Perfect Grinds?

[izafireman]

After I ground blade out today and having looked at it later in the day and thought the grinds were to my liking. I managed to alter the grinds to a standard to which I knew to be good. I actually surprised myself that I rescued the blade so pretty happy with that.

But this evening I was thinking to myself, what actually is the perfect grind? For example should the top of the grind be straight or in the case of the drop point I ground today should it follow the exact curve of the edge of the blade?

Should grind lines be left in or is the correct way to sand them all out?

Should the shoulder of a grind be vertical or as I like to be angled and flow forwards ?

I am sure there will be lots of variants but what would be the basic factors of a perfect grind.....I guess there must be a set of standards which blades must be for competitions?

 

[bladegrinder]

That's a wide open question right there. there's no one answer to this one.
I think it's in the eyes of the maker and or owner, obviously one person may look at a blade and say...it couldn't have been made better, while someone else may say,...that's kind of ugly and could use some refinement..

 

[izafireman]

That's a wide open question right there. there's no one answer to this one.
I think it's in the eyes of the maker and or owner, obviously one person may look at a blade and say...it couldn't have been made better, while someone else may say,...that's kind of ugly and could use some refinement..

Yes fair point but is there not a standard as such?…I know in South Africa there is a knife makers guild, pretty sure you guys in the states will have one too? If so would that be a starting point?.....I only ask as no matter what I make I will always find a fault lol

 

[John Wilson]

Rule of thumb: If you like others will, too.

In my opinion, the best approach for a new maker is to look at as many knives as you can. Pretty soon you will develop a pattern- certain features will call out to you. You will find yourself drawn to aspects of knives and eventually you will identify the aspects that just look right to you.

Start there. In the beginning the best way to learn is to emulate the knives you like. In very short order you will keep what you like and discard what you don’t. The end result will be your own style.

As far as “rules” go, yes- there are some general rules of thumb.

1. fit and finish is everything. A very basic design done well is always better than an ambitious design with obvious flaws.

2. flow. curves are sexy. very straight lines have their place but lend a militaristic, utilitarian look. If that’s what you’re going for then there is a huge market for it. But sexy sells. Have an idea what you are trying to do: militaristic, sexy, primitive. pick one style for a knife. In other words, a militaristic KABAR style knife doesn’t look good with a swoopy handle.

3. finish. whether you hand sand to a satin finish, leave a belt finish, or go totally primitive- there shouldn’t be any scratches or marks that don’t belong there. Poor execution looks like laziness and amateur hour.

 

[izafireman]

Rule of thumb: If you like others will, too.

In my opinion, the best approach for a new maker is to look at as many knives as you can. Pretty soon you will develop a pattern- certain features will call out to you. You will find yourself drawn to aspects of knives and eventually you will identify the aspects that just look right to you.

Start there. In the beginning the best way to learn is to emulate the knives you like. In very short order you will keep what you like and discard what you don’t. The end result will be your own style.

As far as “rules” go, yes- there are some general rules of thumb.

1. fit and finish is everything. A very basic design done well is always better than an ambitious design with obvious flaws.

2. flow. curves are sexy. very straight lines have their place but lend a militaristic, utilitarian look. If that’s what you’re going for then there is a huge market for it. But sexy sells. Have an idea what you are trying to do: militaristic, sexy, primitive. pick one style for a knife. In other words, a militaristic KABAR style knife doesn’t look good with a swoopy handle.

3. finish. whether you hand sand to a satin finish, leave a belt finish, or go totally primitive- there shouldn’t be any scratches or marks that don’t belong there. Poor execution looks like laziness and amateur hour.

Some good points there John.

With regards to fit, yes I agree totally and anything I do that has the slightest doubt goes in the bin ))
Good point about the military look, never thought of it like that...
Finish, well this is maybe what has prompted me to ask the question as since I discovered the paper you told me about I am super critical lol ))
But thats a good thing of course. ))

 

[J. Doyle]

You should always attempt to make your grinds flat, even and symmetrical. There should only be one plane on the main bevel (except in the case of clips, Swedes and any other intentional feature).

Here are two pics from two different makers (their knives and their pics, not mine). I've left their names out intentionally but they are friends of mine and I consider them among the best grinders in the community. These are rough ground, pre-heat treat blades. Their rough grinds are better than many makers finish grinds.

Its a pretty good mark to shoot for.

 

[Freds Edge]

When grinding I use this guide to support the spine of the blade , you can see the lip I have cut into the end of the block. This supports the spine while letting you use your thumb to regulate the pressure and guide the blade.Its a nice little tool that is cheap and easy to make. l