BLADE Magazine

Editor’s Note: This article is by both Abe Elias (arguing for the Scandi) and James Morgan Ayres (taking the opposite view). It is excerpted from the April 2019 issue of BLADE.

What Is A Scandi Grind?

A Scandi grind carries a single bevel that runs to zero degrees. In other words, it is a single grind only.

Unlike many other grinds, the Scandi runs to the edge with no angle change in what is also known as a zero grind. Scandi grinds have a flat section of the blade that starts at the top of the bevel and runs to the spine.

Anything else is simply not a Scandi. People have tried to create a variety of variations with names like modified Scandi or Scandi vex. In actuality, there are no variations of the Scandi because such “variations” usually are other grinds that already exist.

Why The Scandi Is The Best Grind For Bushcraft Knives

Perfect wood geometry: The Scandi excels at bushcraft chores because its geometry is perfect for working with wood.

Zero grind: The fact the Scandi is ground to zero allows the edge to be as thin as possible with no change in angle. Changes in angle create extra friction. Hence, the Scandi grind meets with the least resistance possible when it enters the cutting medium.

Inertia is your friend: Another benefit of a Scandi grind is that you can achieve a thin edge and, unlike with a full flat grind, you maintain the blade weight of a saber grind. Having that bit of extra spine weight increases your ability to drive the edge forward.

Parting is such sweet sorrow: As the blade enters the cutting medium, it meets the transition point where the bevel changes to the flat. This benefit is one of the reasons why the knife can dive deep into a cut and take off huge potato-chip-like shavings.

Why The Scandi Is NOT The Best Grind For Bushcraft Knives

Geometry: The intersecting planes of the Scandi grind create a wedge. A wedge is useful for shallow woodcraft on soft woods, such as making fuzz sticks or carving spoons, and for batoning soft woods. However, the wedge creates too much resistance and drags and hangs up in deep cuts, especially in hard woods.

Not ideal for food prep: That wedge also struggles with any dense or tough material, including root vegetables, which crack rather than split, and, importantly, on meat. Try butchering any large game with a Scandi grind and you’ll quickly learn why butchers and hunting guides do not use Scandi-ground blades.

Goodbye, steel: The Scandi grind is also said to be easier to sharpen because the blade provides a guide. But, if the user follows the instructions of the advocates of Scandi, he must remove a great deal of steel, which requires hundreds of strokes on the stone. With a modicum of skill other grinds are faster and easier to sharpen.

There is a better alternative: The smooth, slim, oval profile of the convex grind offers less resistance to materials, is superior to the Scandi on all points and will do everything better.

Verdict

If your bushcraft knife needs are limited to working with wood, you’ll find a Scandi grind will help you work fast and effectively.

For tasks beyond that, you’ll likely find a convex grind is the better match.

What About The Best Knife Books?

The best books about knives are at BLADE‘s official online store, ShopBlade.com.

Without a doubt, he was one of the best custom knifemakers to ever pursue the art. He gave information, expertise and precious time freely to those who wanted to learn. He was a crack shot, spitting in death’s eye during the Korean War and walking out of literal hell to fight another day.

BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® member George Herron was many things to many people, and they will never forget the positive impact he had on their lives. The South Carolina resident was a fixture among the finest in the custom knife business for years, a winner of many awards, president of the Knifemakers’ Guild, founder of the South Carolina Association of Knifemakers and genuine friend to those he held close.

‘A Great Human Being’

“George Herron wasn’t just a great custom knifemaker,” began Bobby Branton, a custom maker who knew Herron and collected his knives for many years, “he was a great human being and a great person. You didn’t have to make knives for him to have an interest in you.”

Branton met George and his wonderful wife, affectionately known by the many who know her as “Miss Barbara,” when he was “bitten by the knife bug” and wanted to buy a few of the great maker’s knives.

“I started out as a collector and wanted to buy some John Nelson Cooper knives from a lady in a shop and found out from her that there were a number of South Carolina makers out there,” he recalled.

In his early days as a knifemaker, Branton bought the leading books on the topic by Sid Latham and David Boye. He noticed photos of some of Herron’s knives in Latham’s book and traveled to Herron’s home in Aiken and later Springfield, South Carolina.

“I called ahead of time and asked if I could stop by,” Bobby said. “I bought two knives with all the money I had. We looked around the shop and he was getting ready to go to a show. We went inside and he pulled a big deerskin off the table like a matador, and his inventory was sitting there.”

After Bobby made his first knife, he returned to Herron’s home to get a review of the effort.

“He said, ‘That’s nice, but if you’re going to make a knife, make a knife,’” Branton smiled. “He gave me tips and mentored me.”

A Custom Knifemaker Who Gave Back

George did the same for many would be custom makers who came calling. Custom maker Wayne Hendrix worked for him in the 1980s and learned to make custom knives from the master.

“He was a heck of a teacher,” Wayne said. “I tell you right now, if I went out there and picked a maker to work for, I couldn’t have picked a better one in terms of making working knives. His designs were simple and his knives were functional. He was a very intelligent man and he had common sense to go along with it. You don’t necessarily see someone with both that often.”

At the time he started working in the shop, Wayne indicated George was considered one of the world’s top five custom makers. Herron built a reputation of outstanding quality for a fair price, and part of his legacy is that his knives were affordably priced. He sold them by the thousands.

Wayne grew close to George, not just in the knife shop but in other aspects of life as well.

“I hunted with him and painted the inside of his house after they moved to Springfield,” he smiled. “It was super cold that winter, and he had an enclosed two-car garage where we set up his shop. We were a lot alike but he was a lot smarter than I am, and I consider him to be my second daddy. I couldn’t have picked a better maker to apprentice under, and I’m still riding George Herron’s coattails.”

The Secret To The Legacy

In an era when knifemakers looked to pricing of individual units as a barometer of their profitability, George was different. He never forgot that working people needed affordable knives.

“One time a committee of Guild members came to his table,” Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer and past BLADE publisher and editor Bruce Voyles remembered, “and they told him that he was selling his knives too cheap. He said, with a few words that I can’t repeat, that he would make and sell knives the way he wanted and they could do the same. Now, George sold most of his knives for $150 to $300, and most of those have doubled or tripled in value. None of the guys on that committee could say that their knives have done that.”

Voyles lighted up describing Herron as “a man’s man, gracious, courteous, or mean as he needed to be in a given situation.”

Perhaps the best tribute anyone could provide to the life and legacy of the great George Herron was Voyles’ effort to be at the only place on Earth he wanted to be when his friend passed away.

“We were in New Orleans at Mardi Gras,” Bruce commented. “On Fat Tuesday morning the telephone rang, and it was Bobby Branton telling me that Mr. George was gone. We loaded up and went home right then so we could attend the funeral in South Carolina. There are very few people I would have done that for.”

Such an effort proves one thing for sure. George Herron, larger than life, remains with those who knew him in undiminished spirit.

Meet Your Knifemaking Heroes At BLADE Show 2019

The world’s largest knife show takes place this June in Atlanta. Learn more here.