Scandi grind or Convex ?


Pawoodsman

Pawoodsman

Guide
Joined
Aug 9, 2009
Messages
1,215
Likes
57
Location
Pa
I apologize if this question has been asked before , what are people thought oor opinions when it comes to maintaining a sharp edge as in longevity and the ease of sharpening a edge between a Scandi and convex . I have given up on a typical edge knife like buck ontario I ca't sharpen them if my life depended on it thanks
 
Scandi doesn't last as long but easier to field sharpen in my experience.
 
It's personal. You'll find some like scandi, some convex. I say try some out and see what you think, if it's a possibility.
 
6 on the left but 1/2 dozen on the right.
I find them both relatively easy to maintain at home or in the field. I tend to choose one over another depending on my most likely application. On a knife for instance, I find a scandi grind to be superior for precise woodworking like notching and try stick tasks, whereas I prefer a convex edge for cutting flesh and larger-scale woodworking tasks. Lately, and probably because my my latest knife has a convex grind, I have been leaning that direction for a general camping knife. For larger tools like axes and machetes, I prefer a convex edge, as I find it easier to maintain on that scale as well as finding it more robust for such applications as bucking, limbing, and splitting. However, my buddy Beardedsquash has a Fiskars hatchet with a scandi edge that is very easy to maintain and cuts like a razor.

YMMV,
Malcolm
 
i love a convex edge. i find that theyre really easy to sharpen once you learn how. but i use my knives for a little of everything, as opposed to a dedicated bushcraft knife. i dont have scandi experience, but people seem to like a scandi edge for more dedicated wood working knives. personally i would be surprised if there was much a scandi can do that a convex really cant. and a convex will hold an edge for a very long time
 
Convex here also. Yes , scandi's are easier to sharpen , but I find it takes a long time as you're having to remove more material from such a large bevel.
 
I'd have to go with Convexed, you can touch them up very easily, I use the bottom of a coffee cup or sometimes even the leg of my jeans. To sharpen them when they are really dull you can also use different methods such as wet & Dry paper or a stone.

To correctly sharpen a Scandi you need a flat hone ( Diamond or stone ) and you are removing much more material as you take it off the whole angled edge.
 
These things change with time bro. I can remember 2 years ago on this site when I was going under Reverend CPA everyone was talking about scandi grinds, now it seems to be convex is all the rage. Best thing to do is just try them out and see what fits your style, I personally prefer scandi, but thats just because thats what Im used to, Im sure Id like a convex just fine but Id wager either would get the job done fine. There is something to be said for a regular bevel on a blade and being able to run it through a sharpener with the angles already set, they will never get as sharp as a scandi or convex but 3 swipes from a ceramic angled stone and your good to go. Just gotta go with what you like bro.
 
Ya I have a mora now sharpens easy , same with a enzo trapper I used to have was just getting opinions when I can aford to order something nicer. thanks for all the replies
 
WestrnBushcrft said:
The scandi is easier to field sharpen but the convex holds a edge longer...
Click to expand...

Why is the Scandi easier to field sharpen ? How long were you in the field that the knife got so blunt and what did you use to sharpen both blades ?
 
I find it much easier to sharpen and maintain convex edges, but then again it's the first method I learned as a kid.
Every time I attempt to sharpen a Scandi I end up rounding off the edge because as I'm sharpening, my muscle memory dictates convex, lol.
 
Its personal preference, both work great. I like a hollow grind personally, easily sharpened and holds a great edge but the same can be said for all grinds lol

As for edge retention and longevity I would look for a knife made of D2 hard to beat the retention, it just takes time to sharpen it.

Thanks Bill
 
I am a scandi to convex convert. I started with a mora (S) with a handmade maple handle, then a Enzo Trapper(S) with a curly birch and now my carry is a falkniven F1 (C-stainless). I find the F1 easier to sharpen and holds the edge a little longer. Saving for a Bark river Aurora (C) next.

They are all great knives and will get the job done. Its whatever you are comfortable with.
 
IMNSHO...

Learn to use and sharpen both and you will probably end up carrying both. My larger blades tend to all be convex but I always have a scandi knife with me that is a dedicated wood worker.

