Favorite Primary Grind?

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James Y
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Favorite Primary Grind?

#1

Post by 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
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Evil D
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Re: Favorite Primary Grind?

#2

Post by 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.
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Paul Ardbeg
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Re: Favorite Primary Grind?

#3

Post by 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.
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Re: Favorite Primary Grind?

#4

Post by JARHEAD »

Chisel grind oddly enough!
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Re: Favorite Primary Grind?

#5

Post by 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.
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Re: Favorite Primary Grind?

#6

Post by 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 .
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Re: Favorite Primary Grind?

#7

Post by bob-atlatl »

High hollow grind (1st) then full flat (2nd).
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James Y
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Re: Favorite Primary Grind?

#8

Post by James Y »

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

Jim
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Brock O Lee
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Re: Favorite Primary Grind?

#9

Post by Brock O Lee »

High hollow, then FFG.
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Re: Favorite Primary Grind?

#10

Post by Bill1170 »

Wowbagger wrote:
Fri Jan 16, 2026 6:44 pm
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.
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kobold
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Re: Favorite Primary Grind?

#11

Post by kobold »

1 convex
2 hhg
3 ffg
Military/PM2/P3 Native Chief/Native GB2 DF2 PITS Chaparral Tasman Salt 2 SE Caribbean SF SE SpydieChef Swayback Manix2 Sage 1 SSS S2XL G10
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Re: Favorite Primary Grind?

#12

Post by 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.
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Re: Favorite Primary Grind?

#13

Post by 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
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Fastidiotus
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Re: Favorite Primary Grind?

#14

Post by 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.
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elena86
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Re: Favorite Primary Grind?

#15

Post by elena86 »

High hollow and second close hamaguri.
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