Is this a Scandi Grind?

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winetruck

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May 2, 2010
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I've just gotten into Bushcraft and bushcraft knives and have subsequently become a huge fan of this site and the wealth of talent and information that resides here. I recently decided to order 3 custom bushcraft blanks with Damascus Steel and Scandi grinds from Alabama Damascus. I received the blanks and began to sharpen them when I started to question whether or not the grind was Scandi. As I am a newbie to both Damascus steel and Scandi grinds I thought I would present some pics and get some feedback. Is this a Scandi grind or a Hollow grind? Just looking for some info. Thank You.
 

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Looks like a scandi but its a little hard to tell, was their a secondary bevel at the edge? with close visual inspection can you see a dip in the grind common of a hollow grind?


Most scandi grinds usually need to be re-ground with flat stones anyway but you don't seem to be touching much of the bevel.
 
Hard to see if it's hollow ground.

A sabre grind is ground straight (not hollow or convex) for a short distance, maybe 1/3 up from the edge.

A Scandinavian grind is similar, but much shorter, not as high up from the edge, and therefore needs to be on a thinner blade or it will be too obtuse to carve well.

Your knife is more like a sabre than what we tend to call a Scandinavian grind.

Some actual, geogaphically Scandinavian knives have a higher grind, though, some are convex instead, and so on.
 
Thanks for your response!
Yes, there was a secondary bevel at the edge before I started trying to sharpen it. I was under the impression that to sharpen Scandis you place the entire bevel on the sharpening stone but these blades seem to be only touching at the top and bottom of the bevel. Do I just keep going after it until it's uniform or will that be a lost cause.
 
Also, it it recurved near the heel of the blade?
 
It is recurved near the heel of the blade. I'm guessing that, along with the other observations, means it's hollow ground. Thank you both for your help. Much appreciated.
 
While the classic Scandinavian pattern is flat ground to a zero edge, in practice this leaves it weak for general utility work. So a narrow secondary bevel may be added, and no Scandinavian would be horrified. :)

It is easily removed if you prefer to, which will make the edge better for carving wood.
 
the sad part is its probably not supposed to be, nearly all factory sharpened bevels have this issue and its from excessive grinding in that area. If it was sold as a scandi I'd send it back, besides not being scandi it has been severely over ground at the edge.
 
its hard to tell but it doesn't look like much of a hollow and if you spent enough time on it you would get a scandi going but i would think a lot more would have to come off to remove any secondary bevel.
 
Would it be worth it to send them back in order to get them reground or will it take off too much steel?
 
What you need to realize is that if you sharpen is as a scandi grind, you will grind off the etch that lets you see the layers in the Damascus. from what I can see in the pictures, the blade was hollow ground on a large wheel, with a secondary bevel at the edge, then etched to bring out the layers, and probably finished with a microbevel after etching. If you want it to look like Damascus, you'll need to sharpen it conventionally for a hollow saber grind. If you choose to sharpen it scandi style, by laying the primary grind flat on the stone, you'll have a long way to go, and the whole flat of the primary grind is going to be shiny instead of etched when you are done.
 
winetruck said:
Would it be worth it to send them back in order to get them reground or will it take off too much steel?
Click to expand...

Depends on who you're doing business with. Without taping off the blade it unfortunately took an ugly hit along the whole center of the blade. It depends on you blade maker really, who BTW, you should have contacted before posting here. I'm not coming down you by any means so don't take it that way. When in doubt, go to the source. ;)

If you want it to look like Damascus, you'll need to sharpen it conventionally for a hollow saber grind.
Click to expand...

How's that going to bring back the Damascus etch/appearance?
 
Yablanowitz

Wow! Thanks so much for that information. You've definitely made things pretty clear for me.

Looks like I may have to start again from scratch :(
 
I know you said your done ... but Scandi refers to the height of the primary bevel.

You can have a hollow, flat or convex Scandi grind.

Mass produced Scandis' like a Mora are actually hollow ground very slightly on large wheels.

A traditional Scandi ... made before the industrial revolution would have been almost flat to a slight convex.
 
okay thanks yablanowitz. To bad it wold be to me but he did say he bought "some" so lesson learned for the rest of them. :)
 
Thanks to all for your input. Spoke to Alabama Damascus today and all is taken care of. They're a great group to work with. As cziv mentioned, should have probably talked to them first.

Cheers
 
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