What Is The Purpose Of A Compound Grind?

[redsquid2]

I have never used a compound grind. Are they just for the novelty of the thing, like are they the latest cool thing? Or is there a legit reason for them?

Thanks.

 

[Quiet]

I have never used a compound grind. Are they just for the novelty of the thing, like are they the latest cool thing? Or is there a legit reason for them?

Thanks.

The common thought behind the design is usually something along the lines of "thick tip for stabbing, finer grind near the choil for cutting." Personally, I do not like compound grinds on knives and don't own any with them. Also, there are plenty of makers who do it for aesthetics rather than performance, so eeehhhhhh, pass.

 

[K.O.D.]

They've been around a long time, but have gotten increasingly popular.

It's kinda like partial serrations, trying to get to blade types in one. In my opinion, there isn't enough blade length for either to really be all that useful.

I definitely feel it's a novelty/esthetics thing as well.

 

[Pee Dee Knives]

The most common compound grind, flat ground tip, convex on the rest, is supposed to give a high strength tip and leave the rest of the knife slicey.

I doubt too many people use a compound ground knife enough to tell the difference or care. They are mostly on “hard use” safe queens, so they are probably for looks in most cases, but I think they look cool.

 

[hexenjager]

They always seemed to me to be mostly for making the blade more visually interesting on your Instagram.

 

[Korean Hog]

I don't own any, but, like others, I would say that it is probably more of an aesthetic thing. I look at the compound grind the same way I view the harpoon point/ blade shape.
I'm sure there is some sort of function and reasoning behind the grind (stronger tip/ sharper flat section), but for the most part it just looks cool. However, many compound grinds really do look cool
and there's nothing wrong with that. I bet the knives with compound grinds still cut just fine. It's just that the only good quality knives I've seen with a compound grind are expensive, and I don't
think it looks all that cool, especially since it seems that it would be annoying to sharpen.

 

[hexenjager]

I don't own any, but, like others, I would say that it is probably more of an aesthetic thing. I look at the compound grind the same way I view the harpoon point/ blade shape.
I'm sure there is some sort of function and reasoning behind the grind (stronger tip/ sharper flat section), but for the most part it just looks cool. However, many compound grinds really do look cool
and there's nothing wrong with that. I bet the knives with compound grinds still cut just fine. It's just that the only good quality knives I've seen with a compound grind are expensive, and I don't
think it looks all that cool, especially since it seems that it would be annoying to sharpen.

It's kinda strange how sometimes there's a disconnect between what looks good to the eye and what we actually like better in use. Compound grinds look interesting, but my favorite blade grind in use is still a full height flat, the most uninteresting to look at that there is.

 

[Sergeua]

Do some woodwork and cut your veggies

 

[dsalazar]

I had a xm18 3.5 with REK compound spanto grind. Flat grind tip with hollow grind from choil to area where spanto starts. Now that knife was a slicer and work horse.
I find if done well you can have a great blade. Some are more just for looks. But give it try it depends what your cutting.

 

[evilgreg]

I voted: mostly for instagram.

 

[Korean Hog]

It's kinda strange how sometimes there's a disconnect between what looks good to the eye and what we actually like better in use. Compound grinds look interesting, but my favorite blade grind in use is still a full height flat, the most uninteresting to look at that there is.

Same here, the FFQ seems to be the thinnest while maintaining proper durability. I haven't taken measurements, but most FFG seem to avoid the issue of the blade thickening up as you sharpen over time
even better than many tall, hollow saber grinds. FFG's generally seem to have the least amount of friction through the cut as compared to other blade grinds as well.

 

[REK Knives]

the purpose of a compound grind can be more aesthetic but I like to combine that with getting the max performance out of your blade. It has been mentioned above but every grind has it's advantages and disadvantages, so when do a compound grind you can basically blend two grinds together for the best performance.

Some may use their knife real heavy at the heel of the blade near the plunge so they want it thicker there but use the tip to mainly open boxes and never pry so in this case you could so something like the mora pictured above. In other situations you may want the tip beefier for prying but want the rest of the blade to be a slicer. Now of course you could just grind it in such a way that the tip gets thicker but it doesn't differentiate a crisp transition for the grind or edge and doesn't look that great most of the time.

So really it's just another way to celebrate differences in knives and how they are used

 

[K.O.D.]

If my daily grind requires more than one grind type, I just carry all my knives.

 

[BenchCo Spydermade]

Never understood the point of making a knife slicey just so it can hit a speedbump at the end of the blade. If youre gunna be needin to stab so many things so hard you need a reinforced tip, I'd refer back to the Machete picture. I mean, if you really need slicey and also really need to put a knife through a car hood, Id bring 2 knives.

 

[Rhinoknives1]

They seem to me that a maker dug in way to deep by the Ricasso with a 2” belt, and decided to call it a “design modification” and the compound grind was born! No thanks!

 

[REK Knives]

Never understood the point of making a knife slicey just so it can hit a speedbump at the end of the blade. If youre gunna be needin to stab so many things so hard you need a reinforced tip, I'd refer back to the Machete picture. I mean, if you really need slicey and also really need to put a knife through a car hood, Id bring 2 knives.

It really depends how you grind the compound grind... I was referring to something like this where the hollow trails of the end.

It doesn't have to hit a bump unless you grind it like this

 

[wickettedge]

The purpose?

To look badass.

 

[JAGKNIFE]

they are tacticool LOL novelty... even though I have made 5-6 in my knife making

 

[midnight flyer]

I think in some cases they just look cool (nothing wrong with that!) and in some cases they serve a real purpose. I love my Spyderco Valloton, mostly because of its beautiful fit and finish, but also because of its unusual grind. The deep hollow grind might be easy to damaged in its duty as a work knife if it had continued on to the tip, but it doesn't. The secondary grind on the tip makes it much stronger for digging in wood, insulation and other soft material. Once I got the knife and used it for a few months, I decided that grind was a little bit of genius.

That being said, it is the only work knife (or any knife) that I own with a compound grind. All the others work just fine.

Pic copied from the internet.

Robert

 

[midnight flyer]

Double tap...

 

[Pharmagator]

As a reformed 'mall-ninja' I attest to their 'form over function' appeal...