Edge type: what works for you?

[Tim357]

To start off, I've been researching different types of outdoor knives. My latest using knife has been an Erik Frost 4" or so utility knife with a Scandi grind. I have observed that when sharp, a Scandi edge is fantastic. Works very well for prepping kindling for a fire, slices meat and potatoes for breakfast, and in general seems good for any light-duty knife work around camp. Biggest thing I see is the edge is very weak. Any kind of hard cutting and the edge gets knocked askew. I believe I'll be retuning to a flat-ground edge. They are nearly as sharp, but seem to last a lot longer. What say you?

[gunseller]

I like flar grinds. I carry a model 14 Randel. Carried the same knife for 45 years. It has been a lot of places around the world.
Steve

[hoodat]

I've got "almost" no use for a large, thick, blade with a scandi type edge on it. A knife like that will last forever, simply because no one wants to resharpen it OR use it.

For someone who uses a knife a lot, that knife had better be quick and easy to resharpen, and economical enough to replace when it's life is used up. -- just my 25 cents. jd

[bowfin]

I am somewhat fond of a hollow ground edge. However, I also like Mora knives. I guess I just gut and skin and bone with whatever knife I have. But I believe 95% of it is the person wielding it, same as a gun or car or tool. But I would pick hollow ground first. Maybe because that is how I made what little amount of knives I have made. (I am never making another out of D-2 as long as I live.)

[Darrin S]

You have to realize that geometry plays a huge part in how a knife cuts. Thin geometry is everything if you want a nice cutter. Every time you sharpen a knife you remove a small amount of metal and the blade will be a tiny bit thicker behind the edge. You'll eventually get to a point where the blade needs to be re-ground to cut like it did when it was new. Scandi grinds are susceptible to this much quicker than any other type of grind because the bevels are so short. Yes, they will cut pretty good for a while but soon they will have the geometry of a cold chisel and wont cut well at all. The best grinds for getting the most out of a blade are hollow grinds & full flat grinds.

[bowfin]

Scandi grinds are susceptible to this much quicker than any other type of grind because the bevels are so short. Yes, they will cut pretty good for a while but soon they will have the geometry of a cold chisel and wont cut well at all.

It's pretty easy to move that Scandi grind bevel back, though. I do wish the original Schrade / Old Timer Sharpfingers would have had a hollow ground. I believe the new ones do.