Edge difference in these two knives

[Qeth]

I cut up boxes with my knives. I've been using my Kabar tanto (1245) because, you know, the boxes need to be tactically cut

I recently tried my BK-9 and found that it cuts a lot better. On the same box, using the same stance and same movements, the BK-9 would go through like a hot knife through butter. I needed some more slicing movement for the tanto.

The BK-9 recently helped to break down the xmas tree for the garbage folks to pick up, and the tanto has been beating up cardboard boxes for a few, but they were sharpened recently at the same time using the spyderco tri-angle sharpmaker.

I THINK they were equally sharpened, but I was wondering if their geometry had something to do with the cutting difference? According to the Kabar website, the tanto has a hollow grind, and the BK-9 has a flat grind. I thought the hollow grind of the tanto would have been better suited for this kind of cutting, and that the 9 would be better as a hacker/ chopper with its flat.

Can anyone clear this up for me?

 

[Moosez45]

I cut up boxes with my knives. I've been using my Kabar tanto (1245) because, you know, the boxes need to be tactically cut

I recently tried my BK-9 and found that it cuts a lot better. On the same box, using the same stance and same movements, the BK-9 would go through like a hot knife through butter. I needed some more slicing movement for the tanto.

The BK-9 recently helped to break down the xmas tree for the garbage folks to pick up, and the tanto has been beating up cardboard boxes for a few, but they were sharpened recently at the same time using the spyderco tri-angle sharpmaker.

I THINK they were equally sharpened, but I was wondering if their geometry had something to do with the cutting difference? According to the Kabar website, the tanto has a hollow grind, and the BK-9 has a flat grind. I thought the hollow grind of the tanto would have been better suited for this kind of cutting, and that the 9 would be better as a hacker/ chopper with its flat.

Can anyone clear this up for me?

Yeah, no problem. The BK9 has a thinner edge than the Kabar tanto. The BK9, in the Camillus days, had some real heft, mine seemed heavier, and more akin to a chopping club. Still a great knife. When I got my new Kabar BK9, the balance was different, the edge seemed to sheer and cut better. Side by side, the new BK9 is slightly slimmer, and better weighted, with a more agressive cutting angle.

The width of the BK9 alows the grind to taper off to the edge over a longer span, in a slimmer area, creating better edge to seperate the media at the shoulder of the primary grind.

That and the handle is more comfortable, I would say you don't have to grip as hard to maintain the plane of the knife while cutting.

Just my opinion.

Moose

 

[DerekH]

That's really interesting. It might be that since the BK9 is longer, it has more sharpened surface area than the other knife. Or maybe its shape helps facilitate a better spreading of the material, whereas the hollow grind might get a little hung up due to it's shape.

 

[Qeth]

The width of the BK9 alows the grind to taper off to the edge over a longer span, in a slimmer area, creating better edge to seperate the media at the shoulder of the primary grind.

Hmm, it does seem that the tanto gets stuck, maybe that's why I feel like I need to slice and put in more effrort.