Factory Hollow Grind help

J

jp101

Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Messages
112
I'm wondering the pros and cons of a hollow ground blade. from what ive heard, it comes very sharp but doesnt retain an edge very well.

should i avoid this type of grind? how hard would it be to turn this into a longer lasting grind?

thanks guys!
 
Won't retain an edge well? Really? I'm not sure.

All of my knives thus far are hollow/saber grinds. I've been wanting to get my hands on a flat grind, but haven't found the knife yet.

I like saber; it's fine and all, but I've been through some cases where I can see that it's not as good for slicing through thicker/tougher material.

I hear that this knife maker, Tom Krein, grinds hollow/saber grinds into flats for a fee.
 
I'm no expert but IMO a hollow ground blade is fine at holding an edge, thats more steel an heat treat.But hollow ground blades are generally weaker, since more material is removed behind the edge.I don't like hollow ground blades for cutting wood, to me the edge seems to bind more than flat or convex. But for dressing game or general use like cutting cardboard and day to day stuff, there fine IMHO.
 
In actuality hollow-ground will only occasionally affect edge-holding, and then only in certain circumstances.

'Hollow-ground' is only one aspect of a blade. There is also: size, blade thickness, overall profile, steels and heat-treatment (and probably more). These all affect edge-keeping.

You will have to get a lot more specific about what you want to do with the knife, what you want to spend, etc. before our recommendations and comments will make sense.

Greg
 
well the BM mini grip i;ve been looking at is said to have a hollow ground blade.

personally when i think hollow i think frail. i don't want this puppy losing its edge on me while im out camping.
 
Hollow grinds make exceptional cutters but are weaker than other types when dealing with tough material
 
jp101 said:
I'm wondering the pros and cons of a hollow ground blade. from what ive heard, it comes very sharp but doesnt retain an edge very well.

should i avoid this type of grind? how hard would it be to turn this into a longer lasting grind?

thanks guys!
Click to expand...

johnu2 said:
Hollow grinds make exceptional cutters but are weaker than other types when dealing with tough material
Click to expand...

Johnu2 has it. Hollow ground blades make exceptional slicers.
Whether you should avoid them depends on how you are going to use your knife. They make good skinning knives. Good for slicing materials like cardboard. They are less robust than other designs if you are going to chop with them or carve wood with them, or cut through cartilage.

Hollow ground knives actually have very good edge retention if the correct materials are being cut.
You cannot turn a hollow ground blade into another grind.
 
Vivi said:
Sharpening a hollow grind flat to the stone can produce a flat grind. I have done so many times.
Click to expand...

Right enough. But that will not produce a more robust blade.
 
Vivi said:
Sharpening a hollow grind flat to the stone can produce a flat grind. I have done so many times.
Click to expand...

Hollow has a radius, though, doesn't it? Maybe it would just be harder or take longer, but it wouldn't be exactly the same as doing it to a saber grind, right?
 
THG said:
Hollow has a radius, though, doesn't it? Maybe it would just be harder or take longer, but it wouldn't be exactly the same as doing it to a saber grind, right?
Click to expand...

You would be removing additional steel. So, if anything, the blade would be weaker. It certainly would not be stronger.
 
THG said:
Hollow has a radius, though, doesn't it? Maybe it would just be harder or take longer, but it wouldn't be exactly the same as doing it to a saber grind, right?
Click to expand...

Technically it would be flat saber, unless you ground up to the spine. It's the same though. I've done it to a Buck 110 as well, which cut beautifully afterwards (They seem to do a good job with their heat treats).

Doing this does make the knife weaker, however many knives (e.g. Byrd Cara Cara) have much thicker edges than I need in my day to day use (Cutting food, wood, boxes etc.). I took it flat to the stone and the cutting performance is now closer to an Opinel than an axe. Curiously, I've never broken an Opinel blade, and they are ground thinner than pretty much every production knife coming out of my country. Furthermore if strength is what you want from a knife to begin with it makes little sense to start with a hollow grind.

Regardless of whether you want strength or cutting performance the point stands that hollow grinds can be made into other types of grinds, usually.

Here are some reground hollow grinds. The first became flat saber, the second remained a hollow grind but cuts much better.

Byrd - http://img381.imageshack.us/my.php?image=edgenv6.jpg
Buck 110 (Was not finished in the photo, as you can see in the belly) - http://img387.imageshack.us/my.php?image=buck110iu8.jpg
 
Does Sabre grind mean that blade retains thickness from spine to part way towards edge and then is flat ground rest of way to the edge ?
i really otta have this figured out by now ! roland
 
The original question was the strength of a hollow grind and if you can change it to something else. One would assume in the context of the question that this means change it to something stronger.

Once you have a hollow grind, you cannot add material to make the blade stronger. So my answer is "no, you can't change it into something stronger."
 
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