I have had it with the convex grind-No more convex for me.

[Ebbtide]

Great point!

The only knives I have had to resharpen in the field (camping trips lasting up to two weeks with all gear only in back packs) have been flat ground fillet knives.

Fish scales and bones will dull an edge about as fast as anything I have come across.
As long as a food prep knife isn't used on a flat rock for a cutting board you should be OK.


Of course seeing some pics on the sub forums around here, paths to some of the campsites must be cleared of cinder blocks and rusty car doors.

If that were the case you may want to pack in a belt-grinder and not worry about the type of grind on your blade.

Fish bones are tough.
I flat spotted my SwAK killing these bad boys

I cut them behind the gills from the backbone down to kill and bleed them.
On 2 I got the point on the wrong side of the back bone.
(they wouldn't hold still )

Used my Dozier flat ground fillet to take the fillets off, that sailed thru the ribs with no sign that it was even used.

A tip for cutting thru scales.
Use the point to make a hole and cut out from that hole.
It will keep you from sliding the edge on those nasty scales.

Horses for courses eh?

 

[Bushman5]

It's a lesson learned by those that actuallly try to do the wrong task work with their skinning knives realize when attacking wood in the real-world. Convex edges are excellent Machete, Axe, Filet, Kitchen and Skinning blade profiles. Flats are OK for wood but ONLY chisel ground scandis can properly carve wood with a knife with the maximum efficiency. That's why there's a proper profile for every task and most "general purpose" knives are not very good at only one task alone.

thats why i firmly believe in carrying at least 3 (MINIMUM) knives in the woods, if not more. One for skinning, one for whittling, one for very fine wood shaving work, one for chopping, one beater knife for loaning out, etc etc etc

 

[KiljoyKutlery]

Hey Gazaati,

First, let me address the axe comment. Yes, I do believe there is a better axe profile for hardwood than the one on the GB axe.

But, to support my earlier statement of "why choose one or the other" it in no way means that I am going to chuck the GB out the door, never to be seen again. It is a GREAT axe. Trips far north, it will be the one going with me.

However, it is a bit different scenario with the axe, as the more optimal hardwood profile that I eluded to is still convex :thumbup:

Now, the scandi versus convex; I am not saying I disagree with you at all. For carving hardwood, I prefer the scandi grind too.

Maybe it is not the case, but it sounds like you have abandoned convex grinds for two reason 1) Scandi is better for one task; carving hardwood. 2) You don't like sharpening.

1) Maybe you have experimented with more tasks too, but you do not specify. So, you are being very specific and you have ONE data point for comparision. I do a lot more with my main sheath knife than carve hardwood.

2) can be addressed through practice. To be honest, the mousepad thing has never worked for me and I don't use it at all.

Please don't take anything I am saying negatively. I use both types of knives, and like both. I have my personal preference for what I would you each for, and I am sure that is going to vary plenty.....as this thread will show I am just trying to point out that there is no need to take one grind and throw it completely out the window.

With all that being said, there is HUGE variation in what a convex edge can be. It is hard to make a direct comparison, because one might have a smaller radius of curvature, and another might have such a large radius that you can hardly detect it, and it looks flat. They are obviously going to differ lots in performance.

I have never owned any knife, convex or scandi that I have not immediately re-sharpened. That goes for the bark river aurora, which I happen to like. I thinned the convex, put a high polish on the edge, and IMO greatly enhanced the performance from out of the box capability.

Also, most will argue due to the nature of hand sharpening, a scandi will eventually become convex. The upper shoulder will be come rounded, and there will be a small amount of rounding near the edge. It might be so slight that it is almost undetectable, but still proves the point that the overall geometry of the convex greatly effects performance.

Now, all this last little bit sounds like I am leaning towards convex. Don't necessarily take it that way. I am currently carrying a scandi knife I am just trying to get you to not totally dismissed convex grinds all together.

If you want, you are welcome to send the Aurora to me. I will sharpen it same day, and pay to send it back to you. You probably still won't like it as much as your scandi, but I will guarantee it will be much better.

Also, I want to point durability. There seems to be a big craze for thick knives, with rather thick bevels, that are capable of chopping concrete and coming away with no damage. Well, it that particular geometry, it is possible. As most people are finding out, they don't "cut" worth a darn, and a mora will blow them away. So, if you are going to thin down a convex edge to the point that you get very similar performance to a 12.5 degree mora scandi grind, then you had better expect to not be able to chop concrete any more without some side effects For me, that is fine. I do a lot of cutting, and not much getting crazy with concrete As I have said over and over and over again: Everything is a trade-off.

