Hollow Ground?

N

newknife

Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
588
Was looking at the SOG Super Bowie thread and noticed some don't like "hollow ground" blades. Why is that? What's the advantage or disadvantage of that blade shape?
 
Hollow ground is a grind not so much a blade shape. Nothing wrong with it. Some guys like more steel behind the edge as it makes it stronger. Typically hollow ground knives have a thin edge and are great cutters/slicers. Alot of hunting knives are hollow ground. Some makers like Bob Dozier do amazing things with hollow grinds. Use what ever works for you.
 
Yep, I think it boils down to use. Convex and scandi/flat grind have a bit more steel behind the working edge and therefore tend to make more stout blades, however, in my opinion, all knives are a compromise. The thinner the edge the better slicer/cutter, but more fragile. All depends what you are wanting the blade to do.

Just my .02
Doc
 
I've used lots of HG blades over the years, and NEVER had one fail , not even the old Bucks like the 119.. And I use ' em hard ! Less metal to take off too, when sharpening time comes.
 
All the HG ground knives I've used were fine, I have to say for wood work that scandi's are the #$%^.

Put it to you this way.

Hunting knife: Hollow Ground
Bushcraft: Scandi
All rounder: convex, full flat

Some like full flats and convex's for woods work, and they work fine, just a preference for me to use scandi's. Though my convexed RC6 is a mean slicer.:thumbup:
 
That was probably me. Just personal preference. I love flat ground or scandi. Although looking at that SOG bowie.... beautiful!
 
Just my opinion, but there's only two good reason for hollow ground blades - cheaper to produce ( I assume, since it's the grind of choice on cheap knives) and weight savings. It's my least favorite grind. The only reason I own any knives with a hollow grind is because I liked everything else about the knife enough to look past the grind. But again, that's just my opinion, ymmv...
 
newknife said:
..."hollow ground" blades. Why is that?
Click to expand...


For the dramatic grind lines, …well that’s what Bob Loveless says.


Like others have stated, edge geometry is always about balancing strength and cutting ability,

…all grind types can be made thinner or thicker, as can the cutting edge itself.


When evaluating a knife I always start by looking at the tasks the knife was designed to do,

…a thin bladed slicers will never make a good heavy duty bushcraft tool,

…just like a big camp knife will never excel at detail work.


Hollow ground masters like Bob Dozier can make thick hollow ground blades (like his Wilderness model) as well as his more well known ultra-thin skinners/slicers.

Like wise, the Convex Maestro Mike Stewart makes thick workhorse blades designed for serious chopping as well as very fine slicing tools with zero degree convex edges.

All things in knife making are about balancing the factors to create a knife to fulfill certain tasks.

Like I always say, buy a knife from a respected maker that was designed for the tasks you have in mind and you will be happy.





Big Mike
 
remmmm said:
Just my opinion, but there's only two good reason for hollow ground blades - cheaper to produce ( I assume, since it's the grind of choice on cheap knives) and weight savings. It's my least favorite grind. The only reason I own any knives with a hollow grind is because I liked everything else about the knife enough to look past the grind. But again, that's just my opinion, ymmv...
Click to expand...

That's me.
 
I don't care for hollow grind because they cut great -- right up until you hit the transition line from concave to the flat side of the blade. Great for cutting things that aren't very thick, but beyond that. . .
 
I would prefer flat grind because it's like the best of two worlds. But just the grind will not ruin a blade or make it work.
 
I ask because the SOG bowie looks nice. The edge didn't seem to have a problem being pounded into wood. But isn't that where the problem would be with this type of grind?
 
Big Mike said:
For the dramatic grind lines, …well that’s what Bob Loveless says.


Like others have stated, edge geometry is always about balancing strength and cutting ability,

…all grind types can be made thinner or thicker, as can the cutting edge itself.


When evaluating a knife I always start by looking at the tasks the knife was designed to do,

…a thin bladed slicers will never make a good heavy duty bushcraft tool,

…just like a big camp knife will never excel at detail work.


Hollow ground masters like Bob Dozier can make thick hollow ground blades (like his Wilderness model) as well as his more well known ultra-thin skinners/slicers.

Like wise, the Convex Maestro Mike Stewart makes thick workhorse blades designed for serious chopping as well as very fine slicing tools with zero degree convex edges.

All things in knife making are about balancing the factors to create a knife to fulfill certain tasks.

Like I always say, buy a knife from a respected maker that was designed for the tasks you have in mind and you will be happy.





Big Mike
Click to expand...

This was very well said. A hollow grind doesn't necessarily need to be "thin" relative to the blade thickness. If you look at some knives that have an unsharpened swedge, they are often hollow ground swedges without a secondary sharpened bevel. For example, a 1/4" thick blade can be hollow ground and left with 1/8" edge thickness before the secondary sharp bevel is ground. It offers a good marriage of weight savings from the hollows and the strength of a scandi secondary bevel.

You can also hollow grind all the way to a "zero" edge leaving the edge at almost an immeasurable thickness before the secondary bevel. Straight razors have this kind of hollow grind. They slice and cut much more efficiently but battoning with a straight razor would most likely result in edge deformity because it is so thin at the edge.
 
Here's what I mean by two different types of edge thicknesses with hollows:

Untitled.jpg
 
newknife said:
I ask because the SOG bowie looks nice. The edge didn't seem to have a problem being pounded into wood. But isn't that where the problem would be with this type of grind?
Click to expand...
when spliting wood, after the knife is batoned fully into the wood,
it is the spine being the thickest part of the knife that does the splitting not the edge. the split usually extend an inch or two past the edge. cutting cross the grain is a diffrent story.


P.S. I keep hearing in WSS&S how weak hollow ground blade's are. IN 40+ Years of knife use i've never broken or seen one broken in use. seen some tips snapped off while people were screwing around but they weren't all hollow ground either. Sorry Rant off
 
Are those cold steel finn bears hollow ground? I have one but it must very hard to see.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top