Hey Paul - you got in ahead of me!! Here's the scoop and I quote from our press release:
"For seventeen years, all the blades from Chris Reeve Knives have been hollow ground. Over the years however, many customers have requested a flat ground blade but, partly because Chris prefers the hollow grind asethetically and because of logistical difficulties, we have never offered this option. But things change and, because there are excellent reasons for the two styles of blades, we are now pleased to offer both. At this time, the option is only available for the large regular Sebenza but blades for the other styles are in the works.
In recent months, Chris has been working with Dennis Rochkes of Carson Blade Machine, in Vandalia, IL. Preparation for the new flat ground blades involved drawings and fixture building, and then Chris spent almost a week with Dennis fine-tuning the process. They worked long hours to produce a flat ground blade that maintains the extremely high quality and tight tolerance that you have come to expect from Chris Reeve Knives.
Neither grind is better than the other, they just have different qualities. Both are very durable and the choice is really which style of blade better suits the users needs and taste. The flat ground blade has more material through the mid point, making it ever so slightly stronger. The hollow ground blade has a longer sharpening life because more material can be removed from the cutting edge by sharpening before the edge begins to thicken. You can expect both blade styles to have the renowned CRK razor sharp cutting edge and be capable of the same performance for heavy duty cutting or skinning (or more mundane tasks like opening envelopes or card board boxes!). The choice of blade may even be as simple as preferring the look of one over the other in just the same comparison as sometimes happens with a spearpoint blade vs the clippoint blade.
Although we do not have a delivery estimate for the other styles of folders, ie large Classics, small Regular and Classic Sebenzas and Umfaans, we will be glad to take orders. Please note that, at least for the foreseeable future, we will be offering flat ground blades on the regular models but hollow ground blades on Unique and Computer Generated Graphic folders. All Damascus blades will be hollow ground.
There will be no price difference between the flat ground and hollow ground blades so be sure to specify the blade style when placing your order.
The flat ground blade is not a limited quantity item and will be featured on our price list and other literature."
Anne
