Michael Price Grind - anyone with any information ?

J

Jason Cutter

Joined
Oct 9, 2002
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GDay guys, I have been using this grind on some of my camp knives - I read about it from Ed Fowlers writings. He always calls it a modified Michael Price grind. Sort of a reversed distal taper for extra weight up front. If this is "modified" what is a Michael Price grind ? And does anyone have history or any info on whether I am even using the correct terminology ? It is actually not difficult to grind, but it works best on a big blade. Thanks in advance, Jason.

http://fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dl...F0F-D668831CDBDD}&exp=f&moddt=37978.803819213
 
all I know comes from KNIFE TALK II

the photo of a Price knife in the book shows it with a slightly different grind than what Ed Fowler uses...However Ed believes he understands the intent of the Price grind, and the merits of it.

I dont know that Price put the very same grind on all his knives,,,but it seems to be well known design, enough for Fowler to classify his own design as a modification of Price, and have enough people understand what Ed was talking about.
 
The Price Grind that I reffer to is a rarity on Michael Price Knives. Evidently one man working in the Price shop used it. One historian who has studied Price knives extensively feels it may have been knives that Michael Price's father that ground the knives. There are many more Price knives that do not have this grind pattern. If you have my book Knife Talk II there are some photos that reveal what can be shown in a photo very well.

When I first saw the John Andrew Clinton knife made by Price, I was in awe at the many unique facets revealed by examination of the knife. I knew that the man who made that knife was highly knowledgable and that every aspect of that blade was there for a reason. Several years of playing with it led me to believe that the purpose was to provide flexability to the blade in relation to the nature of the steel and naturally the heat treat of that knife. There are also the obvious benefits of mass and strength to the tip of the blade.

I did some experimenting with the geometry of some of my blades and finally came up with a blade design that met the performance qualities of the steel and heat treat I use. It is not a copy of the Price Grind in the origonal knife as it is blended to the blades I make. To fully realize the performance qualities of the grind it needs to be matched to the steel. Blade depth, thickness and the heat treat itself as well as the specific qualities imparted by the quench dictate the nature of the grind for best results.

I destroyed a lot of blades until I started to understand the many variables involved. I doubt that I have even scratched the surface of all that there is to know about the dynamics.

I do not feel that it is a simple do this and get that relationship, but it provides many hours of fun exploring places that few have chosen to visit.

I call it the modified Price grind to honor the man who made the knife that I got to visit when I was ready to hear his message.

I provide a caution to those who chose to do some experimenting, it is very habit forming, frustrating at times and will take its toll on knives finished. You will never know all there is to know, but will learn a lot provided you can hear what the blades are trying to tell you.

I picked up a highly complex blade in Atlanta last Blade Show, and plan on working with that makers thougts as soon as I get my shop up and running. This knife was made in the early 1800's. Some early knife makers left a lot of thought in their knives for us to enjoy. They had to work with the steel available and were quite ingenious.

Thanks for asking an excellent question.
 
And thank you Ed for giving us all more to think about as we venture out into the world on knives and knifemaking. I have read both knife talk and knife talk2 over and over as im sure many here have and i always seem to find something new when i read it, its really great to have people like you that participate in forums like these.
 
Thank you, particularly to Ed. I was in a quandry what to call the grind - "differential grind," "Reverse distal taper ?" To communicate what I felt would be a "performance enhancing" feature in the construction of a knife. In my own mind "Modified Michael Price grind" was what I understood...

Ed, your experimentation has always been an inspiration to me.

"Current standards are just short pitstops in a long, long journey that has a powerful direction but no destination ..."

Merry XMas to all. Jason.
 
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