I generally like Benchmade better than Spyderco, but one of the things I like about Spyderco is the number of models featuring hollow ground blades. I feel that hollow ground blades cut better. Why not more models from Benchmade featuring hollow ground blades? Comments???
People generally like flat ground blades better. Hollow ground blades are actually cheaper to produce, so the more expensive Spyderco models mainly feature a full flat grind.
For a hollow grind all you gotta do is have two grinding wheels grind away, (usually around 8" diameter I believe) It gives you a very thin cutting edge, which is easy to keep sharp and to rebevel, etc. But as you use it longer and longer, you will wear it down to the point where it is very hard to sharpen (this takes a long time though!) Also, the deeper you cut, the blade thickness widens nonlinearly, AKA the deeper you cut the blade thickness gets really wide really fast.
one time, I was cutting a watermelon with an endura that was hollowground (the waved one I believe), and I noticed that I wasn't actually even cutting it! The hollow grind was so abrupt that I was actually splitting it instead. The stiffness of the rind of the watermelon was so strong that the actual cutting edge wasn't even touching the part of the watermelon that was being splitted!
Hollow grinds are often featured on knives that are very thick, so they can bring the thickness down very quickly. For example, take the manix 2:
There is probably about a little under an inch where they must bring the thickness from 3mm to 0mm. (Not saying the manix 2 is a bad knife, just what they chose to do) This gives you a strong blade, with a thin edge, that excels at shallow cuts. For deeper cuts though, you would want the manix 2 in FFG:
Another example is a dagger, where the manufacturer wants to provide a thick middle, but a thin edge. For combat usage, this allows for more strength in the already thinned out point, and it is good to make shallow cuts, which I presume is what they desire for combative uses. This, however results in a poor utility knife:
So basically, try a bunch out, get a full flat ground blade (like endura or delica FFG series) and see if you like it. Remember, the best grind is what works best for you. Alot of people (myself included) prefer FFG, but if its what you like, then stick with it.
*Edit: Also, remember that not all hollow grinds are equal. The Buck Vantage Pro starts the hollow grind very high, and it is a very effective slicer. I am not sure what wheel they used, but it seemed less steep than normal hollow grinds. For my Demko Reblade Recon 1, Mr. Demko used a 14" wheel, and it is just barely tapered, and cuts like a FFG!
