SCANDI VS SABRE GRIND

M.A.K. by 3DK with a Sabre Grind. Jims Creek Alaska

A lot of our customers and people of the interwebs seem to be very confused about the differences and benefits of a Scandi or Sabre grind on a knife.

We have decided to go over it a little bit to give a better explanation.

A Scandi (Scandinavian) grind is generally a tall single bevel on the knife that when you sharpen it, you sharpen the whole bevel.

Scandi grind rough geometry

A Sabre grind is a little different. Its a two bevel grind. You will first have a single high bevel similar to the Scandi, but closer to the edge it will have a sharper secondary bevel that is then sharpened. The higher bevel is never to be sharpened and is at a shallower angle then a Scandi.

Sabre grind rough geometry

What are the benefits and drawbacks of a Scandi grind?

Scandi grinds have been around for time immemorial. they are simple, robust and easy to maintain. Most people, with a little bit of practice, can easily sharpen a Scandi style grind. The downside is that edge retention(if comparing same steels to each other) can be a little less robust than a Sabre grind. Also, chipping can more easily occur.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of a Sabre grind?

Sabre grinds have also been around for some time. However they are a little more complex. As mentioned above they have a dual bevel setup. The reason for this is that you get a rough, thick edge on the knife before first sharpening and create a secondary bevel with a fine slicing edge. This gives the edge a little more "meat" behind the fine bevel, which helps with chipping and gives a tougher edge. The downside is with extremely fine detail work ( such as wood working) can be ever so slightly more difficult since it's not a single bevel all the way up, taking more effort. One other drawback is that it can be a challenge even for a seasoned person to sharpen these "Wonder Steels" with tools that are readily available. This is partially why we will sharpen them for free, for life. Check out the details on that here .

Why did 3DK go with a Sabre grind if its harder to maintain?

We wanted to create, without parallel, the best purpose built tool we could. Since the Sabre grind gives you that added strength and reduces chances of chipping during extreme use. Our knives are made with "Wonder Steels" like M390, N690, Elmax and K110 which will retain their edge for years of normal use. We have two testers in our shop made from N690 that have booth cleaned at least 9 large game animals each without sharpening. Both will still take the hair off your arm. Overall we found that the Sabre grind was just more robust and up to the punishment our testers put them through.

Let us know in the comments if you have anything you would like us to add to this, or if there is a specific topic you would like either info on or an expert opinion.