Hollow Ground Blades

Hollow ground blades, also known as hollow grind blades have concave, bevelled edges. These knives are sharpened in various ways to cater to different requirements, but the primary design is not entirely modified. The name ‘hollow’ is used because the knife has vertical indentations, evenly spaced out of the thickness of the blade. The slope of the edges is reduced significantly to make it sharper. Due to the sharp edges, the cutting ability is enhanced notably. It can be used for shallow, deep cuts because the swiftness of the blade is increased when the edges are made thinner. The handle of a hollow ground knife is a little longer than medium length because it makes it easier to skin the flesh or simply, have a sharp blade which can be used on a slant surface. To further explain the above statement, cutting pressure is significantly reduced when the angle is not straight, i.e. sloping in a particular direction. To be able to cut with the same intensity, a sharper blade is required. Hollow ground knives have the thinnest blades, which makes it the perfect tool for such uses.

How to make a hollow ground knife?

When a wheel is used to sharpen the edges of the knife, a hollow ground blade is created. As already defined above, the edges of a hollow ground blade have lesser material than the centre. They have a sloping edge with indentations at regular intervals. Different wheel diameters are used to create different hollow ground knives. Uses

• For razors for shaving purposes
• Slicing purposes
• Skinning purposes
• Food preparation
• Axes

Advantages

• Extremely sharp and lethal
• Convenient to use because of the enhanced cutting ability
• Easy maintenance

Disadvantages

• Less durable than other knives
• Have a weak edge

Inference This does not mean that only hollow ground knives have the perfect cutting ability because of the sharp edges; rather, a less preferred weapon for survival situations, as the thin blade may break off while using it to kill prey or making a tool in the wilderness if need be.