Scandi grind

I

IDABOW

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Feb 7, 2005
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I have few scandi grind knives. I can free hand sharpen any regular grind knife. Scandi knives are giving me a fit. I can polish the sides of the scandi grind knives like companion hd, garberg, terrava pukko 110 but can't get the actual edge sharp.

These are carbon blades with the exception of the garberg. I can actually get it to pop hairs but not the carbon blades. I have BM Bushcrafter in S30v and had have no problems.

I just bought Norton 1000, 4000, and 8000 grit Norton water stones. The Bushcrafter was pretty simple to work with, but the Scandi grinds are frustrating. I thought they were "easier" to sharpen.

Thoughts?
 
Hi,
IDABOW said:
I have few scandi grind knives. I can free hand sharpen any regular grind knife. Scandi knives are giving me a fit. I can polish the sides of the scandi grind knives like companion hd, garberg, terrava pukko 110 but can't get the actual edge sharp.

These are carbon blades with the exception of the garberg. I can actually get it to pop hairs but not the carbon blades. I have BM Bushcrafter in S30v and had have no problems.

I just bought Norton 1000, 4000, and 8000 grit Norton water stones. The Bushcrafter was pretty simple to work with, but the Scandi grinds are frustrating. I thought they were "easier" to sharpen.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Hi,
Can you raise a burr?

The scandi knives are thicker,
thus they need more metal removed to sharpen ,
so if you want faster sharpening time you should microbevel (increase angle)
 
Make a bunch of lines with a Sharpie from spine to edge or just cross hatch the bevel. You want to work from the spine to the edge.

Work the 1k stone on its entire surface or you'll dish it before you even finish one side.

Take extra time working around the belly. Don't bother switching to the 4k until the entire bevel is frosted from the 1k - spine to edge.

Per bucketstove, they take longer due to more metal to remove. Get it set the way you want and it will be much easier to maintain it down the road.
 
Scandis take a LOT more time, if the existing edge isn't quite apexed. The bevels to be ground are much wider; therefore a lot more steel must be removed to grind to the same depth, i.e., same thinness at the apex.

Scandis are 'easier' to sharpen, if only because the wide bevels themselves provide the built-in guide for angle control. But it'll still take some time.


David
 
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I numerous Scandi's. Some vintage and some I crafted with Lauri PT or Helle laminated blades. I find Scandis easiest of all to sharpen. Just lay the blade bevel flat on the stone and go to it. Takes a while, once you get a burr, a stroke backwards (away from the edge) will give a slight micro-bevel which I find makes the edge last longer. If your doing a lot of wood carving, some folks find the total flat edge better (but needs a touch up more often).
Rich
 
Scandi grinds are only "easier" if you aren't yet proficient at freehand sharpening conventional grinds because of their built in "training wheel" effect. However, the larger surface area reduces your contact pressure on the stone and makes sharpening take comparatively forever. It's slow going compared to sharpening an edge with a relief grind behind it.
 
I played around with the 110 and the companion hd last night I'm going to have use a more aggressive stone to start. I spent about half an hour on the 1000 grit with each knife.

My garberg was pretty easy to sharpen along with my bm bushcrafter although it's not a scandi grind. Both have higher rc hardness which is why I'm having a hard time figuring this all out.

How do you keep your waterstones wet? I soak the 1000/4000 stone for 10 minutes per norton's directions but can't keep them wet. Do I want just water on the surface, or slurry or what?
 
IDABOW said:
I played around with the 110 and the companion hd last night I'm going to have use a more aggressive stone to start. I spent about half an hour on the 1000 grit with each knife.

My garberg was pretty easy to sharpen along with my bm bushcrafter although it's not a scandi grind. Both have higher rc hardness which is why I'm having a hard time figuring this all out.

How do you keep your waterstones wet? I soak the 1000/4000 stone for 10 minutes per norton's directions but can't keep them wet. Do I want just water on the surface, or slurry or what?
Click to expand...

Nortons are pretty porous, I dunk mine or use a cup of water and flush the entire stone every so often. It doesn't hurt to agitate the wet surface and dunk or flush to get the mud off of it. Is OK to have some mud develop esp on a broad bevel like a Scandi, but it will slow grinding a bit.

I also don't soak my Nortons anymore. A quick dunk for a minute or two and use them. As they load I rinse and clean, but I don't appreciate how they cut when waterlogged - they're soft enough to begin with and practically come apart if completely saturated.

Here's a good tutorial with Norton 4k and 8k:
 
So I played around some more with the 110. I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure it has a micro bevel from the factory. So I raised the knife up little, took a sharpie to micro bevel and went at it. It now shaves like it should. It's not perfect but a whole lot better than it was before.

I know my benchmade 162 is a conventional ground blade. I also have the garberg, TOPS BoB, and a mora companion hd. Unless I'm missing something, it looks like they all have varying degrees of a micro bevel. Is this a "scandivex" grind? Any preferred methods for sharpening any of these knives?
 
If the knife came with a Scandi, I tend to keep it that way. If is more for bushcraft/camping and light utility I'll run the Scandi to the edge, no microbevel. If its for EDU I might use a small microbevel but normally not. If it were me, I'd take it to the 4k and then to the 8k, the entire surface. Cosmetically they will turn out nicer if you use a strop to finish.

They come with a small micobevel usually, but it isn't needed and you don't have to use one. Also from the factory the bevel will possibly have all manner of small highs and lows that you will have to grind out over time.
 
I'm still trying to learn all of the different grinds. I've been sharpening knives since I was a kid. However a knife was a knife, and all the stones available was carborundum and Arkansas oil stones.
Now I have the above stones plus the norton's and work sharp diamond guided sharpeners. Even have a 20 year old regular lansky set.

The micro bevel was cake. I'll try a full Scandinavian on the companion hd first and see how it goes from there. I'll be back with more questions I'm sure.
 
OP, just cut the final bevel a little more obtuse than the grind. If you are successful with other grinds, doing what I just suggested will make the scandi grind behave the same.
 
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