Grind preference

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I'm not sure I mind too much on profile, as long as it performs well. Though, I must say, I do not like flat grinds. I do prefer some sort of food release. I think the easiest for me to maintain is an S grind though. Yeah, while you thin the bevel, the geometry will change slightly, but by the time you get to the bottom of the hollow, the knife is short enough to be a suji.
 
How's this for tapper?

IMG_20191015_204843.jpg
 
Convex grind, distal taper and very thin behind the edge works best for me. I do like an s grind, like takedas too.
 
Never limit myself to one type of bevel. KU Watanabe grind very assem. Sweet. Kochi is another fine cutter. Iike thick spines KU, hammer, nashiji. Chiseled kanji. Tanaka nashiji one of best tall grinds at the price. Like the swept back heel he is putting on the nashiji blades lately.

Much as I lust after some of the thick spine customs, have used less expensive Japanese knives of this type that work well. The older all carbon Takedas look good & cut well with that slightly hollow grind middle.

Flat grind lazers are a plus for lots of jobs in a pro kitchen. When working head gardemanger could not do without them. At home a small very thin flat ground ku Carter gets small prep duties. It is carbon knife my better be likes to use small light ,& very sharp. A good grind is just that. Some Chinese cleavers have nice grinds thick spine tapering all the edge. Many Western bone cleavers have garbage grinds. thick steel with a V grind on the bottom. For all the good grinds there is a lot of crap out there.
 
My photo skills suck, it looks unbelievable in person. It is one of the knives @Andrei made for me. His grinding skills are on a different level.

I had a very old sabatier that was super thin that's why many of the vintage sab's are worn away at the front of blade after years of use.

I can imagine how thin that knife is that you have.
 
Not sure why you heard that, I really like linear taper.

There are so many types that it would be a while to describe taper in detail. Similar to grinds, there's liner, convex, concave, stepped... and any mix of the above.
It plays a important role in the balance and food release of the knife, as well as possibly adding more comfort to the grip area.

Maybe I should start a new thread on the topic, it's often misunderstood.
zi6jGie.png
I would personally love to hear more about this. Seems like one of the dark arts of knife making. Often whispered about but ill understood...
 
How do you differentiate scandi from wide bevel, aren't they the same thing?

Well Kinda, I classify Wide Bevel to be approx 1/4 - 1/2 the blade /// and Scandi Grind to be less than 1/4 of the blade.
Flat Grind --- Eg. Zkramer
High flat grind (wide bevel) ---- EG - fujiyama
V-Grind (Scandi Grind) --- EG - Moritaka


all-knife-grinds.jpg
 
Well Kinda, I classify Wide Bevel to be approx 1/4 - 1/2 the blade /// and Scandi Grind to be less than 1/4 of the blade.
Flat Grind --- Eg. Zkramer
High flat grind (wide bevel) ---- EG - fujiyama
V-Grind (Scandi Grind) --- EG - Moritaka


all-knife-grinds.jpg
Aha, I see, you are classifying them by the fraction of the blade they occupy. As good of a distinction as any. I am more in agreement with @Matus they are all wide bevel to me, scandi, high flat in your pic, v-grind, etc. As long as they are wider enough than regular very narrow grind and more narrow than full flat they are wide bevel.

By the way even puukko have various grind heights anywhere from 1/4 to 3/4 even though 1/3-1/2 seem to be the most common.
 
so a Heiji is a v-grind?
To me Heiji, Catcheside, Some Raquins, etc are all wide bevel. v-grind is a "special" case of wide bevel, but I think using more gradations just causes confusion. If you would sharpen it as a wide bevel, it is wide bevel. Just my opinion ofcourse.
 
@Kippington I'm definitely looking forward to your further thoughts on this topic. I've pondered the idea of taper relating to blade width with intent to maintain a particular level or progression in flex, viewing the knife as a cantilevered beam, but that may be both esoteric and misguided.

Regarding wide bevels, one distinction that is with considering - perhaps not as a new classification, but maybe as an attribute - is whether the hira is tapered/beveled.

See this thread: https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/three-workhorse-knives-heiji-kochi-and-watanabe.27744/ and contrast the Heiji against the Kochi & Wat.

I don't have experience to say what sort of difference this makes in knife performance, but I'd like to know.
 
I'd like to hear thoughts on what makes a great distal taper. My understanding is that linear taper is generally not desired (?)
@Kippington I'm definitely looking forward to your further thoughts on this topic.
Would love to read that when you have time to post.
I would personally love to hear more about this. Seems like one of the dark arts of knife making. Often whispered about but ill understood...
Sweet, there seems to be enough interest. I'll start working on a write-up.
 
Show us more please! Looks like a lot of detail work there

No problem :)

Distal taper on the Spine 8 to 0,6mm, but more important 1cm above the edge from 2,2 to 0,6mm, so the first half is laserlike, the last 1/3 with good wedging and FR, but the edge there also flexing on the fingernail.

Made to cut fast large amounts with a good clean cutting surface on fruit or vegetables.

37015023yo.jpg


37015024zf.jpg


37015026az.jpg


37015027dy.jpg


37015028po.jpg


37015029bn.jpg


37015030lh.jpg


Regards

Uwe
 
No problem :)

Distal taper on the Spine 8 to 0,6mm, but more important 1cm above the edge from 2,2 to 0,6mm, so the first half is laserlike, the last 1/3 with good wedging and FR, but the edge there also flexing on the fingernail.

Made to cut fast large amounts with a good clean cutting surface on fruit or vegetables.

37015023yo.jpg


37015024zf.jpg


37015026az.jpg


37015027dy.jpg


37015028po.jpg


37015029bn.jpg


37015030lh.jpg


Regards

Uwe

Nuts
 
No problem :)

Distal taper on the Spine 8 to 0,6mm, but more important 1cm above the edge from 2,2 to 0,6mm, so the first half is laserlike, the last 1/3 with good wedging and FR, but the edge there also flexing on the fingernail.

Made to cut fast large amounts with a good clean cutting surface on fruit or vegetables.

37015023yo.jpg


37015024zf.jpg


37015026az.jpg


37015027dy.jpg


37015028po.jpg


37015029bn.jpg


37015030lh.jpg


Regards

Uwe
Those are pretty knives
 
Love the grind on the Konosuke MM. Nice and thin behind the edge. Even when it's dull it cuts fairly well. Still feels like a sturdy knife though.
 
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