by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
A lot of American “survivalists” keep harping on about the superiority of Scandi Grind, a single bevel grind, that they claim Scandinavian knives come with. I hate to ask where they got this from?
I have many a Scandinavian knife; Norwegian handmade, Swedish and Finish, and not a single one of those has this chisel grind, for that is what it is; not one single one. I also happen to be a knifemaker.
The Viking “Seax” may have had such an edge in some examples as may have some carving and whittling knives but the great majority of knives, Scandinavian or other, have not and that with good reason, I should think.
The true Scandinavian (Scnadi) grind, in fact, does have two bevels and not one and thus the single bevel claim is nothing but, as our Australian cousins would say, bull dust.
The single bevel, or chisel, grind (Scandi grind is a misnomer as 99% of all Scandinavian knives are NOT made with that single bevel) is a lazy knifemaker's choice, though it has its uses, especially in carving wooden tools and such.
This single bevel grind, wrongly referred to, rime and again, as Scandi grind, came about predominately by knifemakers (manufacturers) wanting to save time and thus money and, in fact, was probably first used in cheap kitchen knives.
As far as I, as a knifemaker, knife-grinder and knife user, are concerned the erroneously called Scandi grind is not a grind that lends itself well to fine slicing, for instance, or careful skinning, amongst other things.
The single bevel grind, which could also be called a chisel grind, is not a Scandinavian knife grind and thus not a Scandi grind,
All the talk about this single bevel being such a superior grind for a knife is as false as calling it by the name that some have given it. Scandinavian knives, per se, have a simple two bevel grind and that is the best of all grinds.
So, let's cut all the garbage...
© 2012
