Favorite Primary Grind?

[James Y]

My personal favorite primary grind is FFG. I like the way it cuts, and the way it looks.

I guess my second-favorite would be HHG (high hollow grind), for obvious reasons. Such a grind usually is ground thin, cuts great, and tends to have a potentially longer sharpening life than some others.

My least-favorite grind is a thick SG. Such a grind makes a very stout blade, but for MY uses, doesn't cut as nicely for me. I also feel it has a comparatively shorter resharpening lifespan before it becomes too thick.

I know this is a simplistic thread subject, and has probably been discussed ad nauseum already.

Jim

[Evil D]

Full flat, but I do wish there were more HIGH hollow grinds, like the whole height of a Bodacious or Shaman. I like the idea of a hollow grind but I don't like when they're done on short height thick blades because they leave the top shoulder too pronounced. I'd like to try a Bodacious with a very large radius hollow grind taken up to the top of the factory flat (I guess technically saber grind) line.

[Paul Ardbeg]

Full flat because it's the most versatile and always enjoy a good hollow grind. I don't see a reason why I should ever own a chisel ground knife.

[JARHEAD]

Chisel grind oddly enough!

[Coastal]

High hollow ground. But I don't think I've ever bought or failed to buy a knife based on its grind. Now that I've typed that, it sounds odd. Seems like an obvious feature to care about. I care a lot more about blade stock thickness, which I feel should seldom exceed 2.5 mm for a folder.

[Wowbagger]

Full flat BY FAR , BY FAR , BY FAR .
But I am one of those crazy people who grab a saw for a saw's job a froe for a splitting shingle job , a spike for a spike job , an axe for an axe job . . . well you get the picture .

As far as SG (saber griind ?) I have a very thin Mora Carbon that cuts through quadruple wall corrigated carboard shipping crates just like a real knife . Sorry , often I just use a 2mm or less paring knife made of some forgiving steel and it cuts even better . I was surprised by the Mora SG though . The blade is polished by the way ; see below .

As far as needing less maintenance / longer sharpening life from a hollow ground .
yeeeessss
I keep reading that anyway .
Keeping in mind I full flat ground one of my Gayle Bradley 2 hollow ground knives to about 2mm at the spine and ~ 0.012 inch behind the edge and all that "important" hollow grindness disappeared entirely .

Here is one for you (actually two for you ) I have a flock of Cold Steel Ti Lite 4inch knives .
Two of them in particular I ground thinner . One full flat and about 1.8 mm at the spine . The other I experimented with another kind of grind , I am too lazy to look up what it is called; maybe one of the experts here can tell us. Imagine the center line of the length of the blade from roughly pivot center to spear poiint tip is the thickest part of the blade thickness . Then obviously the thickness tapers down , flat , to the edge from there . Then from the center line again I thinned the blade some toward the spine for the length of the blade . The objective being some core strength for the blade but one that might cut curves better . I can tell you that in the quadruple wall cardboard the full flat is hands down the easier knife to cut with . Maybe in single wall or leather the latter knife might shine ; haven't used it that much .

I would also add , emphatically , that a polished blade (not necessarily mirror for looks but just grind off the grind lines ) makes for an easier and more accurate knife to cut with .

[bob-atlatl]

High hollow grind (1st) then full flat (2nd).

[James Y]

Thank, guys, I am enjoying reading all the responses!

Jim

[Brock O Lee]

High hollow, then FFG.

[Bill1170]

Full flat BY FAR , BY FAR , BY FAR .
But I am one of those crazy people who grab a saw for a saw's job a froe for a splitting shingle job , a spike for a spike job , an axe for an axe job . . . well you get the picture .

As far as SG (saber griind ?) I have a very thin Mora Carbon that cuts through quadruple wall corrigated carboard shipping crates just like a real knife . Sorry , often I just use a 2mm or less paring knife made of some forgiving steel and it cuts even better . I was surprised by the Mora SG though . The blade is polished by the way ; see below .

As far as needing less maintenance / longer sharpening life from a hollow ground .
yeeeessss
I keep reading that anyway .
Keeping in mind I full flat ground one of my Gayle Bradley 2 hollow ground knives to about 2mm at the spine and ~ 0.012 inch behind the edge and all that "important" hollow grindness disappeared entirely .

