Whats the best grind for your ideal bushcraft knife?

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (21st July - 2nd August) available until March 31st, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

What is the best grind for a bushcraft knife?

  • Scandy

    Votes: 374 58.9%
  • Full Flat

    Votes: 102 16.1%
  • Convex

    Votes: 142 22.4%
  • Hollow Ground

    Votes: 17 2.7%

  • Total voters
    635
If it is of decent steel properly heat treated and sharp it tends to work. Most of the rest is personal preference (or in many cases marketing hype).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Erbswurst
I dunno why people get so excited about knives...

But I do have a theory of how it started.


Two opposing armies of men ( ...and women TeeDee.... P.F.J. reference.. ) milling around on, standing guard on borders arguing over which the two armies design of sword is the best for.. < insert term of bloodshed >

The Kopis vs the Falchion etc...

I can only imagine this how wars started.

:)
That's a fair point. You don't see many people obsessing over scissors or nail clippers. I've noticed a fair few in the camping community seem to hoard stoves and cookware though.
 
Cast Iron vs Titanium is the next new conflict flashpoint. :)
This is some major thread drift now but... The story always goes that food is easily burnt in titanium cookware because it is so thin and conductive. So how much better would it be if they made it thicker?

...er, ahem I mean with a scandi grind ; -)
 
From my perspective it’s just discussion, not warfare. It’s not even emotive. What do I know anyway?

A knife and a pot are probably 2 of the most important bits of Bushcraft kit. Both can be improvised but that takes time and resources that may be difficult to come by. So they are both worth consideration.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Well for me it was watching First Blood when I was 12. It held a fascination that you could survive with that one tool. Then Crocodile Dundee reinforced that. I’ve always been fascinated by the survival knife since then, and I’m a collector. When my hobby became my job and the knife became a real thing I rely on, there was no going back. And I used to really love the reviews I used to do on here and BB. Now I have the time to do that again. And of course Poppy is in to the same stuff too. There’s no escape now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PoppyD and TeeDee
This is some major thread drift now but... The story always goes that food is easily burnt in titanium cookware because it is so thin and conductive. So how much better would it be if they made it thicker?

...er, ahem I mean with a scandi grind ; -)
Titanium is a lousy conductor of heat, really really poor. It is light and strong so appeals to the backpacker. It’s avoided for high output torches because it cooks the circuit inside but doesn’t release its heat, which makes it ideal for the high friction of super fast aeroplanes, or not burning ones lips on a mug of hot coffee. It is because it is a poor conductor of heat that food burns on it.
 
From my perspective it’s just discussion, not warfare. It’s not even emotive. What do I know anyway?

A knife and a pot are probably 2 of the most important bits of Bushcraft kit. Both can be improvised but that takes time and resources that may be difficult to come by. So they are both worth consideration.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I do know your replies are not strongly emotional CM.
I just found others replies somewhat energetic and emotive.


But these things seem to come up every now and again for some passionate debating.

:)
 
Titanium is a lousy conductor of heat, really really poor. It is light and strong so appeals to the backpacker. It’s avoided for high output torches because it cooks the circuit inside but doesn’t release its heat, which makes it good ideal for the high friction of super fast aeroplanes, or not burning ones lips on a mug of hot coffee. It is because it is a poor conductor of heat that food burns on it.

Metal cups in general. Who thought that was a good idea?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Metal cups in general. Who thought that was a good idea?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Titanium ones are really ok on the lips even if nearly full. Steel, even the lovely traditional white and blue glazed are fraught with danger. ;)

Lightweight single skin stainless, forget it. Copper cups haven’t even been invented for consuming hot liquids, but the metal is ace for cooking because it conducts so well.
 
Hmm ... a copper cup with very thin Ti lining anodized green, at least one would get comments! Nah, the lining would have to be bent on the lip so not to burn lips on the copper, gets difficult but think how expensive it would be, the next must have item.
 
Scandi for woodworking in a traditional small bushcraft blade, and convex for a multipurpose chopping, splitting and slicing big boi. The scandi shouldn't be too narrow, as it'll bite into wood too much rather than shave. Also, not all steels can handle a narrow scandi. For something like D2, it'll work better with a secondary edge or just a flat grind.
 
Definitely Scandi, it is also convenient to work with wood and, in general, this sharpening dulls more slowly
Funny, my personal experience is that edges of the same total included angle dull at the same rate regardless of how thick the blade is up beyond the edge. Concluding that Scandi grinds dull more slowly than flat grind or convex seems a bit like concluding that thick knives dull more slowly than thin knives. Any correlation is the result of other factors.
 
Scandi for crafting bushes lol I mean woodwork without a doubt. Flat grind for fieldcraft or general purpose. I find thicker scandi’s harder to use so prefer no thicker that mora companion hd
 
What sort of grind does your sharpening system produce? If it is a sharp grind/edge, then that's my choice. If you can produce 3 different "grinds" well, then its all good.
 
This is the reason I carry more than one knife , it’s a bit like bicycles , different types for different jobs , generally I use a Scandi with a slight convex , but for a camp knife I prefer a convexed edge as less prone to chips , I carve a lot on camp and although I carry a roll with a few sloyd knives I favour carbon steel stockman pattern pocket knives and mainly medium sized , I prefer the control I get over a pocket knife for carving , but most of my bushcraft knives are scandi .
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE