Common types of Grinds

1. Hollow Grind- A knife blade which has been ground to create a characteristic concave, beveled edge along the cutting edge of the knife.

2. Flat Grind- The edge tapers from the top of the bevel from both sides. This is only done by hand and is thus more difficult to grind, one factor that limits its commercial use. This creates a more durable edge than a machine produced hollow ground edge.  A true, flat ground knife having only a single bevel is somewhat of a rarity.

3. Chisel Grind- As on a chisel, only one side is ground (often at an edge angle of about 20 – 30°) while the other remains flat all the way to the spine. Many Japanese culinary knives tend to be chisel ground. A chisel grind has only a single edge angle. Knives which are chisel ground come in left and right-handed varieties, depending upon which side is ground.

4. Roll Grind- Rather than tapering with straight lines to the edge, the taper is curved, though in the opposite manner to a hollow grind. Such a shape keeps a lot of metal behind the edge making for a stronger edge while still allowing a good degree of sharpness. This grind is mainly used on cleavers and axes. As the angle of the taper is constantly changing this type of grind requires a high degree of skill to reproduce.  Roll ground blades usually need to be made from thicker stock than other blades.

It is possible to combine grinds or produce other variations. For example, some blades may be hollow ground and then be flat ground at the edge.  This is a common method we use at Carisolo Inc. for commericial stock.  However personal knives and forged knives will never be hollow ground unless by written request.