Automated Transcript
The Knife Junkie Podcast (317)
Some Amazing Hollow Grinds

Welcome to the Knife Junkie podcast.
The place for blade lovers to learn about knives and hear from the makers, manufacturers and reviewers that make the knife world go round.
I'm Bob DeMarco and coming up a new out the front from Prometheus Design works, a couple of oldies but goodies in the state of the collection and 10 amazing hollow grinds.

Announcer:
Welcome to the Knife Junkie podcast.
Your weekly dose of knife news and information about knives and knife collecting.
Here's your host Bob the knife Junkie de Marco.

Bob DeMarco
Welcome back to the show, my favorite comment from this past week was from Ty and this was a comment on Thursday night Knives that that didn't go up live, but it it it seems to be a sign of things.

00:52
This is what I was reading from this Thursday night knives the the topic of conversation that night was is the Holy Knife, Trinity still valid?
That is Strider Chris.
Reeve knives and.
Hinderer are they the three best knives still for the hard use?
Modern Tacticals losing all respect for hinderer knives, says Ty with his latest BS involving cease and desist letters and lawyers over well known issues that the brand has been having since at least the time I started collecting them a year ago.
I will not be buying anymore unless his attitude changes.
It's completely unacceptable.

01:29
Strider is a total con artist, grifter and valor thief, and Chris Reeve Knives makes just overpriced knives that I don't care.
4. And my only comment for that is boy.
Things are really changing around here.
We had some pretty interesting ideas of what the new triumvirates are, and we'll get to that.
But first a pocket check.
Today I've been carrying the off Grid Enforcer XL.
This knife here.

01:56
Ohhh, these this is my little triumvirate.
I'm moving this knife.
Here is a an absolute beast.
OK, so this is my.
New version of it.
This was sent to me by off grid knives by carry over there.
Great guy by the way.

02:12
We do have an affiliate link which will roll up here in a second but this knife is the new version of what I have always called my car knife.
It's a big four inch yes I'll say it.
Reverse tanto blade here with a very robust handle and a glass breaker.
That's why I keep one in my car.
The one I keep in my car is in D2.
This is a new version.
This is limited edition.

02:33
It's called the Red Dawn edition.
And you can see why you can see those strands of red running all the way through that G10.
Really beautiful and also named after one of my favorite movies from the 80s, Red Dawn, where a bunch of teenagers have to defend their hometown.
And in fact their home country from the Ruskies who are invading great movie.
They redid it with Thor wasn't as good and it was the North Koreans invading.
So the first one rings true to me.
This knife here really in 154. M is is the perfect expression of this knife as far as I'm concerned.

03:11
Big and hard use.
You want a tough blade.
Steel like 154 CM.
That keeps a great edge.
Takes a great edge, is easy to sharpen but is tough and that's what you want from a big bruiser like this.
That's why that's another reason why I keep it in the car.
Obviously for the glass breaker, but this knife in hand has very great texture and is just big and with gloves on you can really get a good grip on it if you needed this in emergency in an emergency that you might come across whilst.

03:41
In your car, in your truck, whatever camping anywhere you are and you forget and you need a knife.
This is a outstanding one and I've just been really enjoying carrying it because one more thing before I move on from this, the original version has really rough texture.
I mean, the diamond knurling is it comes to sharp points in each little diamond nub here on the new version of the Excel and of the smaller EDC version of this.
They've knocked down the peaks of those diamonds, so that's not gonna shred your pants as much and it's gonna feel more comfortable in hand.
So I love this thing.
It is the off grid knives, Excel enforcer Red Dawn Limited edition.
You must check it out.

04:26
OK, next one.
No.
Great surprise, I've been carrying in my front left pocket in the nice little leather pocket sheet that comes with it.
The Jack Wolf Knives laid back Jack.
This is the second release from Jack Wolf Knives.
And a man Ben over there.
Ben Belkin is just killing it.

04:46
He's killing it.
He's got six models already produced, releasing 1 per month between April and I guess November.
And this is the second release and it happens to be my favorite so far.
I love the gun stock Jack, the first one that came out the sharpshooter, but I have a soft soft spot in my heart for the sway back Jack with that beautiful.
Thorncliff Blade and I really like how he refined the design.
He took a a lot of the sway out of the back and I appreciate that.
I I find some sway backs handles are a little bit too curved up.

