Hollow Grind vs Flat Grind

[dartanyon]

We've seen some great blades recommended for survival and for their own reasons, each blade has its own unique ability to help us stay alive. This brings me to yet another question I ask myself about the qualities of the blade that may help me save myself if it ever needed to.
Hollow or flat ground blades surely depend on the size and purpose of the knife, remembering that we are talking survival. I prefer a hollow ground blade mainly due to the reason that I can get it soo sharp with less effort, but because the blade edge is thin we risk losing the edge faster for whatever reason. A flat grind has its own benefits. Perhaps one is that the blade will hold its edge for longer and is stronger depending upon the angle of the main taper.
For those who bring up the properties of the steel, lets compare the blade design with the same properties for discussion sake. And yes, I understand the steel properties do vary depending upon the type of edge to be provided.
A point to remember in this discussion is that we may be sharpening for survival if all we have is our blade.

 

[budman]

It's flat and super easy to resharpen in the field with sandpaper..
The cutting ability is in a class by itself..Wicked

 

[beezaur]

Why should hollow ground blades lose their edge quicker?

I mean, the shape of the blade's cross section is *not* the shape of the edge's cross section. If you sharpen both blade types at, say, a 25 degree angle such that the width of the "shiny" sharp edge is the same, then each edge will be identical. The only difference would be the steel behind the edge.

I would expect that a hollow ground blade would be weaker and lighter, having less cross sectional area of steel. It may also cut with less friction, since the steel in the "hollow" will be in a way removed from the material being cut. But given the same steel and edge geometry, I can't see why they would dull any faster.

Maybe I don't understand, but I would expect that if this is a real phenomenon, it is due to a tendency of the user to sharpen a hollow ground blade at a narrower angle (I do). Narrower angles produce weaker edges that are more readily damaged (dulled) when cutting.

Anyway, I would choose a flat ground blade preferrentially, but wouldn't worry too much. I see and hear a lot about digging, etc. with a knife in survival situations. Not that the situation wouldn't come up, but I think I would tend to be a little more careful with something so vital. What if I broke the thing while digging with my knife when I could have used a stick? Pieces of metal can and do suddenly snap in two when exposed to ordinary loads - it's called fatigue failure.

Scott

 

[Buzzbait]

All of my outdoor fixed blades tend to be small, so lateral strength isn't much of an issue to me. I'd be looking much closer at other aspects of the knife than whether it's hollow of flat ground. I tend towards the hollow grinds, just because the makers tend to grind them with thinner edges than flat ground knives.

With that said, I would be much more likely to be carrying a convex grind than a flat or hollow grind, when I'm out in the woods. The convex blade is strong as heck, sharpens VERY easily, and takes a wicked edge.