Back to the grind!

[mick91]

Simple question, half expecting WW3. What's your preference on knife grinds and profiles? More importantly WHY? Not theory but real world experience. To start off and being probably in the minority, I prefer clip point hollow grinds, perfect for skinning and gutting, easy to sharpen and imo a good GP setup.

 

[GGTBod]

I'm no expert by a long shot but for me it's a scandi, great for wood carving and really easy to sharpen, only thing i have found the grind not quite good for was peeling an apple

 

[Robson Valley]

I have been a wood carver for some years. I use 6-8 different bevel angles, depending on the tool and the load.
There must be enough steel behind the edge for whatever the service. Otherwise it crushes and the edge is called "dull."
Nobody can tell me otherwise. Hate to sound so abrupt and dogmatic but hindsight is 20-20.

Bone cleaver = 40 degrees.
Bench plane and chisels = 30 degrees
Spoke shaves = 28 degrees
Draw knife, elbow adze, carver's adze (Stubai) & D adze = 25 degrees
Pfeil carving gouges, Mocotaugan crooked knife, Porsche kitchen knives = 20 degrees
PacNW style crooked knives and planer knives = 12 degrees.

There are blades with a single bevel on one side. Edges with bevels on both sides. Blades with both edges sharpened, single bevels.
Crooked edges of all sorts, the crooked knives and the adzes.

Microbevels and nanobevels are not needed, softwoods or hardwoods.

The real issue is that there are a bunch of different techniques, all of which lead to the same end results.
There's a learning curve sprinkled with experience for each. No, you can't buy an edge.

I was taught free hand. Took a loooooong time to get good at it.
I can hone a PacNW crooked knife over my knee now.
The best thing to remember is that if it looks easy, it wasn't easy to learn.

Pick one, scrape away and learn it. It's only steel.

 

[David LaFerney]

Exactly - no knife is going to be great (or even very good) at everything. Thin blades with shallow bevel angles get razor sharp and slice great, but are more fragile. Thick blades with steep grind angles are very robust, and good for splitting wood but make a hatchet job out of simple things like slicing an apple.

 

[British Red]

There are some I dont like. The really wide convex on Falknivens for example. I own hollow, full flat and scandy. With and without secondary bevels. Even serrated. They are like the different screwdrivers in my toolbox, they all have a place.

 

[sunndog]

As long as its nice and pointy and not too thick or wide i'll probably get the job done with it