05:23
This is perfection and so is that M 390 full height hollow ground blade.
It is a slicer and what a great little utility tip you have there.
Look at this look at the size difference here.
That's that's some contrast.
OK, so to round it out and to show the ultimate contrast is the fixed blade of the day and today I was carrying my prized Kramer custom knives of voodoo.
Eric Kramer, a sort of a legend in the small fixed blade self defense knife world made this and man I love this thing.
So I ordered this from him after he came on the show.

06:08
Actually I ordered it from him right after we stopped recording.
I'm I'm so in love with this and many others of his knives I, but this is my favorite for sure.
He calls it a Persian.
I call it a clip point, but hey, you know he made it so he gets to decide.
So a an upswept Persian blade meant for business.
This is meant for self defense.
It's very thin in the in the handle department.

06:35
And rounded and big enough to get a forefinger grip even if your hands are larger than mine.
But this is a really excellent blade for just stashing on your person.
You can see here if if you can see here on this scale.
This is the scale that sits against my body.
Yesterday I took a hike with this and you can see how something my card out that was touching my skin is darker.
This was below the kydex and so this is the kind of thing I love about my Carta this this patina.
This natural patina.

07:06
Uh, very thin slicey hollow grind that is the theme of the day.
We're talking about hollow grinds and this one does have a nice thin slicey hollow grind.
And then I asked him to sharpen the swedge and of course the swedge comes to a very oblique point.
So and then when you put an edge on that it's not a slicing edge.
It's a gouging, tearing, slashing edge.
Or just an edge to make that very tip more diamond like and easier for for thrusting maneuvers.
So I love this knife.

07:37
Great great excellent.
Fixed blade that you can carry on your person all the time.
That's a 3 1/2 inch blade, and that's also a good utility blade, though with that sharpened top swedge maybe some of the utility is is removed now as I as I remove my pocket check knives I'm going to close the laid back Jack in front of the mic so you can hear the walk and talk.
Got to open it again and close it.
Thank you Ben.
Thank you Ben for making such awesome slip joint knives.
Modernly interpret interpretated.

08:13
OK interpretated sorry sorry dad.
If my dad's listening he's like what did I?
What did I do spending money on this kid's education?
You let me know.
Called the listener line 724-466-4487 and let me know what you were carrying today.
Let me know what your favorite knives are lately.
I love these kind of comments.

08:33
I love getting the ideas from from you all for.
Instance, it seems apparent that I need to get a shaman in my life at some point.
I still haven't, but this is something that people tell me I need.
There are some others, the beluga, et cetera, et cetera.
So I do a lot of talking about knives.
You talk to me about knives, tell me what I should be checking out.
OK, so we are coming up on the 3rd Thursday of the month and that means it's giveaway time.

09:03
On Thursday night knives.
Tomorrow night.
Our gentleman junkie knife giveaway.
This is the last time you'll see me showing this off.
I'll keep it brief because I've been showing it a lot.
This is the shieldon boa.
Comes in a nice Cordura sheath if that's your thing, but in case it's not, it has a pocket clip.

09:23
This is a really cool Tonto clip point tanto that's what I'm calling it.
It is a clip point tanto because you see that clip up the front but then look at the edge.
That's a long Americanized tanto.
This was a donation to the channel.
By Dave of this old sword.
Blade reviews for this very purpose to give away and we're proud to do so.
Though this is one that has been sitting on my.

09:48
Not my knife shelf which I have for knives and on lone etcetera knives.
I'm gonna give away and this is one that has received a little bit of attention from me because it's so unique but very utilitarian like I love the I have not used it or not but I love this right here to me, that secondary Tonto edge up up front just looks like it has a million in one uses.
I love the way it looks to, you know that's very important to me with the contour G10 scales multi layered.
With what is that sort of ochre, Gray and green and black?
Something like that.
Very camo and very beautiful, so this will be the giveaway knife tomorrow.
And this, by the way, is in.

10:37
Oh D2 steel D2 steel on bearings.
Shielding knives.
It's a new brand and man they are killing it.
I look forward to seeing.
Hopefully they do some OEM work for some of the talented new designers coming up because I think the quality of their of their knives that are coming out under their own shingle are really really good.
This is the the third Third Shield and I was going to say shingles third shieldon we've had come through here so stay tuned tomorrow night Thursday night.
I've.

11:06
For the giveaway of that shield and Boa, the quickest way to go over there is to go to the knife junkie.com/patreon or you can scan the QR code right over here that Jim handily put up on screen.
I think that's cool.
Modern age, you know, scan the QR code or just go to the knife junkie.com/patreon see what you have to offer.
Again, that's the knife.
Junkie.com/patreon the Get Upside app is your way to get cash back on your gas purchases.
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Put on your smartphone and whenever you need to get gas, search your area for savings.

