I read some replies to this and found the responses very insightful. There was a mention of Kevin McClung a.k.a MAD DOG, so I went over to his website to read the article as suggested.
Here is a quote from the website located at http://www.northlink.com/~maddog/articles/grind.htm
"Japanese swords are flat ground, and renowned for their cutting ability. Other flat ground historical successes include the Viking Sax, the Roman Gladius, the Falchion, the Spanish Navaja, the Scottish dirk and Skean dubh, the Mamaluke sword, the Indian Talwar, the Arab Shamshir, etc. As you can see, people who take their cutlery seriously have a marked preference for flat ground blades."
I wish to point out a very important fact. Japanese swords have a cross sectional geometry that actually resembles a Moran Edge or Cannel Grind more than a Flat Grind. In essence, it's not flat. Rather, it's convex.
This is why many antique Japanese swords have been destroyed by us Americans in the name of sharpening. By enforcing a flat grind bevel edge on a convex-edged cross sectional geometry, we are basically altering the shape of the Japanese sword from its historic nature, thereby damaging it, and ruining its collector desirability and its intrinsic historic value.
A slight change of subject: I've seen a lot of Japanese swords end up in Gun Shows in very pitiful condition. They've usually been given the belt grinder treatment for rust removal, etc. Unfortunately, the heat build up from a belt grinder for the purposes of "polishing", "rust removal", or "sharpening" will ruin the differential hardness and temper of a Japanese sword blade.
Another note that Mr. McClung made:
""The last entrant in both popularity and priority of manufacture are the convex or axe ground blades. Like the chisel grind, the axe grind is called an axe grind with good reason. It simply works best in axes, hatchets and big chopping tools. A number of early broad swords were axe ground double edged jobs. The quality of the steel available dictated a very robust edge geometry to avoid serious damage to the blade. As steel quality improved, more swords were produced with a flat grind, often with a fuller (groove) down the middle. The fuller had two functions. It lightened the blade, making it easier to handle, and stiffened it by increasing the surface area. This is the same reason modern match rifle barrels are fluted."
I also find this statement somewhat inaccurate. First off, I'd like to state that I am not saying that Japanese sword was the best in existence, etc. The Japanese sword (or "nihon-to") did feature a convex edge, and it was a weapon whose primary purpose was cutting. (Historically speaking, it's point is not an inelegant "reinforced chisel point for piercing" as a lot of marketing literature claim).
The Japanese were able to take a very limited steel source (iron bearing sand known as "tamahagane") and forge and produce a differentially hardened sword. It was not "razor" sharp like a hollow grind. Conversely, the Convex Edge reinforced the edge and increased edge retention and stability. However, the cutting ability of the katana was more dependent upon the ability of the swordsman rather than the ability of the sword - hence the emphasis in Iaido and Iaijutsu on proper cutting technique.
Another point is that some historical European swords were found to actually *not* have flat grinds but with a slight convex edge. Again, historically accurate combat is not necessarily the edge-against-edge blows we see on TV or in movies. However, the convex edge has a better chance of survival than the flat grind. Further, the flat grind has a better chance of survival than the hollow grind.
Other than that, I find Mr. McClung's article interesting and insightful.
[This message has been edited by WarAngel (edited 28 January 1999).]
