single or double bevel for small knife blades?

[Ken S]

I came upon a recommendation to sharpen pocket knife blades with a single (one sided) bevel instead of the usual double bevel.  Some of my woodworking library is still in moving boxes.  I can't find the source, however, I believe it may have been Leonard Lee's VHS (not his book).  I would appreciate it if anyone having the VHS or DVD would check this for me.

The single bevel would seem logical to me.  It would be both easier to sharpen and the lines would more easily hug against a straightedge.

Any thoughts?

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

At first thought, Ken, it seems that the ability to cut along the edge of a straight edge, something that's done quite a bit in carpentry and craft work of all kinds, would benefit from a single bevel.

Of course then you'd have left-handed and right-handed knives, just like you do with scissors.

The only draw back I see is that to attain the same edge angle, you'd have to sharpen at half the bevel angle.  Shouldn't be a problem with  a Tormek and the right jig.   

[Elden]

I did a little online looking. Didn't really find much. Apparently there were a few made with a single bevel.
Emerson was mentioned. I haven't heard of that manufacturer for knives.

The following was a kind of interesting discussion in regard to single bevel knives.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?165897-Small-knife-with-single-bevel

Seems to me, just try it and see what you think.

[Jeff Farris]

Grafting knives are sharpened with a single bevel. Also, marking knives, used in hand cut dovetails. For a general purpose knife, I can't see an advantage.

[Mike Fairleigh]

http://www.candlepowerforums.com

Oh no, another torch-a-holic. 

For a general purpose knife, I would think the results of a single bevel would range from "no different" to "I hate this" depending on how the knife is used and in what materials.  For thru-cuts, it may make the knife wander.

[Elden]

Actually, it was brought up by a Google search for  "single bevel pocket knife." Maybe someday.    Recently, been checking out Tormek Users group.

[Jeff Farris]

Oh, those pesky technical terms.

A Scandinavian grind is beveled on both sides of the blade, but there is only one bevel (on each side) running from roughly the middle of the blade to the cutting edge. This as opposed to a typical blade the tapers from the spine to the bevel, and then has a secondary bevel that creates the edge or a blade that has a parallel spine, with a faster taper to the bevel and then the edge bevel.

Look at "Mora" knives for good examples of Scandinavian grind. They're popular in Scandinavian countries for general purpose work, hunting knives and carving knives.

I think of a "single bevel" as a knife that is shaped like a chisel....beveled on one side and flat on the other. That's what a marking knife or grafting knife looks like.

[Elden]

Interesting. So a Scandinavian grind sounds like it might be a little more blunt or at least have less clearance. I 'll have to do more looking. Yes, the terminology can leave me bewildered!

[Jeff Farris]

It's a very long bevel...10º per side..I think. Very nice carving blades, because you have a long bevel to ride in controlling your cut. The blades are typically laminated, similar to Japanese chisels, with a harder center sandwiched between softer supporting plates.

[Elden]

Did a little checking on Mora Knives, found this picture (first).

Edit:Second picture added 09/19/2017. This picture is somewhat similar to the original however is photo from Japan, I believe.

Thats a pretty good sized grinding wheel that he is using!

[Rhino]

The stone is in good shape with a lot of wear left.  However, he lost the water trough, the universal support, the leather honing wheel and all the accessories.  It looks like an older model without the horizontal universal support and without the quick release shaft. I wouldn't pay more than $200 for it. 

[Rob]

LOL  My planar knives would reduce it to half that size in a single sharpening :-)

[Herman Trivilino]

And it looks like he's invented some kind of an inverted version of the HK-50!   

[Rob]

haha oh yeah...with the jig on the top

[Elden]

Rob, I believe that you got that wrong. I think you meant half of your planer blades would be gone before 100 RPM passed!