The grind decides how a knife cuts
Steel and hardness get most of the attention. The grind — the shape of the blade in cross section — often matters more for how a knife actually performs.
Two blades in the same steel at the same hardness, one scandi ground and one full flat, behave completely differently. Here is what separates them.
What a grind is
Look at a blade end-on. The grind is the shape from spine to edge: where the metal starts thinning, how quickly, and in what curve.
That shape determines how much material the blade has to push aside as it cuts, how strong the edge is, and how the knife behaves in different materials.
Scandi grind
The shape: the blade stays full thickness from spine down to a point low on the blade, then a single wide bevel runs straight to the edge. No secondary bevel.
How it cuts: exceptionally well in wood. The wide flat bevel acts as a guide, letting you control depth precisely — it rides on its own bevel through a cut. This is why scandi is the traditional Nordic bushcraft grind.
Strength: very strong edge. There is a lot of steel behind the apex.
Sharpening: the easiest grind to sharpen freehand. Lay the bevel flat on a stone and the angle is set for you — no guesswork.
The trade: poor in food. The thick shoulder wedges rather than slices, and vegetables split ahead of the edge.
Build one for: bushcraft, carving, wood processing, a first outdoor knife.
Full flat grind
The shape: a straight taper from spine to edge across the whole blade face.
How it cuts: the best all-round slicer. There is no shoulder to catch, so the blade keeps thinning as it goes deeper and food falls away from the face rather than sticking.
Strength: less steel behind the edge than a scandi. Fine for cutting, not for prying.
Sharpening: needs a secondary bevel at the edge and a consistent angle. A little more skill than scandi.
The trade: less durable in impact use, and more work to grind — which is why selected full flat models in our range are CNC ground.
Build one for: kitchen knives, hunting knives, any blade where slicing is the job.
Convex grind
The shape: a curved taper, bulging outward, with no distinct bevel lines.
How it cuts: pushes material aside progressively. Excellent for chopping, and the curve stops the blade binding in a deep cut.
Strength: the strongest of the three. The convex curve puts the most steel behind the apex without making the blade thick overall.
Sharpening: hardest to maintain on flat stones. A strop or a slack belt is the traditional method.
Build one for: axes, machetes, heavy choppers.
Hollow grind
The shape: a concave curve, ground on the outside of a wheel.
How it cuts: very thin behind the edge, so extremely keen. This is the razor grind.
Strength: weakest. That thin section chips under impact.
Build one for: razors, skinning knives, blades where nothing matters but the cut.
Comparison
| Grind |
Slicing |
Edge strength |
Ease of sharpening |
Best for |
| Scandi |
Fair |
Very good |
Easiest |
Bushcraft, carving |
| Full flat |
Excellent |
Good |
Moderate |
Kitchen, hunting |
| Convex |
Good |
Excellent |
Hardest |
Chopping, machetes |
| Hollow |
Excellent |
Fair |
Moderate |
Razors, skinning |
Why the grind is not negotiable on a blank
When you buy a heat treated blade blank, the grind is already set. This is worth understanding before you choose.
Regrinding a hardened blade is not a beginner job. It requires a belt grinder, constant cooling to avoid softening the temper, and the ability to keep a bevel straight on steel that fights back. Attempting it by hand with files will not work — a 60 HRC blade is harder than the file.
So choose the grind for the job at the point of purchase. It is the one decision the blank makes for you.
Matching grind to intended use
- Kitchen knife — full flat. Nothing else slices as cleanly.
- Bushcraft knife — scandi. Wood control and easy field sharpening.
- Hunting knife — full flat, or hollow if skinning is the main job.
- Machete or large chopper — convex or a thick flat grind.
- First knife, unsure of use — full flat. The most generally useful of the four.
How ours are ground
Every blade is laser cut in our workshop and hand ground on belt grinders using jigs we made for each profile — so the bevel lands in the same place on the hundredth blade as on the first. Selected full flat models are CNC ground where the geometry demands that level of precision.
The grinding is done before heat treatment, while the steel is still soft. The blades then go to Voestalpine for vacuum hardening and come back to us for finishing and sharpening — which is why the geometry stays exactly as ground, with no scale to remove and no decarburised layer to grind away.
Browse profiles by grind in our blade blank range. For choosing the steel to go with the grind, see blade hardness explained; for kitchen shapes specifically, kitchen knife blade shapes.