Hey everyone, David C. Andersen here coming at you from the knife Center. Welcome to KniFAQ
number 54. The knife series where I answer all your questions, whether they're sharp or dull.
This week talking about a few things including what grinds should you choose for your EDC knife
where some of the best AXIS Lock out there that aren't actually access locks and the importance
on choosing the right steel for the job at hand. Let's get into it. (KniFAQ) Alright, thank you,
everyone, as always for your questions. And if you want a chance to have one of your questions
featured in a future episode, the comment section down below is where you'll just drop
those. And even if we don't get a chance to answer it on air, I do have a lot of fun combing
through those questions. First question today comes from Jonathan brutes. What would you say
is the best grind for EDC? Alright, let's get right into it. So when we talk about EDC,
obviously everybody's everyday carry varies based on what they actually need to encounter.
But we tend to think of the EDC term as a little more general for like a broad spectrum of people
and for most people out there, what you really need is just a you know, smaller to medium size
knife that slices pretty well. And as such the things the best suited grinds for that are going
to be hollow grinds and full flat or high flat grinds in general. There's only one piece of the
puzzle though, that you want to look at. We'll start talking about hollow grinds first
transition in that and then I'll get into what I mean by the other things you want to look for.
This right here is a WE Kitefin KnifeCenter exclusive for about 140 bucks if you're
interested and it has a hollow grind which is essentially a concave carve out from the cross
section of the steel. And the advantage of that is you have an edge or a blade geometry behind
the edge that gets very thin and stays pretty thin behind the edge a fair a fair amount up of
the blades so to speak. One of the advantages you get from that steel beyond just having a
thin blade or thin geometry behind the edge is over time it as you sharpen it more and more,
it's going to stay thinner behind the edge over time which is pretty nice contrast to something
like a full flat grind like on this Spyderco and dela right here. It's a flat plane in this case
it's a full flat grind because it goes all the way up to the spine. And as you sharpen that the
wedge behind or the metal behind the edge is going to get gradually thicker over time, you
know there's things you can do to kind of counteract that you can you know shave away the
shoulders as you go if you if you ever get to that point. Now because of that some people tend
to prefer a hollow grind for just the longevity sake in this day and age especially if you get
something like this which has a HAP 40 blade steel itself something with a really high edge
retention, it's not something you're going to be sharpening as much so it's going to be a pretty
long time before you actually encounter any difficulty there. But like I said the grind
itself is only one of the things you have to look at. Another important thing is the actual
blade thickness as well because that's especially on a full flat grind that's going to
very heavily affect how it's going to perform over time. Both of these right out of the box
are going to be pretty good slicers which is pretty nice, fairly efficient, not something
that's to to wedge like you know if you know you don't you wouldn't really most people I think
wouldn't want to EDC a Scandi grind. But here's an example of why just saying Oh, get a full
flat grind. It's not the it's only one part of the picture this year, this se four which I have
on the table for something else later. You can see it has a full flat grind but it is a much
thicker blade steel than this Adela right here. So just saying oh full flats, gonna slice better
not always the case because you have to look at those other things as well. Just keep those in
mind but generally, flats and hollows very, very adaptable and very easy to use and very
appropriate for most people's EDC.
All right. Speaking of Scandi grinds. Next question comes from Vans world is there a steel
that lends themselves well to a Scandinavian grind? And why is it so difficult to find a
Scandi folder? I love how easy it is to sharpen a Scandi the quicker and easier it is to sharpen
the more likely I am to do it often enough. any hints? Yes, I do have a few. So we just kind of
touched on why you don't see too many Scandi folders is for most folks. The folder is going
to be just an EDC, everyday item and Scandis aren't necessarily the best slicers they're very
good at stuff like woodwork. So you're going to see it more often in like a camping and outdoor
scenario and those people are going to be more likely. I'm one of them to carry a fixed blade.
Rather than a folder so that's why you don't see too many there's some out there you know the
Cold Steel often wolf series is great tops makes a few castrum I've got a custom fixed blade
here, but in terms of what Steel's lend themselves well to the application here we go
I've got a Scandi grind right here. This is an LT Wright Gen five, rather than having you know
that full flat plane from the spine all the way down and then the secondary bevel at the edge a
Scandi grind is essentially a short flat grind with no secondary bevel you can kind of think of
it a little more like a chisel than an actual knife grind and that's why it tends to work
really well on stuff like wood. Now the edge itself. Well let's back up let's talk about
this. This flat ground knife right here I think from the factory Spyderco shoots for about an 18
degree bevel on each side of the sharpened edge. 20 degrees is about a kind of a standard
sharpening metric out there. When you have a Scandi grind that angle is going to be typically
closer or something like 12 degrees per side. So that edge itself is going to be much narrower,
much more acute on a Scandi grind than on something else. And when you get really acute
edges, the toughness of the steel becomes much more important because that thinner edge is
going to be easier to deform. So that extra toughness is going to be needed to resist that.
