Shaping the Blade

A sweeping plunge is a style of grind that curves gently from the knife’s edge (nearest the handle) toward the tip of the blade. It’s often the mark of an experienced knife maker as a clean, [...]

The plunge line is the line where the grind begins and is usually accompanied by a sharpening choil, though not always. The plunge line can be transitioned into the blade in a gentle, curved [...]

The Ricasso is the thick, unsharpened section of the blade, closest to the handle. Leaving it there can make sharpening easier as you don’t have to fiddle around and precision sharpen as you get [...]

The swedge is a faux second edge opposite the cutting edge, extending from the tip 1/3 to 1/2 the way toward the handle. It is mostly used decoratively, as the swedge is rarely sharpened.

Jimping is the process of using files to grind notches into the spine of your blade. The notches can help with thumb grip for particular uses. That said, most practical-use knives will not have [...]

The bevel or grind of a knife refers to the profile of the blade and how its ground to produce its cutting edge. Most blades will have a primary bevel and a smaller secondary bevel at the cutting [...]

A hollow grind is a way to grind your blade so that the bevels curve inward (concave) to meet at a point. This makes for an extremely sharp knife, but very fragile edge at the same time. It’s a [...]