So I am really liking the Scandi Grind, but still learning and figuring this out. So figured I would start a thread. Any Scandi grind experts here? Looking for info on how you polish up the blade and sharpen. I get the idea and have nice edges, but trying to figure out how to do the polish on the blade and sharpen after getting out the original grind marks. It is just turning out to be a load more work than I was thinking. Once there it shouldn't be an issue though. Do you mirror polish yours? Pics of Scandi grinds are more than welcome too. Any tips or tricks to make it any simpler are great too.
Scandi Grind
- Thread starter rideon66
- Start date
Scandi was originally used for basic knives for craftsmen, hunters and outdoor people. The tools could be sharpened in the field with an ordinary flat stone. Nothing fancy. The edge is strong with more metal behind it.
I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I have a Morakniv Companion that I use as a camp/hiking knife. Not the kind of knife you bother to polish.
For sharpening I just use the same stones I would normally use for other knives, but the bevel lays flat on the stone. If I was going on an extended camping trip I'd take a small vintage Washita or soft Arkansas.
For sharpening I just use the same stones I would normally use for other knives, but the bevel lays flat on the stone. If I was going on an extended camping trip I'd take a small vintage Washita or soft Arkansas.
Agreed .
They are working knives and easy to sharpen by hand. No worries about angles, just lay the edge flat on the stone.
No need to mirror polish them.
I find them difficult to sharpen for some reason. As far as polishing the only way I’ve been able to get a good polish so far is with finger stones.
- Thread starter
- #6
OK so I don't have an issue getting it sharp. I find that part not very difficult. The original grind marks after the first sharpening bothered me because they were no longer consistent. After some use and the issue I metion in the last paragraph here I used the SG7 25u to get rid of them. Then onto the BBW and regular Coti. The edge was really nice, but the bevel being large on a large scandi grind was mirror in spots and a smeared kasumi mix. So I am just trying to figure out how to make it more consistent really and also end with the edge like it is now. I should mention it is much easier on my Japanese knifes to get what I want as the steel is softer. This particular blade is 66 HRC UHC. I recently went to the Turkey stone which worked really well. I think it even cut better than the SG7 stone on that hard of steel as did the coticule.
The polish keeps getting closer to what I want. So I then tried a rather dark Tam O Shanter I have last night and it did a great job too. I thin it just might take a lot more work than I thought to get there due to the hardness of this steel. I have a nice Okudo Suita on the way I might try out on it and see. Maybe then Uchigumori and some finger stones like David said. I could probably do it with sand paper and metal polish too. Problem is like mentioned above not worth doing the mirror polish on I think. As once used again all that time is wasted and once you hit the lower grit stones again it is not worth it either.
I should mention the biggest reason I started messing with this all again has to do with the steel itself. Being that hard even with Roselli special steel and heat treating process it is a little more prone to chipping on hard objects, but gets really sharp and holds that much longer than their lower High carbon steel. So it is a trade off really. I was setting up a fire in the pit and while doing some shaving on a stick I hit a hard knot and put a very small chip on the edge. I didn't even see it till I saw a pic of it and then it was visible to the eye. I needed a loupe to see otherwise. It was still screaming sharp and probably didn't need it, but I couldn't let it go. I tried to see if I could grind out on a work sharp Ken Onoin edition, but after looking at it and thinking about it the way the grinder works you can't really do a scandi grind on it. At least not well or in a nice way and would be convex not flat as a scandi should be.
The polish keeps getting closer to what I want. So I then tried a rather dark Tam O Shanter I have last night and it did a great job too. I thin it just might take a lot more work than I thought to get there due to the hardness of this steel. I have a nice Okudo Suita on the way I might try out on it and see. Maybe then Uchigumori and some finger stones like David said. I could probably do it with sand paper and metal polish too. Problem is like mentioned above not worth doing the mirror polish on I think. As once used again all that time is wasted and once you hit the lower grit stones again it is not worth it either.
I should mention the biggest reason I started messing with this all again has to do with the steel itself. Being that hard even with Roselli special steel and heat treating process it is a little more prone to chipping on hard objects, but gets really sharp and holds that much longer than their lower High carbon steel. So it is a trade off really. I was setting up a fire in the pit and while doing some shaving on a stick I hit a hard knot and put a very small chip on the edge. I didn't even see it till I saw a pic of it and then it was visible to the eye. I needed a loupe to see otherwise. It was still screaming sharp and probably didn't need it, but I couldn't let it go. I tried to see if I could grind out on a work sharp Ken Onoin edition, but after looking at it and thinking about it the way the grinder works you can't really do a scandi grind on it. At least not well or in a nice way and would be convex not flat as a scandi should be.
- Thread starter
- #7
So after looking at the two blades it has more to do with the steel hardness I think, but there is a huge surface area difference too. The smaller one is the normal HCS and around the 60-62 HRC while the one I am having issues with is the 66HRC. The normal was easy to get the right polish and remove the grind marks easily without being full mirror.
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