Hollow grind vs. Flat grind

J

JCJR

Joined
Jul 31, 2006
Messages
24
What are the differences between them and what advantage does one have over the other?
 
Think of the cross section of the blade. On properly hollow ground blades, the blade remains relatively thin the further away you get from the cutting edge up towards the spine or back of the blade. It's easier to sharpen a thin blade as there is less material to remove to make the bevel. The strength of the blade is mainly in the spine and not so much in mass of the blade, therefore being a lighter duty blade in some cases.

The flat ground blade would be considered a heavier duty blade but is a bit tougher to sharpen properly due to the material you have to remove to sharpen it. Also, the more it is sharpened, the harder it is to sharpen because the blade gets thicker the closer to the spine you get.

Then theres the convex grind, chisel grind, etc etc :)
 
Kerry has it about right. I would add that flat grind slips through meat easier, the hollow grind wants to sort of cling a bit. Not serious enough to not use hollow grind, but flat or convex parts meat a tad better. In my opinion.
 
If you go with a flat grind, having the edge convexed will be much easier to maintain, stay sharper longer and will not thicken with repeated sharpenings.
Scott
 
ditto what LRB and Razorback said and there is a whole lot more that could be said about this subject.
 
Well, I'd dare to add one - not from the POVO user but maker:

- I find the hollow grind to be MUCH easier on the maker, belt and grinder

- it is also safer a bit, IMO. I can easily hand-hold a blade when I am hollow-grinding, with index finder providing "support" and thumb "pressure", while flat
grind is much less forgiving (bottom edge being so close to the belt).

- and, totally subjective opionion, I think hollow grind has more character :).
Flats look, NPI, flat :)
 
I did hollow grinds for three or four years. Always liked the flat hand rubbed satin finish blades the best. I have always thought they had more class. When I stopped hollow grinding I stopped cold turkey. Haven't done one in 18 years or so, and never will again. To each his own.
 
I've found I prefer a hollow grind for kitchen knives. Things tend to stick to a flat blade.
 
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