Why the "backwards" lefty chisel grind ? Just seems wrong !

Joined
Jan 29, 2016
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I would like to finally know from the horse's mouth or from somebody who actually knows for sure .

If you try, as a right handed user , to cut away / down from your body to sharpen a stake or something - it's like trying to use a chisel upside-down . Shouldn't it be reversed ? Why not ? What was the original design logic and purpose ?
 
So you can take cool Instagram pics with awesome hashtags like
#ekiordie #famousintheworstplaces etc etc😁

sent from a highly secretive CIA base somewhere in the deep jungles of South America shhh
 
Yeah I can't cut very well with mine, the knife works well for left handed use though. Sorry I didn't know the answer to your question.
 
Yeah I can't cut very well with mine, the knife works well for left handed use though. Sorry I didn't know the answer to your question.

Agreed, works fine for left hand or even right hand if you use a drawing / pulling toward you action . I thought there must be some sort of "tactical" reason ?
 
My guess is that the tanto is a weapons design for trusting (into soft tissue, where right or left side chisel wouldn't matter). Other designs are better suited for bushcraft.

--Larry
 
If you roll back the clock here you'll see EE explains the why a few times.
 
My guess is that the tanto is a weapons design for trusting (into soft tissue, where right or left side chisel wouldn't matter). Other designs are better suited for bushcraft.

--Larry
Some classic misinformation there.

One piece being that a lopsided blade won't cut/stab just as crooked in flesh as it would through anything else. Of course it will.

Emerson fans all know the supposed reasons for doing the chisel grind. None of the proposed advantages, including ease of sharpening, are accurate. Neither are the company's statements that the chisel edge makes no difference in cutting. You could use all EKI's chisel marketing to pitch a Spyderco if you said it right. Other side of that is intended use.

In Emerson's tests, the grind made no difference. Well they obviously weren't doing the kind of cutting that thousands of other knife users are. So they can say things that aren't necessarily true, but aren't necessarily false either. Careful wording.

In the end, how any knife performs depends on your type of cutting and your preferences.

Will these knives cut?
Yes.

Will they perform?
Yes.

Is the chisel edge going to affect your cutting?
Yes.

Of course a thick, lopsided knife can be used for anything you want, but it's going to excel I'm certain areas. Slicing vs shaving. So I wouldn't take an Emerson bushcrafting.

But I do carry my 7A every day whether urban or woods. No other knife feels right.

Match the tool to the job.

EKI makes knives that are DIFFERENT. Not BETTER or WORSE. But claiming any specific advantages is somewhat misleading. Ultimately that's gonna be in the eye of the beholder.

I personally love Emersons. I love the looks, style, the people, the employees, and the unique cutting and sharpening techniques they require!

Main point being, don't drink marketing kool-aid of any kind. Or any brand. Staying objective keeps away delusions and disappointment, in all areas of life!
☺

Thx.
 
Chisel grind was first used on bread knives and designed for right hand use. When slicing it assured nice even bread slices. This feature seems to be attacked only on this forum. Wha about the brand with the hole in the blade. Also, check out the serrated knives in your kitchen. This topic is a dead horse.
 
I would like to finally know from the horse's mouth or from somebody who actually knows for sure .

If you try, as a right handed user , to cut away / down from your body to sharpen a stake or something - it's like trying to use a chisel upside-down . Shouldn't it be reversed ? Why not ? What was the original design logic and purpose ?

vvv Read and learn, grasshopper. :)


Some classic misinformation there.

One piece being that a lopsided blade won't cut/stab just as crooked in flesh as it would through anything else. Of course it will.

Emerson fans all know the supposed reasons for doing the chisel grind. None of the proposed advantages, including ease of sharpening, are accurate. Neither are the company's statements that the chisel edge makes no difference in cutting. You could use all EKI's chisel marketing to pitch a Spyderco if you said it right. Other side of that is intended use.

In Emerson's tests, the grind made no difference. Well they obviously weren't doing the kind of cutting that thousands of other knife users are. So they can say things that aren't necessarily true, but aren't necessarily false either. Careful wording.

In the end, how any knife performs depends on your type of cutting and your preferences.

Will these knives cut?
Yes.

Will they perform?
Yes.

Is the chisel edge going to affect your cutting?
Yes.

Of course a thick, lopsided knife can be used for anything you want, but it's going to excel I'm certain areas. Slicing vs shaving. So I wouldn't take an Emerson bushcrafting.

But I do carry my 7A every day whether urban or woods. No other knife feels right.

Match the tool to the job.

EKI makes knives that are DIFFERENT. Not BETTER or WORSE. But claiming any specific advantages is somewhat misleading. Ultimately that's gonna be in the eye of the beholder.

I personally love Emersons. I love the looks, style, the people, the employees, and the unique cutting and sharpening techniques they require!

Main point being, don't drink marketing kool-aid of any kind. Or any brand. Staying objective keeps away delusions and disappointment, in all areas of life!
☺

Thx.

^^^ If everyone on this forum subscribed to your way of thinking/logic, James, BladeForums would be a Utopia. :)

Unfortunately, it's not.

When I skim through some of these GKD thread's (which I don't do too often), and read some of the severely challenged, twisted ways certain people think...this forum sure makes me feel so much better about my self concept. :positive:

Edit:
Chisel grind was first used on bread knives and designed for right hand use. When slicing it assured nice even bread slices. This feature seems to be attacked only on this forum.

^ :thumbup:
There are a lot of things, that are only attacked on "this" forum! :yawn:
 
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I've been using my Hd7 for a few weeks now and it cuts just fine. I don't really notice much of a difference from my non chisel ground blades. It's not like it uncontrollably jumps to one side or the other while completing tasks.
 
I've been using my Hd7 for a few weeks now and it cuts just fine. I don't really notice much of a difference from my non chisel ground blades. It's not like it uncontrollably jumps to one side or the other while completing tasks.

Unless there is a banana nearby.... Sorry!!!!! Couldn't resist!!!!
 
Because the logo/presentation side would have looked boring with a right hand chisel grind?

Disclaimer: my LH CQC7 cuts just fine for me, and it's entertaining watching right-handers be mildly inconvenienced.
 
Much thanks to all posters !

No disrespect to Emerson is intended . I believe he invented "wave opening " , which I deeply appreciate .

If you doubt that the orientation / side of a chisel makes a huge difference , please try a simple wood chisel on some scrape piece of wood . If that result is too subtle , try to shave your forearm .

Just , please for everyone's sake : DON'T mess with bananas !
 
I have one Emerson, a CQC-7A, non-serrated, satin finish, no wave, which I ordered just because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I like a lot about Emerson's designs: highly ergonomic, functional, solid knives. I didn't care for the one-sided chisel edge on the V blade, so later honed it down into a true V (thereby kind of spoiling the blade profile as it thickened it up a tad). I was not impressed by the edge-holding qualities of the CM-154 steel (don't like Benchmade's, either). If Emerson offered another steel like CTS-XHP or S30V I'd send it back for a blade upgrade... if I could get a true V grind.
 
It is a little known fact that Emersons are actually specialized apple peeling knives. Thus when you peel an apple cutting towards yourself the grind is on the correct side for righties.
 
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No disrespect to Emerson is intended . I believe he invented "wave opening " , which I deeply appreciate .

Nope. Kershaw had the same bottle-opener hook on the back of the blade first, but for whatever reason never challenged Emerson on "prior art". I still have my Kershaw, great little knife: ATS-34, titanium slabs over full steel liners.
 
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