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Why chisel grind???
- Thread starter Shadow449
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2009
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- 44,314
Sharpening it is the same as any other knife, no special tools or media required aside from preexisting experience and skill. Chisel ground knives have existed for a long time, mostly seen in kitchen knives. Chisels are pretty darn sharp, so someone a long time ago figured, if it works in the kitchen, why not on a folder! Right? There are tons of threads on the "why" aspect going back 14 years.
Incredibly easy to sharpen and cuts well.
Using a flat stone or a rod or whatever, sharpen the grind side. Flip over and just kiss the flat side against the sharpening surface to remove the burr.
We just did this topic recently. You might find the thread informative...:thumbup:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1154286-What-are-the-benefits-of-using-a-chisel-grind?highlight=chisel
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1154286-What-are-the-benefits-of-using-a-chisel-grind?highlight=chisel
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2008
- Messages
- 26,139
It has to do with your minimum possible angle of approach to the target. Say you have two knives, both with an included edge angle of 30°. One is a conventional double bevel, the edge angles being 15° per side. The lowest angle that one may make a cut on either side is >15°. The chisel ground piece is 0° on one side and 30° on the other. It may approach the target at any angle >0° on the flat side, but the lowest angle of approach it may make on the other is severely handicapped to >30°. This is why chisel ground knives are often referred to as either left- or right-hand specific, as referenced by having the 0° side facing the cutting medium when making a cut away from the body.
AntDog
Basic Member
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- Apr 3, 2001
- Messages
- 27,539
He's got it. Just sharpen the ground edge, then swipe the burr off the flat side. Done.
I think a lot of chisel grinds are made because they are easy to make. You only have to grind one side. I had an Emerson that was chisel ground and at first I hated it. After a while it didn't bother me at all and I actually liked it. The edge was easy to sharpen and it was tough. You'll never really know until you go ahead and try one!
IME these small utility blades don't really suffer much from the "wrong-handed" chisel grind. Because I rarely use a small folder for making precision slices on meat or other soft media I don't experience the sideways pull. I also have a Fairly chisel grind bushcraft knife which gets occasional use in the kitchen. It is "right handed" and does everything I want it to, although the learning curve is a little steep when you are used to conventional geometry.
james terrio
Sharpest Knife in the Light Socket
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2010
- Messages
- 22,618
I generally dislike chisel grinds because they're a little too specific for general use. Having said that, I've made a couple chisel-ground GP/HD/EDC knives and the people who like 'em, really like 'em. They're out-freaking-standing on thin kitchen blades made for precise slicing, though.
They are certainly easy to sharpen. As said above, just clean up the bevel on the ground side and wipe off the burr on the flat side. Or put a tiny micro-bevel on the flat side to avoid scratching up the flats and beef up the edge a bit (which is what woodworkers do).
I hear this a lot, almost always from people who've never ground a blade.
It's true that chisel grinds don't require both sides to be symmetrical re:grind height and angle. But calling them "easy" is a bit misleading. They still require precision and skill, and removing the same amount of steel as a similar blade with a V grind.
Yeah, that's a very real problem, and I cannot understand why they do that. The only possible explanation I have is that knives are traditionally marked/photographed/presented with the blade pointing to the left, and a RH chisel grind looks really boring that way. *shrug*
They are certainly easy to sharpen. As said above, just clean up the bevel on the ground side and wipe off the burr on the flat side. Or put a tiny micro-bevel on the flat side to avoid scratching up the flats and beef up the edge a bit (which is what woodworkers do).
I hear this a lot, almost always from people who've never ground a blade.
It's true that chisel grinds don't require both sides to be symmetrical re:grind height and angle. But calling them "easy" is a bit misleading. They still require precision and skill, and removing the same amount of steel as a similar blade with a V grind.
Yeah, that's a very real problem, and I cannot understand why they do that. The only possible explanation I have is that knives are traditionally marked/photographed/presented with the blade pointing to the left, and a RH chisel grind looks really boring that way. *shrug*
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