Hi Todd, and welcome to "the gang". I'll answer as best I can, but others who actually know what they are on about will soon chip in, I'm sure...
As I see it, there is nothing wrong with a good flat grind with a convexed edge. Hollow grinds tend not to be so popular for bushcrafting because they can be relatively weak as the steel is so thin behind the edge so don't worry about not having the right kit to make them ! *LOL*
The Scandi grind has a few advantages over the flat grind that are worth noting. Firstly, it tends to be stronger as the steel thickens more rapidly behind the edge. This leads to the edge being less likely to chip or deform when put under pressure to perform. Scandi grinds also leave plenty of thickness on the spine of the blade which helps with overall blade strength. This can become an important factor when you realise that the knife is going to be battoned through logs, used to build shelters but still needs to a) remain intact, and b) still be usefull for cutting up your hard-earned supper. It also seems to make the job of making feather-sticks easier as it encourages the shaving to peel away from the main piece of wood better than a thinner edge will. The scandi grind allows for a fine edge that is well supported by the steel behind it. It might take a little more effort to get a scandi ground blade to cut deeply into wood because of its shape, but I find that it is far less likely to get stuck in the wood once it's there than a thinner profiled blade.
If you are already making flat ground blades (especially if you are doing so by stock removal rather than forging) you'll find that making a Scandi grind is soooo much easier too. You remove less steel from the blade for starters
. I recently finished my first ever knife from scratch and having made a flat gind I know how much work was involved.(See the thread further down the list in Edged Tools) Since then I've done a couple of scandi ground blades and they seemed really easy by comparison.
Many folks are now realising that a full convex grind suits them better than a scandi. This has lead to the popularity of knives like the Fallknivens, (especially the F1) with bushcrafters all over the world. The full convex has a good strong edge with a full thickness spine for for overall strength and does a good job of almost any task you put it to.
Post up a few photos of your own knives so some of us lovers of the sharp and shiny things in the world can go "Oooh!" and "Aaah!" at them?
