Well my friend, I must be honest. I never got it either, not at first. The one side grind, the one side edge bevel, or the reasoning behind it were all surprising to me. The few times I have tried to converse with Ernie about it I never got a reply. He is too busy to answer I guess.
He wrote a little about it on his web site. I read it. I disagree with a lot of it for a folder in the hands of most civilian end line users but some have learned to use them quite well for some jobs like breaking down boxes, and other things. The philosophy behind it in conjunction with a liner lock folder and sold to the general public were also confusing at first because the knife is so geared toward the military. Ironically its this "Military" label that is so appealing to many I think. I personally have no use whatsoever for a chisel ground anything other than a wood working tool you tap with a hammer. I might feel differently if I were in the Army, Special Forces, or stationed in Iraq though. Let me explain.
Ernie has it in his mind that its easier to maintain in the field, easier to sharpen, makes it stronger and so it slices better and so on.
So, lets break it down.
Is it easier to sharpen in the field?
Answer: Highly debatable. I personally have never had any trouble sharpening my conventional knives in the field. I've sharpend with a sand stone river rock successfully this way. You can do it with his as well, logically in his mind its easier since its only one side but that is not quite true though is it? You have to flip it to knock off the burr from the flat side which can at times be just as hard as sharpening both sides by itself.
Does this make it stronger?
Technically speaking yes and no. If you were to break the blade and view it looking at the cross sectional mass of the blade thickness right down the middle of the length of the blade on any chisel ground blade with one flat side you would see that indeed the blade is thicker in the middle. So technically speaking it going to be stronger for prying and this kind of thing. So Ernie is correct when he says the blade is stronger. What about the edge?
Ok, looking at the edge we can see that the edge portion of the blade is thinner and this can make it weaker at the edge in this grind type. So that is why I say, yes and no.
Does it slice better? Again, yes it slices better if easier is what you need with no control of direction or neatness of the cut because obviously its thin and will penetrate quick and effectively for things like straps, para cord, ropes and self defense where a quick effective cut deep is needed but only where there is no worry about control of the direction or a neat cut is a concern. Try for example just to cut a piece of paper in a straight line with a conventional grind blade and a chisel grind one and see what happens. The chisel goes off line is hard to control and simply doesn't cut neatly but it does slice well and effectively.
I am sure that from Ernie's perspective since most of his knives are all made this way with a chisel edge and a lot ground with a true primary chisel grind since they are all geared toward CQC (close quarters combat) and not controlled cutting because the chisel is the type edge that is the most effective edge for what they are made for doing in Ernie's mind. I hope that comes across as I intend.
The problem arises when someone sees his knives, likes what they see about both the knife and the legend as well as the man that is bigger than both and buys it without understanding or comprehending the why behind them or the edge type. What typically happens is the knife arrives and they find that their typical uses for any knife they carry do not jive with the edge type he uses because if you are the type that is used to a whittler, a utility user everyday carry that can be used for the Sharpmaker, the Edge Pro, the Lansky or other sharpeners without special set up to make it work for that edge type then it is like pounding a square dowel in a round hole to them.
You have to re learn everything to equip yourself to take care of this one now. This is no problem for the EKI fanatic that buys and supports his knives a lot. For others it is no problem if they are the typical knife nut that sees and trades a lot of various knives familar with all but at one time in the past they hurtled this obstacle and decided they either liked it and could work with it or they didn't and sold or traded it. Its a love it or hate it issue with this blade type and it either fits your needs or it doesn't. I see a few middle guys that can take it or leave it but you can't judge Emerson knives or his edge type by the guys on forums. Most of them are knife nuts. The typical end line user is confused by the Edge when the knife arrives and they find it only has a grind on one side. By the way changing the edge to a true V edge like you are used to voids the warranty.
STR
