Help me understand hollow grinds

[Hengelo_77]

I like hollow grinding but I dont understand why people prefer larger wheels. (I have a 11,5"wheel)
The larger the wheel the more it resembles a flat grind and less steel is removed.
So why do people prefer a hollow grind on a large wheel?

 

[Natlek]

I like hollow grinding but I dont understand why people prefer larger wheels. (I have a 11,5"wheel)
The larger the wheel the more it resembles a flat grind and less steel is removed.
So why do people prefer a hollow grind on a large wheel?

Every wheel have limit how much thin behind edge you can go and how much high bevel you can grind on given thickness of steel.............

 

[Scaniaman]

What Natlek said. Plus I love the geometry a large wheel gives.
And it is nicer to grind on a large wheel than on a platen. Less heat.

 

[Natlek]

What Natlek said. Plus I love the geometry a large wheel gives.
And it is nicer to grind on a large wheel than on a platen. Less heat.

And .........................it is faster .
BTW , I think that I told you long time ago that you will like that big wheel and hollow it produce

 

[Joshua Fisher]

I like hollow grinding but I dont understand why people prefer larger wheels. (I have a 11,5"wheel)
The larger the wheel the more it resembles a flat grind and less steel is removed.
So why do people prefer a hollow grind on a large wheel?

I hollow grind on a 36” radius now, it lets me bring the grind height higher than a smaller wheel, it’s more shallow but you still get a slightly thinner grind than a flat grind. I look at it as a hybrid between the two, slightly better cutting performance than a normal flat grind and slightly tougher than a deeper hollow. I also make a lot of culinary knives and on really thin stock or taller knives a smaller wheel just doesn’t work as well because the grind ends up really short.

 

[koduu]

I like hollow grinding but I dont understand why people prefer larger wheels. (I have a 11,5"wheel)
The larger the wheel the more it resembles a flat grind and less steel is removed.
So why do people prefer a hollow grind on a large wheel?

For kitchen knives the small ones make too agressiivne taper for cutting through solid veggies and such. 12 inch is quite ok for a hunting knife and other similarly sized blades where you would want a thick spine and good looks. For razors 12 inches seems too much, you would probably want a smaller wheel to get the correct sharpening angle.

Really it all depends on how thick of a spine and what's the height of the blade.