Scandi Grind Question

[Mitchell Knives]

An individual that has purchased several of my knives in the past has requested that I make a small "Scandi" ground knife for his bushcraft bag.

I have never been a fan of this particular grind. However, the customer is always right!

I understand that many knife makers will simply set their tool rest to around 12 degrees to ensure a truly flat and uniform bevel.

A true Scandi grind should essentially be a "zero" edge. How is everyone achieving this without going too far and having a slight dip along the entire edge?

I'm thinking that my best bet would be to grind the edge to the point that it just barely forms a burr, then buff with a medium compound.

I may be totally over thinking this though.

 

[Drew Riley]

I usually just scribe a centerline and carefully grind each side to that centerline. As long are you're careful and appy even pressure without tilting the blade to one side or the other, you should be ok.

 

[Hengelo_77]

I wouldn't buff it since a buffer makes a round movement and you want the bevel/edge to be flat.
I've done two scandi's and got it close to sharp pre HT and made it sharp with draw file like moving DMT diafolds along the bevel/edge.
It does take a while

 

[Chris Lambeth]

I grind scandi's after heat treat. (watch heat-duh) I scribe a grind height based on bevel angle and thickness of steel and grind away. I go to a 400ish grit usually ending there with a dull 400-500 grit finish. Which ever edge I ground last has a burr. Buffing will round it so it gets a hard arkansas stone. To help me keep it from rounding in this process I clamp the tang portion into a pivoting "knife maker" vice I made and hold the stone, some reason it's better for me that way, especially toward the tip. Then I count down just like my sharpening alternating sides and lightening my strokes as I go. My main scandi customer pulls his to sharpen... I never can tell if the burr is gone using his method.

 

[Josh Mason]

All the scandi stuff I've ever ground has been taken to zero with a 400 grit belt finish (gator) until a fine burr forms, and then I just strop with bare leather on a strop stick (leather nailed to a board). I'm sure there's a better way, but I just don't like to compromise my belt finish on my bevels with another abrasive like a stone or compound etc. This is primarily why I don't like scandi grinds.

 

[samuraistuart]

All the scandi stuff I've ever ground has been taken to zero with a 400 grit belt finish (gator) until a fine burr forms, and then I just strop with bare leather on a strop stick (leather nailed to a board). I'm sure there's a better way, but I just don't like to compromise my belt finish on my bevels with another abrasive like a stone or compound etc. This is primarily why I don't like scandi grinds.

"We have a bingo"! Exactly what I was thinking about Scandi's. When one is made, I assume the last grit used on the bevels for the finish is the grit the edge is at. IF you stop at 400 grit...your edge is a 400 grit edge. Not a problem at all, you can go as high/fine as you want. But I guess that hard work will be "erased" the very first time the knife needs sharpening....and will lose that pretty finish!