Boney AD for EDC type use.

Sorry if that doesn't make sense, first cup of coffee is on the way down now...

But most of my favorites are saber...
 
I love my Milly AD and want a Boney AD but with the rapid machine gun fire offerings direct from Busse, I've not had the extra cash. If it's made out of INFI it doesn't matter if it's Saber, Flat or Convex. The extra hardness of the boney gives me pause though. I do mean things to my sabre AD.
 
I've got a milli on the way but before I go an dirty it I want to know if it's better to trade it for a BAD. I'll be cutting everything from food to wood !!
 
Brendan said:
I've got a milli on the way but before I go an dirty it I want to know if it's better to trade it for a BAD. I'll be cutting everything from food to wood !!
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I have a BAD and I like it. I had some sage ADs but traded them off for mod services. Honestly I couldn't decide which I liked better, so I kept the BAD since that's what I used more.

If you have an AD you're probably fine. You can couple it with a BAD or even a Bear Cub for lighter, more precise work, but if you just want something small that will cut anything in sight you probably already have what you need.
 
Brendan said:
Saber vs flat vs Convex !

What are the strengths and weaknesses of each !!
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I prefer convex satin INFI blades for the following reasons:

1. Sharp enough to slice a tomato, tough enough to chop tree limbs.
2. Very high performance for tameshigiri and other martial arts training.
3. Difficult to damage unless you're really pushing it.
4. Easy to sharpen and re-polish as needed.

Fans of saber and flat ground blades could probably argue the same points as well, which means blade grind preference will depend on how you use your knife, what you use it on, and even aesthetic and other personal measures that have nothing to do with performance.
 
Moloko Plus said:
I prefer convex satin INFI blades for the following reasons:

1. Sharp enough to slice a tomato, tough enough to chop tree limbs.
2. Very high performance for tameshigiri and other martial arts training.
3. Difficult to damage unless you're really pushing it.
4. Easy to sharpen and re-polish as needed.

Fans of saber and flat ground blades could probably argue the same points as well, which means blade grind preference will depend on how you use your knife, what you use it on, and even aesthetic and other personal measures that have nothing to do with performance.
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Great info - thanks mate
 
I dunno, never did dig the BAD's too much. The coyote one is cool.
But thin to slice? That's what I have my folders for. .14 is as thin as I'd like 'em.
I have a saber grind custom shop AD that does pretty darn weel.
 
I am a huge fan of convex edges on flat ground knives, and full convex grinds (where the curve is from the edge all the way to the spine of the knife. They make for nice deep bites on big choppers, and hair popping sharp edges that are super easy to maintain. Just get a strop and in a few minutes it pops hair right off. You can get a V-grind edge hair popping sharp as well, it is just harder for me, and using a mechanical set up (ie where the knife is held fixed, and guides to keep the angle constant) takes more time to set up.

You cans till strop v grind edges and get them hair popping sharp that way, it just seems to take me longer, and I have to pay more attention to what I am doing.

I tend to like full flat grinds where the knife has a thicker spine (ie my FMBLE does not need the extra mead of a saber grind). For designated choppers I think that a full height grind gives a bit of a performance advantage (it seems to be the most popular grind for competition choppers. Convex edge with full height grind, or full convex grind both being most common.

I think for thinner knives, a saber grind helps add a bit more strength.

The AD will be stronger than the BAD (thicker and saber grind). I liked the BAD for slicing and cutting stuff in the kitchen. Basically the BAD would be the go to for anything that is not abusive. But if I was in the woods and had only one knife I would rather it be the thicker AD.
 
Bigfattyt said:
The AD will be stronger than the BAD (thicker and saber grind). I liked the BAD for slicing and cutting stuff in the kitchen. Basically the BAD would be the go to for anything that is not abusive. But if I was in the woods and had only one knife I would rather it be the thicker AD.
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That't exactly the comment I was looking for !

:thumbup:
 
I am not an expert at all. I was playing poker with a knife maker that almost exclusively grinds all of his knives convex to what he calls infinity (zero). He told me that that grind is fantastic for specific duties ie. skinning animals, precise cutting tasks. He told me that is pretty bad for chopping. He told me that the sabre grind was the best for chopping because it was the strongest.

Now I have had my INFI choppers convexed with no problems so long as everythinng goes as I expect. I have been chopping with the convex grind and unexpectedly hit a nail. The chip in the blade was probably worse than if I had left it the way it originally came. No worries... It just took more time to repair the chip.

I have both the BAD, and 2 AD's I would get em both.....
 
As I understand it - 'sabre', 'hollow ground' and 'flat' refer to the blade cross-section. 'Convex' and 'bevel' refer to the edge profile. You can mix n match.

As a general observation - choppers & wilderness = sabre, kitchen = flat, razors = hollow.

I prefer non-serrated convex edge on all my knives except for butchers and carvers
 
Brendan said:
so for an Active Duty (if you have one) would you say a saber ground Milliganze for example would be a better overall knife than a Boney AD ??
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Late to this discussion, but here is something to consider:

Just like with the MrS and LrMrS, the general blade profile for each of these AD blades is the same. The angle of the primary grind is identical. When you start with thinner stock, you get a saber profile as compared with the full height grind on the thicker stuff. So if anything, the full height grind probably has more metal behind it, all appearances to the contrary.
 
rbmcmjr said:
*snip*

So if anything, the full height grind probably has more metal behind it, all appearances to the contrary.
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After you said this I looked at my collection, and then bussecollector.com to compare some pics against my Off Duty.

I noticed my OD is actually saber and not flat ground like the pic on bussecollector.com shows. After the satin OD was sold, was the Off Duty switched to saber only? Or is there batches of both types floating around out there?
 
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