Opinions on Scandi for SHTF?

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campandtravel said:
Doesn't it? I thought a scandi had to have a wide flat stone on a flat surface. That's basically the whole point of my question. About the rest of your post I won't bother commenting.
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It does not need a wide flat stone on a flat surface.
There; answered.
Just sharpen it like any other knife. Then you end up with a more convexed grind.
If you insist on maintaining a perfect scandi grind, in this SHTF scenario, then you are focusing on the wrong thing.
 
I would submit that longitudinal shape would matter more than grind profile. A knife with a tight recurve would be more of a pain than a straighter profile, or something with weird compound grinds. Personally I would suspect that there would be no functional difference in improvised sharpening on any plain edge. Maintaining a true zero-scandi will be tough regardless, as will any other similar grind. But I would think that a scandi gives more room to move towards a convex or micro beveled edge, and due to its shape easier to sharpen without the same level of skill that something like an HG or FFG might, as over time the final bevel will likely creep steeper and steeper.
 
gadgetgeek said:
I would submit that longitudinal shape would matter more than grind profile. A knife with a tight recurve would be more of a pain than a straighter profile, or something with weird compound grinds. Personally I would suspect that there would be no functional difference in improvised sharpening on any plain edge. Maintaining a true zero-scandi will be tough regardless, as will any other similar grind. But I would think that a scandi gives more room to move towards a convex or micro beveled edge, and due to its shape easier to sharpen without the same level of skill that something like an HG or FFG might, as over time the final bevel will likely creep steeper and steeper.
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Good ideas. I just bought a really cheap Mora. I'll beat it up and sharpen it on a river stone this summer and see how it goes.
 
campandtravel said:
I just got to thinking that Scandi blades are kind of hard to maintain? You need a flat surface and a good stone or wet/dry sandpaper. But other blades you just need a stone from a river bed. In SHTF doesn't taht mean Scandi is a bad option?
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campandtravel said:
Anyway is there any benefit to having a scandi grind after you reshape it with the additional cutting edge? Aren't you back to a non-scandi effectively at that point?
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You changed the question. You were asking how to maintain an edge on a scandi knife using only something like a river rock, not whether the scandi is the best knife for the SHTF scenario., if you do as I show on the second pic, then the scandi becomes less of a true scandi.....but on the other hand, adding the v-bevel will result in more 'meat' behind the edge, thus possibly a stronger edge.
I think several folks have already voiced solid opinions on whether a scandi is ideal in the SHTF scenario. I spend pretty much zero time thinking about which knives are best for SHTF, so I won't comment.
The REAL answer is that the best knife for a SHTF scenario is the knife you have in your pocket when that poo hits the rotating blades.
 
I think in a true SHTF situation, you have much larger problems to deal with than sharpening a scandi edge. Millions of people would be starving to death and you're worried about sharpening a scandi grind knife? Choose something else.
 
campandtravel said:
Yeah I agree not looking to win any contests. But same question, exactly how would you keep it sharp?
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SHTF type situations are a series of problems one has to solve-many in unconventional ways. Exactly how I would sharpen it would depend on what the possibilities given to me are. If you fail at one you try another until you have success. What I am saying though is forget the grind and concentrate on the edge. It is a simple V as are many edges. It shouldn't be that hard to find a method. As I said, this method would be determined by the materials available(each location will be different). If it were a bug out bag, I would throw in a small sharpening stone and something to start a fire with. If this is a come out of the blue situation, I likely don't have the scandi knife In the 1st place. I will have what I normally carry which is a folder and what I can find from there on.
Sharpening is going to be one of the simplest problems to solve , if you can't come up with a way to do, don't worry about it. You won't be around long.
 
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campandtravel said:
Doesn't it? I thought a scandi had to have a wide flat stone on a flat surface. That's basically the whole point of my question. About the rest of your post I won't bother commenting.
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That is for easy of sharpening, not the only way. Many people put secondary bevels on their scandi's to strengthen the edge, at which point you use a totally different method.
 
Find this damned fan that has the potential to cause so much trouble and destroy it. Your time would be better spent, and future minstrels will write songs about you.
 
Before 1000 A.D. most knives were full flat grind with convexed edge. Here you have a viking knife dated to around 850-900 A.D.
originale-jpg.181827


With the introduciotn of grinding wheels in Scandinavia, it was possible to grind differently and more accuratly. Ayway the "true scandi" is a myth born in the 90s with the Woodlore knife and then kept alive on Britishbaldes forum. If you take a look at old Scandinavaina and Finnish knives, with lower grinds than the one above, the majority will have a mild hollow grind and a convex edge.

As for how vikings and Saami kept their knives sharp, they used stones made of phyllite and jasper, cut square like current whetstones. Cutting stones to create hones was already done in Roman times, so nothing new in Early Middle Age.
 
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All those before 1000 AD folks are dead. Was it because of their knife grind being unusable? We'll never know for sure but the answer is likely yes.
 
campandtravel said:
Exactly my point. You need a special stone or device. With other blades I just sharpen on a river stone.
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You don't need one. I can maintain my Finnish puukot and other Scandinavian zero grind knives on a fine stone found creekside. If I can do it, anyone can as I'm only a mediocre sharpener.

So to your original question: Yea, you're mostly wrong.

Zieg
 
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