as such. Tough Steel's the a two on this blade is a great it's a carbon steel. Most carbon
steels tend to be tougher than most stainless steels, which is why it's a lot of carbon
steels, on Scandi grinds in general, there are stainless options However, this castrum right
here uses Sandvik 14 c 28 n. This is one of their number 10 models. That particular
stainless steel has a really tight grain structure and is pretty darn tough. So it is
also a good choice for a Scandi grind. Just in general that's that's the rule of thumb
essentially stick to the tougher steels. You know, I wouldn't really want like an s 110 v.
Scandi grind knife out there. I just have a feeling it'd be way too brittle and would chip
out way too easily. So stick to the tough stuff and you'll be good to go. Unless you're looking
for a challenge.
I mean, if you want to, like self serate your your Scandi grind, they might be a good choice.
All right, well, anyway, Robert summers with the next question asks,
in your opinion, what is the best AXIS Lock style knife for EDC that's not made by Benchmade
price range from 50 to $200. Quite a range there. I have several Benchmade's and I love the
AXIS Lock. But I'd like to add something similar. That's not a Benchmade to the
collection. Sure thing. Obviously Benchmade's AXIS Lock is kind of the you know, it's the
benchmark crossbar lock that everyone out there now that their patent has, you know, opened up.
Everyone's shooting for for the big dogs, and there's some good stuff. I'll start with a SOG
the terminus XR, this is the LTE version right here comes in about 140 bucks, as 35 vn blade
carbon fiber handles carbon fiber liners as well which is pretty interesting. They have a really
nice take on the crossbar lock, they call it their XR lock. One of the things that you're
going to find with a sock that you're not going to be able to find in the Benchmade lineup at
least not anymore is a crossbar lock with a flipper tab traditionally has been pretty hard
to do because it you know it's not like on a frame lock knife tuning a detent just right,
since you have that sliding bar that actually contacts the Tang of the knife complicates
things a little bit and Benchmade had some knives out there that did it and they've since
discontinued it. So this is the way to get a flipper if you want with a crossbar lock. The
other cool thing they do is the way they shape the Tang of the blade as you move that lock bar
back when you go to open it it's actually starting to push that blade out just a little
bit pretty cool touch. Really good knife really good pattern here. I will say though my favorite
non non Benchmade crossbar lock has to go to Home however, I've got two knives here a SIG k
320 and a Hogue Deka here the SIG is made by Hogue both of these particular ones KnifeCenter
exclusives. The reason I say Hogue is out of the box without fail every single one I've ever
picked out, handled, flipped the lock 100% smooth, buttery action every time Benchmade does
a good job but sometimes they're out of the box I will say there can be a little hit or miss
they might need a little bit of breaking in. Now I own a ton of Benchmade AXIS Lock I have never
had one of their AXIS Lock knives, not break in and get to that point where they're they're
flipping completely smooth and every time and they're just oh so sweet hugs out of the box
every single time. rock solid and ready to go. But as for the These two knives themselves. The
Deka is often mentioned as a bug out competitor. So if you've got that frame of reference from
your Benchmade collection really nice price on this particular one with the black coating is
about 149 but we've got the clip point and the modified wharncliffe in both black and stonewash
which is about 140 with the cool red Gmascus g 10. handles. Nice action like I mentioned, not a
deep carry pocket clip like the bug out but just a really cool knife. High flat grind not a full
flat but again really thin blade geometry here we talked about that earlier. So this is going
to be a very, very slicey knife. As for the K 320 right here. prices on these are pretty good
Made in America both of these guys this is about 119 right now stonewashed s 30 v blade polymer
handles in a way very much a Griptilian competitor very similar size they're not quite
as much length on the handle because they've kind of done it so you get a little bit of a
finger choil there for choking up if you want again, buttery smooth action tip down carry if
you want it you don't see that very often at all. When it comes to crossbar locks. I think
the only other ones I can think of Benchmade has their SOCP flipper or folder I think and they
make hope makes one for h&k as well that does the same thing. The exemplar I think, really
cool knives overall really affordable or really attainable prices, not at not a cheap knife for
a premium USA made product. Alright, next question comes from Simon Gabrielson. Hi, is
there any good folding skinning knives out there? I'm looking for a large traditional
slipjoint or lock back and it has to have a thin blade Best regards. Sure thing. So when you talk
about folding, skinning knives, I mean the thing that comes to when you can't talk about folding
skinny knives and have the word traditional in their in your sentence, which I'm going to make
