How Good Are Chisel Grind Blades for Folders?

C

Confederate

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Sep 5, 2005
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Emerson Knives makes many if not all of their current blades chisel ground. The reason is found in its FAQ: "A chisel ground knife, being beveled, (ground) on one side only, possesses greater strength, (due to increased cross sectional mass) and they cut with an ease not found on any other type of blade. This is because there is no parasitic drag produced by the flat side when cutting—no drag points. On top of that, they are much easier to sharpen—you only have to sharpen one side."

If they only knew the benefits of such a grind, they say, most knife owners would want their blades chisel ground. But why did they put the grind on the left side? "Our tests and those of a major government agency determined that there was no difference between right and left side grinds for use as a tool or weapon. The left side was chosen for purposes of visual cue and reference."

How many of you have found that this is true? Does a chisel grind on a folder blade affect your decision to buy or not buy a knife? Do you find them easy or more difficult to maintain, and does it really not make any difference which side of the blade is ground? Finally, can you get a chisel grind as sharp as other types of grinds? (I know that my Cold Steel knives can easily slice through leather right out of the box, while many of my chisel grind knives won't.) I once read somewhere that care must be taken with all knives, because even a dull knife can cut a person, but that a sharp knife can cut to the bone. Sounds like a pretty good safety tip!
 
Well honestly it depends on your reasons for owning a knife. If your primary use is only for self defense then maybe a chisel groud blad would be a good choice.

My primary reason for carrying a knife is for use as a tool. I use it in work situations to cut open boxes, mail, bags, and for any other chore i might run into.

The secondary reason i use/carry a knife is for outdoor use and whatever tasks may come up in those activities.

I have had chisel ground blades in the past and i think i still have one laying around here some where. I personally dont like them much. In my experience they dont perform well for my general knife uses. I also havent been able to get them as sharp as my other blades. So they just arent my style.

Yes it will effect my decision to buy a knife or not. This is one of the main reasons i have not bought a emerson karambit yet.
 
chisel grinds are fine, except when you need to be doing something equally well with both sides of the blade.
things like opening packages are fine, self defense woudl be fine, but i'd never pick one for camp chores or woodscraft type uses.
 
The chisel grinds tend to drift in cuts at times. I use my everyday folder for all kinds of things and find they are problematic to carry a lot of the time, at least by themselves. For example, I will print my own labels at the USPS web site and they have to be cut or torn in half before sticking the label on the package. Rather than risk tearing into the bar code I use my folder, which is already out for cutting the tape. If I have a Emerson chisel the knife won't even stay on the dotted line but goes all over or one way and drifts like it has a mind of its own.

This is not the only time. If you do things with your knife like a lot of guys that are handy men like myself I would venture to say you'll find they don't fit well with your needs. They sure don't in mine.

However, with that said, the HD7 Emerson makes is their best folder I've had to date and its a chisel grind. I like it a lot. It just won't see as much time as it would with a traditional V grind to it.

STR
 
I think it might also cost less to put a chisel grind on a knife.

Personally, I don't like them.

I think they are ugly, and I don't like the way they cut.

If you are going to be cutting something delicate, like cutting a piece of cheese or something, the knife will cut at a crazy angle and you won't be able to cut nice cubes.
 
Chisel grinds work well on wood chisels and Japanese kitchen knives. I picked up an emerson commander (chisel grind). New out of the box it would not even cut a 1/2 piece of manila rope. Considering the price I was not happy. I reprofiled the edge to a "V" and wow did it cut. I traded it off and vowed not to ever buy another one...

There is a reason why the edges of knives, swords, and axes have been ground the way they have for many millennia thats because "it works".


Chisel grinds are best left for wood chisel's.
 
How does one reprofile a blade?

Then the next question has to be, why do they make it? Is it cheaper, does it go longer before needing sharpening? I can't tell you how many references I've seen from people who have problems getting the datgum things sharp. Oh, and I've noticed that control also is an issue with chisel grind blades.

I'm surprised Emerson would put it on so many of its blades.
 
Ernie wanted to stand out and be different I think and that was part of it. It may have also had something to do with his separation from BenchMade when he started his company. But it has not hurt his popularity using one side grinds. Look at the hoopala that goes on at his booth at shows and you'll see that. Interesting that he personally carries and commonly has been heard to say the CQC12 is his favorite. Its a V grind with the one side edge only.

He apparently feels its easier to maintain that way to do the grind on one side and the edge on one side as he does. I don't. In fact I find it to be a royal pain overall.

He says the side the grind is on doesn't matter. Actually it does.

He says that it makes the blade stronger. I agree with that in one way because the cross sectional mass of the chisel grind blade will be thicker if you were to look at it that way but the edge is thinner however which is why it will slice well but with little control. Its kind of debateable in other words and dependent on how you choose to look at it.

Defenseively speaking I guess it doesn't much matter how good the control is just so long as it penetrates and slices quickly and effciently.

The knives like the CQC 7A, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,15, both Commander models, and the Persian all come in primary V grinds with the edge sharpened one side only. Reprofiling would include sharpening both sides of the grind starting over with a new traditional edge on both sides coming to an apex.

On the true 'Chisel' grind knives like the tantos with one side left flat you can never change that. Its done and will not ever take to a V grind.

Truthfully I guess it could be argued that doing the edge on one side only would cut your belt wear and cost about in half so yeah, it probably is less costly to do that actually. Its a good point but apparently it doesn't much matter because as much as I like a few of them that I've had they are overpriced IMO.

