Questions about Scandi Grind

bladeprince

bladeprince

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Jun 12, 2006
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Several Charles May customs are true scandi grinds. Can someone please tell me what is a true scandi grind? It looks like a chisel grind but I can't tell from the picture. Is there a bevel on the opposite side of the large bevel? Does one sharpen the entire bevel?

If anyone has owned a scandi grind knife, what did you think of it? Do you like this grind? What are the benefits and drawbacks? It doesn't seem very popular so I'm curious about that also.

Click to enlarge picture.
View attachment 63374

Thank you for any info
 
Look at the thread "Tapio Wirkalla Hackman" to see a real scandi knife .The bevel is on both sides .
 
bladeprince said:
Is there a bevel on the opposite side of the large bevel?
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Yes.

Does one sharpen the entire bevel?
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You can, it generally isn't very efficient to do so as they are generally wood craft knives which use a high polish so you are basically satin/mirror finishing your blade every time you sharpen if you work the entire grind.

What are the benefits and drawbacks?
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The drawbacks are the performance is low in every area aside from it being cheap for the maker to grind which is the only advantage. It gets promoted for high cutting ability often based on comparing such knives to tactical blades which have obtuse edge angles. This is like saying you could be the next UFC champion because you beat up a drunk William Hung. They don't compare well to knives with full primary grinds (flat or convex) which are intended for such work. But of course you can't but such knives for $5 which is why the Mora's dominate in that price range.

-Cliff
 
Thank you much, Cliff. You have helped me again with an important decision. As with your comments related to my 1095 question a couple of weeks, my understanding is that "I can do better". The 1095 purchase was replaced with a knife made of D2 and the scandi grind will be replaced with a higher performing grind. You are always helpful.

Regards,
Gary
 
If you want to see what that grind can do, I have a few you can use for a year or so to carry and evaluate, just drop me an email for the details.

-Cliff
 
They don't compare well to knives with full primary grinds (flat or convex) which are intended for such work.
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What do you exactly mean by this, a flat grind is a flat grind, after that one compares the angle.

TLM
 
TLM said:
What do you exactly mean by this, a flat grind is a flat grind, after that one compares the angle.

TLM
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I believe he means exactly what you just stated. A flat grind that starts at the top of the blade will have a more acute angle than one that starts 1/4 inch up from the edge of a blade. Blade thickness being equal, the heigth of the grind dictates the bevel angle. At least in my overly simplistic view of flat grinds...:o
 
I believe he means exactly what you just stated.
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Might be but then he forgets an important point. "Scandi" knives are mostly quite thin bladed so a half blade width bevel can end up having the same edge angle as a full widht bevel in a thicker blade.

It is not sensible to take "scandi grind" out of the context. Cliff is a whacker in his blade use and small scandi knives are not supposed to be used so.

TLM

Just a reality reminder, propably wasted.
 
For fine cutting, I find Scandi grinds too obtuse for my needs. Sharpening is easy, true, but it takes *forever*. For large "whacking", yes, I agree, they generally don't take hard use too well, so I use another design instead. This leaves me using Scandi grinds primarily as garden tools, cutting plants, digging up dandelions, etc. For serious knife work, there are better designs out there that sharpen up in a fraction of the time.
 
My Helle Eggen has a Scandi grind; haven't found any problem cutting with it (soft materials) or whittling shavings. The stainless side panels are relatively soft and the high carbon core is thin, so sharpening along the full bevel is quite easy. That being said, I do leave a micro bevel when I remove the burr.
 
I don't think the pictured knife is an optimal "scandi" grind. Many knives with a "scandi" grind are not as wide. The large bevel goes up about 50% of the blade. This changes the cutting ability. Also many scandi knives are not as thick as this one. But I have seen some custom forged ones that were quite thick (O2) and touted as good hunting knives, by hunters.

I have two pocket knives with scandi grinds and they work great. I sharpen them with a micro bevel and only with one have I done whole bevel. I've seen them where the whole edge was sharpened all the time, it wears down the blade but leaves a razor sharp edge. The large bevel makes it easy to get a good angle. A friend has a mora that he uses for everything in the kitchen with no trouble. Great tomato slicer. He uses a micro bevel.

All those Fins can't be that wrong can they? :)
 
i prefer scandi grinds, they are easy (but can be) timeconsuming to resharpen. just lay it on a stone and there you go, very easy since it has a lot of contact area, so it doesnt wobble around
 
bladeprince said:
Several Charles May customs are true scandi grinds.
Click to enlarge picture.
View attachment 63374

Thank you for any info
Click to expand...

I like scandi grinds. I convex a secondary edge bevel on my Helle, and my Mora and IMHO it works very well for general utility work. Charles May knives are a great outdoor utility/skinner. IMHO no matter what grind you go with from him, it will work well. A lot the the performance can come from the skill of the user.

 
Not all the knives hereabouts are ground that way, I much prefer a slightly convex blade.

TLM
 
The "Scandi Grind" term is kind of a misnomer. Many people who use knives with that grind will micro bevel or convex them when sharpening. (I like to slightly convex the edge.) When you have more time, you can put the main bevel to the stone and thin it out.

A lot of the Scandinavian knives that I've owned come with micro bevels straight out of the box. Helle and Mora are exceptions. If the edge isn't working for you, they assume that you'll change it.
 
cerulean said:
The "Scandi Grind" term is kind of a misnomer. Many people who use knives with that grind will micro bevel or convex them when sharpening. (I like to slightly convex the edge.) When you have more time, you can put the main bevel to the stone and thin it out.

A lot of the Scandinavian knives that I've owned come with micro bevels straight out of the box. Helle and Mora are exceptions. If the edge isn't working for you, they assume that you'll change it.
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I agree. I use a medium stone to thin the edge out every so often, and then convex a secondary edge bevel. I get better performance out of the blade for the tasks I use them for.
 
Most scandi blades from the Nordic countries are ground very thin. They are deadly sharp and are very efficient for pure cutting purposes. Sharpening them up is also easy. I agree the pictured knife seems to have a very shallow bevel...most of the ones I've seen (or owned) have a much higher bevel closer to 1/3-1/2 of the blade width...
 
Cliff Stamp said:
If you want to see what that grind can do, I have a few you can use for a year or so to carry and evaluate, just drop me an email for the details.

-Cliff
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That's a very generous offer. Not lright now because I think I've been talked out of it, at least for the present. If I change my mind, I might take you up on it. Thank you again

Gary
 
As many have noted that grind resembles something usually found on machetes not on small knives.

TLM
 
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