Grind??

[RescueRiley]

While being an average utilitarian user of knives since I was 7 I've never read too much about them. Now when I visit this forum I hear talk of alot of terminology that I don't understand Ie flat grind, covex grind....My edc consists of a crkt mt shasta and an older leatherman wave. I recently purchased a Sog seal pup as my beater/woods knife I was wondering What kind of grind this blade has and how that would effect my usage and maintenance of it. Also any sharpening equipment I should obtain and sharpening tips for Dummies would be handy. Thanks

 

[Fonly]

Id suspect the crkt has a hollow or flat, the wave has a flat as far as I remember and the seal pup has a hollow grind. And a spyderco sharpmaker I guess, I dont use any sharpening systems, Just stones emerycloth and leather.

 

[Fonly]

Another thing too, a quick google search of you knife IE "SOG seal pup" it'll come up with many sites, and usually they'll have the grind of the knife.

 

[akennedy73]

Convex Grind FAQ:

http://home.nycap.rr.com/sosak/convex.htm

 

[sherlockbonez]

crkt also has alot of chisel grinds as well.

 

[RescueRiley]

Thanks for the answers so far.... WHat is the purpose of different grinds...How does a different grind change the way it is maintained?

 

[Deerslayer71]

Thanks for the answers so far.... WHat is the purpose of different grinds...How does a different grind change the way it is maintained?

RR,
I am like you, user of knives but not a knife technition. So My limited understandig of grinds are up for debate.

Basically different grinds allow for different uses as well as manufacturing costs.
basics are A thick blade is better suited for chopping or heavy use (hatchet) where a thin blade is used for fine cutting (scalpel).
Hollow grinding and flat grinding allow the blade to be thinner at the sharpened edge with the spline of the knife thicker for overall strength. The difference is in hollowgrinding you take off additional steel between the sharp edge and the spline to reduce total weight without greatly reducing strength. THis is a bit more time consuming so cost is a bit higher.
Maintenence for each is similar regarding the final sharpening angle although that can be varied with the amount of steel left on the blade.
I am unfamiliar with Chisel grinding so someone else can add more info there although in my woodworking experience I can get extremely more accurate cuts with a chisel than with a carving knife due to it's flat side. I do know that the flat side of the Chisel is not to be ground at any angle. Keep it flat! do the sharpening work on the beveled edge and lay the flat surface flat on the stone or strop. no grinding wheels here.

 

[sherlockbonez]

A chinsel grind is just that, angled on one side, flat on the other. I personally never liked it for my cutting needs. My personal favortie would be a plain flat grind on a folder.

 

[SIRGALANT]

chisel grinds are fugley IMO. the way the blade is ground affects its cutting and slicing abilities , also the way you sharpen it .

here you go

http://www.laventrix.com/grinds.php

http://www.laventrix.com/profile.php

 

[SkunkWerX]

A chinsel grind is just that, angled on one side, flat on the other. I personally never liked it for my cutting needs. My personal favortie would be a plain flat grind on a folder.

I love the chisel grind. Especially on my chisels!
Bringing a chisel's edge to that place where it can be pushed into hardwood by hand is quite special.

Sharpening a chisel (or chisel grind on a knife) can really teach some good sharpening concepts.

I have a chisel ground woodworking hatchet, not for firewood, but is great for making notches, and hewing logs to a flat edge. Wooden shingles? Sure.

I think each grind has it's place and it's special use. If there were room in my pack, and time at camp, I'd bring a chisel into the woods. By nightfall of day 2, I might be rocking in a primitive rocking chair joined with mortise and tenon joints.

perhaps I need to look into a chisel ground knife? yes, perhaps.

 

[Kyp Degal]

In my experience, I've found that a good flat grind gives by far the best cutting performance. Generally, a flat grind will slice better and do finer jobs such as whittling better. An Opinel is an excellent example of this. I use my Opinel #8 for a lot of things, from slicing onions to whittling walking sticks. On the other hand, a saber grind will baton better because of the wedge-like shape of the grind (as opposed to a flat grind, where more of the blade is in contact with the wood, causing more friction), and usually be stronger. Hollow grinds work well for finer, but shallow work, as, though it is possible to get the blade sharper (IMO) due to the thinner edge geometry, a hollow ground knife will not do nearly as well at slicing when compared to a flat ground blade. I have a little hollow ground Buck Diamondback Guide that I love, it does really well for whittling and fine work work that doesn't require much penetration. My mother uses it as a kitchen knife, though I've tried to get her to get a Japanese utility knife for that.

I don't own a chisel ground or convex ground knife, but from what I know of the convex grind, it should out-perform a flat grind in many areas, in strength due to less steel being removed and in cutting efficiency due to less surface area being in contact with the material being cut, equaling less friction. Out of all the different grinds I have, though, I prefer a flat grind for general use. Though I find my hollow ground Spyderco Native in my pocket every day, nonetheless.

I hope that made sense, and didn't come across as too technical.