STR
 
I have the super CQC7, and I have no idea how I will ever get it as sharp as the factory edge if and when I have to resharpen it. I researched the method in doing so, but it seems like such a headache (stropping and such). I'm lazy so I love my sharpmaker, but I can only sharpen v-grinds with it.
 
I have owned several Emerson chisel grind knives the Commander and CQ7 come to mind. In my opinion the chisel grind is on the wrong side for a right handed person and when you try to cut in a straight line it drifts off to the side. It also has a tendency to bind in a cut such as in wood. I have been able to resharpen them but I detest the chisel grind as on most tactical knives. It might work if the grind would be on the back side of the knife for a right handed person and that side is totally flat. A chisel grind on a v ground blade is just wrong. I am not here to criticize a company but just relate my experience with the chisel grind.
RKH
 
Sonny said:
I have the super CQC7, and I have no idea how I will ever get it as sharp as the factory edge if and when I have to resharpen it. I researched the method in doing so, but it seems like such a headache (stropping and such). I'm lazy so I love my sharpmaker, but I can only sharpen v-grinds with it.
Click to expand...

Try it sharpening on the Sharpmaker when a chisel grind by touching the opposite side rod to get the angle down and then sharpen the grind side at the same angle as the opposing stick.

STR
 
the 970/5 BMs were also chisel ground, and they made a CG Stryker, so I doubt that was a reason for it for EKI.

They're no harder to sharpen freehand than regular V grinds (can't even imagine why they would be), but they aren't good for cutting, imo.
 
Chisel grounds like the CQC7 are EASY to sharpen on a benchstone.Treat it like a chisel. Sharpen the bevel side until burr on other, flip around, go flat like a chisel or lift a degree or two to avoid scuffing the finish
 
There seem to be enough knowledgable people, as well as many casual users, around who don't like the chisel grind that it should make Emerson and other manufacturers take note. Or not. (If a company sells everything it makes and can bearly keep up, I guess it can make the blades anyway it wants.)

Still, the overall consensus seems to be that the CG simply doesn't cut very well, and that when it does, it doesn't cut straight.

For tactical use, the blade doesn't need to cut and slice with great accuracy, but it does need to be able to cut and slice!
 
Confederate said:
There seem to be enough knowledgable people, as well as many casual users, around who don't like the chisel grind that it should make Emerson and other manufacturers take note. Or not. (If a company sells everything it makes and can bearly keep up, I guess it can make the blades anyway it wants.)

Still, the overall consensus seems to be that the CG simply doesn't cut very well, and that when it does, it doesn't cut straight.

For tactical use, the blade doesn't need to cut and slice with great accuracy, but it does need to be able to cut and slice!
Click to expand...

Depending on needs they do cut and slice well. Its not that they can't work for the design parameters of the knives by EKI. Ernie and those that use and love his products apparently just do different things than most of the end line users I deal with. For example, I doubt you're going to be whittling on the back porch with the grandkids with one of his knives or cleaning up some small game or other food prep jobs. EKI's grinds slice tape fine and can be used for opening mail but they don't have to be straight cuts then. They'll work for most military and law enforcement activities and thats where they were intended.

For the guy next door with overalls working on his small game or his mess of crappy in the flat bed it ain't going to get far before it ends up in a drawer or donated to a relative though. :D I think my late Uncle put it best when I showed him an Emerson I had in my collection once. "Well, yeah they is pretty to behold I guess, but theys just play knives and I need a working mans knife ya see." He said something similar about my Shetland Sheep dog too though. "He's a purdy thing, but whats he do? He's just a play dog, I need a dog that hunts." He had an interesting take on life. Perhaps he rubbed off on me a bit. ;)

STR
 
i dont mind CG blades myself, though i really prefer a "V" grind for most stuff.

sharpening a CG on a sharpmaker to me is more of a PITA than using a std stone, i dont see the advantage to that, though i use my SM all the time on other stuff.

i have carried LH and RH grind CG blades and didnt see much difference in the way they cut, maybe if ya did a lot of fine cutting?? but for SD or utility i dont think it matters at all.

it just depends on what ya want/need it for, STR's uncle wants a utility knife, CG's arent the best at that, though they will work.

i carry emersons more for SD and dont cut cheese or anything like that with them, they arent intended to be a utility knife.
 
I still don't get the whole "stronger grind" part, for a given grind height a chisel and flat grind will have the same inclusive angle (when dealing with knife dimensions). Does this mean we can make our knives stronger by angling them when we make a cut?
 
The chisel ground blade is excellent, however it is hand specific. Most American made chisel ground blades are left handed so that that the bevel will show on the mark side. That's fine for left handed users but it makes it inaccurate and hard to use for a right hander. The flat side of the blade should be toward the user and bevel side away from the user. I recommend single bevel blades that are ground the right way for you.
 
Chisel grind is good for only two things - chisels, and for thinly slicing veggies for things like sushi !!....BTW be careful about what you see on TV. A "professional" chef wanted to thinly slice garlic - she used a razor blade !! A good quality sharp knife especially a chisel ground would have done much better !
 
I wouldn't carry a chisel ground knife even if I was paid to do it. I don't do sushi, so I have absolutely no use for one. I want my knives to actually cut straight, which means I need a knife grind, not a grind designed for chisels.
 
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