sure to focus on, I mean, the Buck 110 comes immediately to mind it's almost not worth
mentioning. Not the thinnest blade out there, but
it does have a hollow grind. It's going to work pretty well. But because you said traditional I
had some other things in mind, like the the Spyderco stretch, but that's not traditional,
but that's a good thin bladed lockback knife. But how about something that blends the
traditional slip joint styling and a traditional lock black styling into something case copper
lock, not a huge knife. I mean it's about a you know, three and a quarter inch, three and a half
inch blade. somewhere in that range. I actually haven't measured it decently priced. This one's
a little more expensive. This is one of the fancier ones about 83 bucks part of their pocket
worn series with the jig bone handles, but you get styling like a slip joint, you get a very
thin blade which you tend to get on a lot of traditional slip joints full flat grind on this
guy very slightly and you get the security of a lock back made in the USA to boot. Really nice
little knives there's a miniature version but you did say large and this may not quite be
large enough for you. But I still think is going to be a really really good option. All right now
we come to the lightning round for today. First question from Willie McCabe. This is in response
to a question last week where I said you know, we're kind of put down clones like you don't
want to buy a clone knife says sorry DCA but your comment about clone knives is way off the
mark. Not all of us can afford high dollar knives and he goes on but I'm going to stop it
there. Because this is a sentence sentiment that also really bugs me. I can't afford everything I
want either but that doesn't mean I'm entitled to it. Full stop. Thanks so much. Dustin Ewing
with the next question is what is your opinion on 1095 versus 1095 Cro-Van. I've experienced
sts 1095 and I love it. It can be sharpened beyond razor sharp and it's super tough. How
does the 1095 cro-van differ? Yes se does a great job with their 1095 they're kind of
recognized in the industry as having a rock solid 1095 heat treatment they just do a really
good job. And that's thanks to Rowan manufacturing actually builds these knives for
ESEE 1095 cv or 1095 cro-van you see it on a lot of Ka-bars. This is a Ka-bar BK 16 or sorry a
Becker bK 16 right here made by Ka-Bar. And I'll skip to the end basically first the difference
in use, you're not going to be able to tell the difference honestly in use. The CV is chromium
and vanadium. There's small elements of that in this particular steel. It doesn't really change
the characteristics of the steel in use any appreciable amount. It's mainly there to help in
the heat treatment. It helps with grain refinements and repeatability makes it a little
bit easier for the mass marketing or the the mass production environment to heat treated well
every single time. But when it comes down to choosing between the two knives, don't let the
steal of one or the other sway you. They're both going to be great. base your decision on which
knife you like best in this particular case. I guess that was a little less of a lightning
round answer that could have been in the standard regular section. Was par for the course
of how we've been treating lightning round. I gotta get better at that. Chris Reuter asks,
would you ever go on forged in fire? No. That was quick. Getting longer. Reason being I have
absolutely no blacksmithing experience, which is what that shows about. So I wouldn't last much
past the initial interview anyway, so no, I wouldn't go on forged in fire. Chris Cairns
asked, hey DCA, I've been looking for a Spyderco shaman, but I've had no luck finding one what
could you recommend as a substitute under the $150 mark. I like to handle ergonomics blade
shape and the action love the videos Keep it up. Thanks. That said K 320. I've mentioned this a
little bit before but because the shaman has been so hard to find for a while now just
because of production bottlenecks, etc. A lot of folks have been asking, go for the drop point
version, not the tanto version, but it's actually especially at just over 100 bucks like
or under 120. Pretty good, pretty good alternative to that particular knife. Which
brings us to our most serious question of the day from TPH victims. Can I use a machete or a
double bit axe as a concealed neck knife? Depends on how big your neck is my friend or
it's not double bit but I do have this. This Rmj Bumblebee mini Tomahawk and it is a neck knife
comes with a chain right there you go. So yes, maybe ask him to make a double bit someday and
maybe they'll hook you up. That is it for our questions today. Again, as always, if you have a
question you want answered in a future episode, leave it down below and maybe we'll be able to
pick it in said future episode.
If you want to get your hands on any of these knives we'll leave links as always in the
description to take you over to KnifeCenter.com make sure you sign up for our knife rewards
program so that at least you earn some free money to spend on your next knife when you buy
one of these knives today. I'm David C. Andersen from the KnifeCenter signing off, see you next
time.