Knife Grinds Explained: Flat, Hollow, Convex, Scandi, Chisel and Serrated

Two knives in the same steel with different grinds cut like different tools. The grind is the geometry of the blade — the way it tapers from the spine down to the cutting edge. It controls how the blade separates material, how strong the edge is, and how you will sharpen it.

This is a plain-English walkthrough of every grind you will meet on outdoor, kitchen, hunting and EDC knives.

How to read a grind

Look at the blade end-on. The cross-section tells you everything. A grind has two parts:

1. The primary grind — the big taper from the spine down. This is the "flat", "hollow", "convex" or "Scandi" part of the name.
2. The secondary bevel (edge bevel) — the tiny bevel at the very edge you actually sharpen. Some grinds (Scandi, chisel, zero-convex) skip this and are sharpened on the primary.

Here is a rough ASCII cross-section of the common grinds (spine at the top, edge at the bottom):

FULL FLAT        HOLLOW           SABER FLAT       SCANDI           CONVEX           CHISEL
   |               |                 |                |                |                |
  / \            /   \              /|\               |\             (   )              |\
 /   \          |     |            / | \              | \            (   )              | \
/     \         |     |           /  |  \             |  \           (   )              |  \
\_____/         \_____/           \__|__/             \___\          (___)              |___\

• Full flat — straight from spine to edge with a tiny microbevel.
• Hollow — concave, ground on a wheel.
• Saber flat — flat only from mid-blade down.
• Scandi — like a saber, but zero secondary bevel — you sharpen the whole flat.
• Convex — apple-seed shape, no flat sections at all.
• Chisel — flat on one side, ground only on the other.

Full flat grind

The whole blade is a single flat taper from spine to a small edge bevel. Common on kitchen chef knives, many kukris, and premium EDC folders (Spyderco Paramilitary, Benchmade Bugout).

• Good at: slicing food, general cutting, effortless push cuts. Low drag through material.
• Bad at: batoning and prying — the thin cross-section can flex or chip.
• Sharpen with: whetstone or guided system, holding the small secondary bevel angle.

Hollow grind

Ground on a wheel so the sides are concave. Extremely thin behind the edge. Used on razors, most Buck hunting knives, and lots of production folders.

• Good at: shaving-sharp cuts, skinning game (the concave belly glides), everyday slicing.
• Bad at: hard chopping and any lateral load — the thin edge chips.
• Sharpen with: whetstone or ceramic rod on the edge bevel.

Saber grind (flat)

The primary grind starts partway down the blade — usually around the middle — leaving the upper half full-thickness. Ka-Bars, many military knives, Cold Steel SRK.

• Good at: hard use — the thick spine adds strength for chopping and prying.
• Bad at: food prep or slicing thick material — the "shoulder" where the grind starts causes drag.
• Sharpen with: whetstone on the edge bevel.

Scandi grind

A saber grind with no secondary bevel — the primary grind meets in a "V" at the edge. Moraknivs, Helle, most puukkos.

• Good at: woodworking, feather sticks, controlled push cuts, carving. The flat rides against wood like a chisel.
• Bad at: food prep — the wide bevel wedges instead of slicing tomatoes.
• Sharpen with: flat whetstone, laying the whole bevel on the stone. This is the easiest grind to freehand sharpen because the bevel tells you the angle.

Convex grind

A continuous curve — think apple-seed cross-section — from spine to edge. Fallkniven, Bark River, many axes and traditional bushcraft blades.

• Good at: chopping, batoning, splitting — the curve reinforces the edge and pushes material out of the cut.
• Bad at: super-thin slicing (it wedges a little).
• Sharpen with: a leather strop with polishing compound, or by hand-sanding on a mouse pad. Never grind a convex on a flat whetstone — you will turn it into a flat grind.

Chisel grind

Flat on one side, ground on the other. Traditional Japanese sushi knives (yanagiba, deba), many folding utility knives, box cutters.

• Good at: extremely fine one-sided cuts, sushi, chip carving.
• Bad at: general-purpose work — the blade steers to one side in the cut.
• Sharpen with: whetstone flat on the ground side; a couple of light strokes on the flat side to knock off the burr.

Compound / double bevel

A primary grind (usually flat or saber) with a distinct secondary edge bevel. This is what most premium production knives are. Sharpening = maintaining just the secondary bevel.

Serrated (and part-serrated) edges

Scalloped teeth ground into the edge. The teeth act like tiny saws — they catch fibers, tomato skin, rope and bread crust and slice them under low pressure.

• Good at: rope, seatbelts, bread, tomatoes, roots. Stay usable for a long time after they feel "dull" because the teeth still catch.
• Bad at: clean push cuts, carving, whittling, precise slicing.
• Types:
  • Fully serrated — bread knives, most rescue/dive blades.
  • Combo edge / part-serrated — half plain, half serrated. Common on tactical folders.
• Sharpen with: a tapered round file, ceramic rod, or a Sharpmaker triangle. See the sharpening guide below.

Which grind for which job

Related on Wild10

• Knife steel types
• How to sharpen every knife grind