What's easier to learn? Flat or Hollow grind

B

blade runner

Joined
May 31, 2000
Messages
173
I'm a newbie, and I'd like some opinions, please. One knifemaker told me that the flat grind is the hardest to learn and master, whereas another man told me that the hollow grind is the hardest. Any comments and/or suggestions will be helpful. (I have a machine with the capability to do both.)
 
I found they are about the same.
I started out doing nothing but hollow grinds and have switched to flat. I like the flat grind better for overall lightness and strength. A good hollow grind however can be resharpened more times than a Flat grind.
 
I found that flat is just a tiny bit harder. I prefer hollows though. Flat grinds are cool however. I find it a tiny bit more difficult because it was more difficult (for me) to control the amount of stock I took off from the thickness and width of the blade. When I look at one I think it's easy but doing it was different. When I hollow I scrbe the desired grind to the blank and attempt to follow the scribed lines. Should I leave the lines a little it's not so bad as my grind will just be altered slightly. Like maybe I'll have to grind a little deeper hollow than I originally thought. With a flat I can't scribe any thing because I'll grind from the back of the blade to the edge to get that nice V. Take of too much and you'll reduce the thickness of th blade and have to rede the tang as well to match the accidental new thickness of the blade. Atleast that's been my experience. It seems more difficult on larer blades. Smaller blades you'll have more control over and if you screw up it will be easier and faster to fix. A hollow I'll just hold next to my hip and lean on into the grind. ust a matter of following your prefered grind liners at that point. Almost like drawing but again more difficult as the wheel can jerk your blade if you don't lay it just right or applay too much or not enough pressure to it. Good luck.....RDT
 
When you are first learning to grind neither one is easier as you won't know what the other type of grind was like..
My suggestion is to just pick the one you like and do it..Or try one of each and see which you would rather try and master.
Here is a little something that may help you decide..If you are doing stock removal only and making small hunting knives the hollow works the best.If you are going to Be a Bladesmith and heat and beat your blades out then Flat grind is the best and only way as you are forging in the flats already and thus not messing with them br grinding them out..
Also look at the types of knives you want to make and see what grind is used the most on them,that may be the deciding factor for you.
Bruce
 
I think Bruce just about sized it up but I'd like to put in my 0.02 worth. I started flat grinding and continued more because I didn't have the equipment to hollow grind than any other reason. I started hollow grinding this month because I built a new grinder. I still like the flat better. I have started hogging the blade with a hollow grind and finishing with a flat grind because It seems to go faster. This may just be because of the way I'm setup.

As far as the grinding goes, with either you need to get your lines started. The blade will self track after that's done. Because of that there doesn't seem to be much difference in the grinding.

Pick one and have fun with it. Then try the other.
 
I'm a fairly new maker, (about a year now,) and I flat grind all of my blades. There are two main reasons: First, my teacher is a flat grinder, and secondly I believe it's easier to clean up a flat grind.

When I started grinding, my blades had about as many surfaces as a diamond. However, I could clamp the blade up on a board and draw-file the surfaces flat with very little trouble. Then I would wrap sand paper around a bar of brass and sand the blade smooth leaving a hand rubbed finish. I'm not sure how well this would work with a hollow ground blade.

Now that my grinding is better, I can pretty much go from the grinder to the hand rub finish.

Just a few of my ideas. -chris
 
I believe that once you learn one, the other falls in place. One is about like the other as stated above.

I primarily flat grind but I have found that if using variable speed, hollow grinding is easier to finish up, not as much "elbow grease" involved. With the newer technology in belts such as Trizact (and I assume that the Norax belts are about the same) that you can step through all the way to an A6 belt with little effort at all. I can't say that about flat grinding due to a variety of reasons. One of them being that flat grinding is harder on belts.

C Wilkins
 
Try both and judge for yourself. For me flat grinding is easier but alot more hand sanding than hollow grinding.
 
I gotta say that it is not important which one you use....what is important is the desire to learn...that is what prompts you to do anything.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top