Brian

Well said Brian. I like how you put it here..I have to admit, that in perspective..your knife isnt just for wood when its strapped to your side..food prep and skinning come to mind.

 

[Martin Swinkels]

Apples and Peaches ..

I love them both ..

but I believe that a fully convexed profile (A) will outcut the scandigrind (D) on most materials.
B and C are also convex, eventho geometries are quite different.
E shows profile A inside profile D..

Have a Nice Day

martin

 

[tonym]

This week I used and abused my knives hard. My 2 main knives were a Koster Buschcraft(Scandi) and a FiddleBack spearpoint(Convex). The Koster performed great, it ate the wood with ease, if I had any complaint it was that the knife acts like a plane and sometimes bites to deep. It was actually harder for me to control and make thin fuzz sticks with, but if I needed to take out lots of wood or cut a stick in half, it did it with ease. Although one of the guys was using a mora and had alot more trouble getting through the wood. Not all scandis are createde equal. I never needed to sharpen the Koster and I was still able to shave hair off my arms with it.

When the fiddleback came out I was immediately impressed. It made control cuts with ease. It bit into the wood exactly the way I wanted it to. If I had to cut a stick in half, it was just as easy as the scandi. When it came to battoning it did the best, probably due to the thinner stock.

We were using wood hard as Ironwood and soft as poplar and cedar.

Even though I couldn't shave the hair off my arm after a day of use I never needed to sharpen the blade. It kept a working edge all week. I think alot of guys try sharpen a convex to a hairpopping edge and get dissapointed when they don't avhieve it, but if they actually get it in the field they will find it still cuts great.

Looking around I saw that Marty, Kevin, and Bob were all sporting their school Foxrivers(convexed), Kevin also had a new Gossman blade(convexed) he was using alot also.

In closing I don't dislike the Scandi, but I prefer the convex.

 

[SpookyPistolero]

This week I used and abused my knives hard. My 2 main knives were a Koster Buschcraft(Scandi) and a FiddleBack spearpoint(Convex). The Koster performed great, it ate the wood with ease, if I had any complaint it was that the knife acts like a plane and sometimes bites to deep. It was actually harder for me to control and make thin fuzz sticks with, but if I needed to take out lots of wood or cut a stick in half, it did it with ease. Although one of the guys was using a mora and had alot more trouble getting through the wood. Not all scandis are createde equal. I never needed to sharpen the Koster and I was still able to shave hair off my arms with it.

When the fiddleback came out I was immediately impressed. It made control cuts with ease. It bit into the wood exactly the way I wanted it to. If I had to cut a stick in half, it was just as easy as the scandi. When it came to battoning it did the best, probably due to the thinner stock.

We were using wood hard as Ironwood and soft as poplar and cedar.

Even though I couldn't shave the hair off my arm after a day of use I never needed to sharpen the blade. It kept a working edge all week. I think alot of guys try sharpen a convex to a hairpopping edge and get dissapointed when they don't avhieve it, but if they actually get it in the field they will find it still cuts great.

Looking around I saw that Marty, Kevin, and Bob were all sporting their school Foxrivers(convexed), Kevin also had a new Gossman blade(convexed) he was using alot also.

In closing I don't dislike the Scandi, but I prefer the convex.

I still love a lot of my scandis, but I feel that I have better luck on wood with a convex edge, for the reasons you've stated. The scandi's can just bite into the wood, but the convex (for me) is more controllable.

EDIT: PS: This is post 2222 for me! Cool...

 

[Thomas Linton]

Apples and Peaches ..

I love them both ..

but I believe that a fully convexed profile (A) will outcut the scandigrind (D) on most materials.
B and C are also convex, eventho geometries are quite different.
E shows profile A inside profile D..

Have a Nice Day

martin

So is "F" a saber grind with a convex secondary bevel? (So-called "Scandi" being saber without secondary bevel.)

 

[Martin Swinkels]

So is "F" a saber grind with a convex secondary bevel? (So-called "Scandi" being saber without secondary bevel.)

It's the convexed edge as used by Swamprat and others..
The main grind is flat sabre (if the grind is taken over the half of the blade I call it flat sabre.. above it scandi.. dunno if that's officially correct tho), and only the edge is convexed..

 

[Dave_Markowitz]

my vote goes to convex...


gazaati, for convex field sharpening, try one of these. they are easy to make and you can carry a ton of different grit sandpapers inside. you can even glue a strop to the back if you want.

I am so stealing this idea! Thank you for posting your pics.