Here is one for you (actually two for you ) I have a flock of Cold Steel Ti Lite 4inch knives .
Two of them in particular I ground thinner . One full flat and about 1.8 mm at the spine . The other I experimented with another kind of grind , I am too lazy to look up what it is called; maybe one of the experts here can tell us. Imagine the center line of the length of the blade from roughly pivot center to spear poiint tip is the thickest part of the blade thickness . Then obviously the thickness tapers down , flat , to the edge from there . Then from the center line again I thinned the blade some toward the spine for the length of the blade . The objective being some core strength for the blade but one that might cut curves better . I can tell you that in the quadruple wall cardboard the full flat is hands down the easier knife to cut with . Maybe in single wall or leather the latter knife might shine ; haven't used it that much .

I would also add , emphatically , that a polished blade (not necessarily mirror for looks but just grind off the grind lines ) makes for an easier and more accurate knife to cut with .

That last grind you describe is similar to the “appleseed” grind, except on an appleseed grind the primary bevel is a gentle convex curve to the apex. In Japan this is called a hamaguri (clam) grind, and is used on katanas.

Another benefit of a polished blade is it resists corrosion better than a coarser texture does.

Edited to add:
On production knives I’m one who prefers thin blades ground full flat and thin behind the edge.

[kobold]

1 convex
2 hhg
3 ffg

[vivi]

depends on the role of the knife.

chef knives - thin full flat. most stable during cuts.

pocket knives - I can work with most grinds here, the cuts aren't too demanding. I like my FFG Military, my hollow ground Buck 110's, and with a thinned out edge even saber ground Pacific Salts cut fine for me.

bushcraft fixed blades - I prefer some sort of saber grind. They work a lot better for splitting wood with a baton, help keep the tip strong, and help keep a more forward balance for chopping duties.

In my eyes there's no one grind best for every application, there's different grinds because they excel at certain roles.

[James Y]

I would say I'm okay with a relatively thick "saber hollow grind," like on my SE Pac Salt 1, or my Tasman Salt SE, because I use those models the most in dirty yard work and such.

For me, the saber hollow frind is still better for my purposes that a fairly abrupt flat saber grind like the SG Enduexample. Delica 4, for example.

I can take a flat saber grind if it's high enough on the blade that it's almost a FFG. I'm not sure if that's making sense or not.

Jim

[Fastidiotus]

Hollow grind always seems to do best for me. That being said I'm not breaking down cardboard all day everyday and carry a saber grind combo edge Delica everyday for work. It cuts what needs to be cut and it's durable enough for me to be dumb.

[elena86]

High hollow and second close hamaguri.

[Wartstein]

.... and with a thinned out edge even saber ground Pacific Salts cut fine for me.
...

Those actually come in a (though pretty low) sabre hollow grind, right?

To me an H1 Pac Salt in sabre hollow cuts clearly better than an Endura in "true" sabre grind (not hollow), especially on matter with not too wide diameter.

[Wartstein]

..... I care a lot more about blade stock thickness, which I feel should seldom exceed 2.5 mm for a folder.

Wise words.

[Wartstein]

...
For me, the saber hollow frind is still better for my purposes that a fairly abrupt flat saber grind like the SG Enduexample. Delica 4, for example.
..

Ah, said pretty much the same in my previous post before reading yours!

- I too clearly prefer sabre hollow over "flat" sabre! The former just cuts better (can actually be pretty thin behind he edge), but still offers that thicker, stronger tip for situations where one wants that (My sabre hollow Pac Salt can take drilling and twisting the tip in wood with ease for example where I´d really be worried about an ffg Endura tip).

- What I always like to point out:

Where in my experience "true", flat sabre grind can be pretty good: Whittling resp. "biting" into wood deeply:
This is because the very obtuse primary grind means that the secondary grind ("bevel") goes rather high up the blade, so the "shoulders" are not "in the way" as soon as with the same knife with the same edge angle in ffg, if this makes any sense.
So on an ffg Endura with let´s say 35 incl edge angle the bevel is clearly "lower" than on an sg Endura with 35 incl., which creates a bit of a "scandi grind" effect on the latter.

[Wartstein]

My preferences:

- On folders it´s ffg, but with ffg I like when the tip is just a bit reinforced cause it can get pretty fragile in that type of grind (I am one of those who loves the "drop" towards the tip on Endura, Endela, Delica. Especially since folks who like it pointier can mod the tip easily without sacrificing cutting edge length. Not the case vice versa).

- Fixed blades: I am more indifferent or rather it is depending more on the use case: Can be scandi, ffg or a higher sabre grind (for strengthening the blade and the tip a bit for real fixed blade hard use, which for me is different to folder hard use)