flat or hollow grind, which do you prefer?

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I would like to get some feedback on flat or hollow grind, your preferences, and advantages/disadvantages of both.

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Dennis Bible
Knoxville, Tennessee


 
Assuming blades are of equal thickness and width, you can hollow grind to a thinner edge, this favors shallow cutting. However if the blade has to be pushed through something that will resist the cut through the width of the blade (thick vegetation), you will start to wish you had chosen a flat grind.

-Cliff
 
I will take a good flat ground blade over a hollow ground any day.
Flat ground blades are inherently stronger and IMHO present a better appearance than hollow ground blades.
In overall performance the hollow outperforms(read slices and push cuts) only marginally better than a flat ground, and that depends on the edge bevel as well.

Just my 0.02(plus 8.4% state tax)

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The vague and tenuous hope that GOD is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the conscience of millions.

*A. W. Tozer

2 Cor 5:10
 
Flat grind for me as well, reasons, same as Scarman, essentially.

G2

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Gillett PA

[This message has been edited by Gary W. Graley (edited 07 December 1999).]
 
D

db

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My first choice would be a shallow full convex grind. It is stronger and cuts through thicker materiels better than the rest. 2nd choice is the full flat.
 
this is a hard question for me, i wish i could get the best of both worlds... so here's what i prefer, big blades flat grind (<5") smaller hollow grind, just my opinion.
 
I agree with what Cliff said. However, I doubt that with mild to moderately difficult cutting chores that there is much of a difference. The Sebenza is a high hollow grind, yet its' suitability for challenging tasks is well known. Rob Simonich uses the flat grind on his well known Cetan and Wambli knives, and they are renown for utility. I can't tell any difference between the two in use. Walt
 
Flat ground. I use a lot of small wood carving knives and tools and am accustomed to free hand sharpening flat ground blades. I have a couple of hand-made hunters that were very deeply hollow ground (small grinding radius). Since I like to put a very fine edge on all my blades (finishing on a strop), I found the hollow grind quickly wears back to a much thicker edge which requires a lot more work to reshape the primary edge bevel. Other utility/hunting blades with large radius hollow grinds seem to work just fine, but I prefer the flat grind.

Paracelsus
 
I prefer hollow grind, it just gets sharper easier. Very few straight razors are made with anything else. Of course you have to back off from the thiness of a razor for any practical knife and if you want the edge to last any significant time you need a tough steel. The more real use I'm going to put the blade through the less of a hollow grind I need. I consider a "tactical" knife virtually a single-use then throw away knife. This is a type of knife I particularly favor hollow grinding. My using knife will be a shallow hollow grind or flat grind (never, ever, convex if I can help it).
 
Hollow Ground!!!
It allows the maker more artistic freedom! Just look at a Brend or Hibben or Loveless.....The list goes on and on......
Also, (I like to through this in when this topic comes up!)Other than an extremely small radius grind, How much does a "Hollow" actually measure???? Maybe .006-015" per side??? Other than, maybe carving wood, this makes a noticable difference?
Neil

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The answer, as usual, is of course: "depends what I'm using it for".

Hollow grinds get bashed a lot, but anyone who has done some cutting with a well-done hollow grind knows how well they perform. They may not be the strongest grind, but given a tough steel or run-of-the-mill utility uses or whatever, you have all the strength you need in a uncompromising performance package. Unless of course you need to cut deep -- then the non-linear expansion of the bevels can hang you up.

With the flat grind, in general you're sacrificing some performance for some strength. *If* you need that extra strength, then great. Also, for deep cutting, the flat grind enters linearly and more smooth than the hollow grind.

So it really depends on what kind of cutting I'm doing, and whether or not the steel is tough enough to hold up to my uses.

And, just as a thought game: The Spyderco endura is hollow ground. At $45, it blows away many of my multi-hundred-dollar flat-ground (sabre grinds) folders in many performance tests. Yes, I can think of tests where I can probably make that thin hollow edge crumble, but not too many of 'em are realistic for *my* uses of a pocket knife.

For folders, I still tend to lean towards full flat grinds, but I definitely do not shy away from PROPERLY-DONE hollow grinds. It's flat sabre grinds that I've really developed some suspicion about.

Joe
jat@cup.hp.com
 
#1-Convex. good enough for Ed Fowler, good enough for me.

#2-Flat. (see Lynn, Paracelsus, and others above)

#3-Hollow. good enough for Loveless, Reeve and others, good enough for me. The exception is if I'm looking for Traditional, hollow grind, just won't cut it.

I guess it boils down to who is doing the grinding, and what's the total package.
 
Hi Shootist16..

In my opinion I had to say a flat grind for the simple reason it's easy to sharpen...

ttyle Eric...

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Eric E. Noeldechen
On/Scene Tactical
http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel

 
Joe Talmadge put it pretty well. And yes, it depends on ones uses.

Given a properly hardened quality tool steel, my first pick is the high hollow grind. My fix blade Doziers have outcut EVERY knife I' ve owned/ used! Its edge is breathtakingly sharp and holds it for quite a long time. 2 thumbs up.

L8r,
Nakano
 
I like the convex ground of the Spyderco Moran, it's the sharpest knife I have. I'm a bit apprehensive at sharpening it.

I like flat ground but hate the 'drag' feeling I get/hear from even cuttin paper. My hollow ground Delica is okay but not as sharp as the other knives.

I have owned 3 Enduras, strangely the sharpest was the fully serrated model.
 
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