They are two ends of the continuum called "sharp". On the one end you have a perfect convex otherwise known as "round" (o). On the other end you have an infinitely acute angle (V). All knives fall inside those poles and each applies force to material in a different manner depending on the edge geometry. Which is better a round steel bar that can take more abuse than a human can generate or a flake of obsidian that will cut with the slightest touch?

To me this question is like asking which do you prefer, first or fifth gear? It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

Giuliano is really into his BK-2 which has a convex edge. Often I'll see him working on some project and pass him my reserve Mora. I love to watch his reaction, "Ohhhh, wow that is so much easier!" The point is that if I had passed him the Mora while he was harvesting and batoning down the wood he would have destroyed the scandi edge in short order and never gotten to the carving stage.

In my hands a convex edge is for breaking stuff (harvesting materials, chopping down, chopping up) and a scandi is for making stuff (shaping, fitting, joining). The convex is probably more versatile as it can be set up with a very robust or acute edge depending on what you want it to do.
 
I have scandi knives and have convexed a few of my other blades... However I prefer to sharpen my knives with a standard flat V grind (almost a micro scandi), its how I was taught to sharpen, and that is the sharpening style i learned to use a knife with so its what I use... Its not the newest blingy'est thing out there but it works for me... My knives pass all the super scary sharp knife tests popping para cord, super shaving paper, they will pop hairs off your arm with the slightest touch if you handle then a tad too gingerly your cut... I can just as easily sharpen a convex edge, but in the woods I don't carry the stuff it takes to convex I carry only a fine and course diamond stone with a piece of leather charged with compound glued to the backs of them for a strop... Its light, easy and I m well versed in it... My axes on the other hand, convex all the way... ;-)
 
Pict gave an excellent answer above and I won't try to improve on it. The number of cutting tools to be found for a variety of tasks can be bewildering. I would sure hate to attempt to run our wood or butcher shop using one cutting tool with one grind! "Either/or" options neither work in my indoor shop setting, nor do they work in my outdoor setting of business or recreation.

Using a Scandinavian grind outside of its intended purpose (working with softwoods) quickly becomes a fish out of water. I have used, sharpened, maintained the grind since the early 1960's and wood looked and worked the same then as it does now. It is what it is and will never be as strong as the convex profile which can be ground that way, or forged that way. All blades were convex before the advent of electricity and power tools. So were stone tools, for that matter.

Scandinavian grinds almost sharpen themselves with little assistance. Little can go wrong if the entire grind is whetted to the stone. If the grind is *maintained* through touch-up and stropping, you won't have to go through the long process of abrading and flattening the bevels every time it goes dull. Myself, I like to keep a very fine micro-convex edge on my Scandinavian grinds for a little extra cross section support. This is sometimes the beneficial consequence of just maintaining the grind on a strop.

Many skilled wood carvers out there prefer thin flat-ground blades with convex edges. They sharpen free hand on a flat stone...strop the dickens out of the edge until there are no shoulders that offer cutting resistance. One can also do the same with several grinds to some benefit over the V-bevel.

Though I sharpen and maintain my convex grinds and edges with fine flat stones (I also have a 2" X 72" belt grinder), strops, abrasive papers, and a few other whistles; I was just watching one of Iz Turley's excellent videos where he demonstrates how easy it really is to maintain and sharpen one of his convex blades with abrasive paper and a surface with some give (slack belt results). It just doesn't get any easier for novice or, for the experienced.

Yes, learn to sharpen and maintain every type of tool that you could potentially use in the bush. Go slow, pay attention, practice; you will wonder why you ever had the 'either/or' mindset to begin with.
 
The only blade needed on any knife is a flat grind cantled edge.
There is no reason for anything else to exist.
:)
 
I'm a Scandi guy myself- easy to sharpen, stays super sharp, and in my opinion the best for woodcraft/bushcraft. However if you plan on cutting things that a knife wasn't meant to cut then a convex is a better choice as they carry a stronger edge.
 
It depends on what you are doing. Chopping and batoning, I much prefer convex. More carving, I really prefer the Scandi. If I had to choose only one, it'd be a convex as I find them easier to sharpen, and can carve if needed. If I try to chop with a scandi, it doesn't seem to do that well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top