11:40
Claim your discount.
Fill up your tank and then take a picture of the receipt with your phone and that's it.
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Visit the knife junkie.com/save on gas to get the app and start saving again.
That's the knife.
Junkie.com/save on gas.
Our friends over at Prometheus Design Works have an impressive new knife out.

12:04
Now.
I think they're excuse me.
I think their work is really cool.
I especially like their use of Taraval Antium, that's that.
Dendritic, cobalt alloy that they use on some of their knives.
That's completely corrosion resistant.
I think innovations like that are cool.

12:21
I think proprietary materials are interesting and add a little mystique to knives.
I'm not crazy about proprietary hardware.
Gotta say, but everything else proprietary I like so Prometheus is coming out with an out the front that is just man.
It is very appealing.
I have to admit it's the most appealing.
Besides that shoot knife they came out with the AT something something.
This knife is the most appealing on a visual level to me this is the crystallization of all of their little design signatures all into one knife and it happens to be.

13:00
A really cool tactical out the front Bowie and I'm loving it.
It's called the Audax and I'm getting more and more excited about automatic knives as we come towards as we slowly move towards July 1st which is the date in my state where I get to walk around with automatic knives.
Very thrilled about that and this.
This is another one that's on the list for possible acquisitions so that I can walk around well equipped when I start taking advantage of that new law, we have the spy and mounted slide with a glow in the dark dot, which is cool.
That's that's a titanium slide.
We have M390 blade steel, you know which we've all come to to know and trust.
And and contoured aluminum with all of the fluting and contouring.

13:50
And profiling that you expect from Prometheus, Prometheus Design works.
I am excited about this for a couple of reasons.
A It's just a great new out the front.
I I we don't see enough clip point out the front I believe and it is a unique look.
I have a couple of out the fronts from from micro tech that I love but they have issues and and some of they're a little bit older and I'm I have not branched out in in the OTFT world to discover new and great and I know there are a bunch outside of micro tech I've been watching it.
Happened, but since for so long I couldn't carry them here.
I kind of put them on the back burner, but now I'll get to experience all these OTA's and the new kind of way and this one is especially exciting to me and it will also mark when I get this.

14:43
It will also mark the first Prometheus Design Works knife in my collection so looking forward to this.
Also looking forward to seeing if they use that.
Terra Avantium and and and other.
Material changes.
Should be very cool.
That's the odd X out the front from Prometheus design works.
Thank you Prometheus.

15:05
Alright Next up is very underwhelming news from 0 tolerance and that is that the 022 a $200 two inch bladed knife that came out in 2019. They're now coming out with it with a copper show scale.
Yeah, so you'll.
You'll note the stink in my voice, but zero tolerance has really let me down, and maybe they've let you down too.
They really had a good thing going.
Really making some robust well engineered knives right here in America, maybe?
Maybe it was no longer worth their shekel to do so, but they've really slacked in the past couple of years.
They've come out with the 308 and and I I don't mean to sound like a spoiled Westerner here, but let's just let's just let's keep the logic internal.

15:53
They started with a reputation for ultra hard use, robust designs coming from some top designers and makers.
And.
They just started petering out and now it the releases are far and few between and and are few and far between and oftentimes just overdone and not appealing and, and to me this zero to two.
This was kind of they came out with this, I believe when they came out with a 308 kind of gun themed and such.
And I was shocked at how much they were charging for this tiny little knife.
And and now after you know a marked silence, they come out with hey, we got some good news.
We're putting a copper scale on the 022. To me, it's kind of like this is the kind of news you bring out with other better and more interesting news.

16:45
Uh, but hey, you know I'm not here to just, you know, criticize and be a critic.
I I have a a small prized collection of ZT.
I've got five that I've kept in the collection that I that I love.
They're they're the collaborations with Sinkovich and Emerson and Onion, but he did some.
They did some collaborations with with less, less George and and others.
So they do have a great past.
I really I'm rooting for ZTI.

17:13
I really hope they come back with some force because we need it.
We need it, frankly, uh, we've got all of these incredible Chinese makers like Shieldon and Riyadh and Sevi.
And you name it.
And we're kind of getting buried here we we could use a ZT to come back so anyway, if it interests you and if you like the little 022 from ZT as as maybe a a placeholder an appetizer until they come out with something interesting again.
Check it out.
They got copper skills alright still to come on.
The Knife Junkie podcast.

17:49
We're gonna take a look at at 2 oldies but goodies that didn't quite make the 10 amazing hollow grinds list because they are.
One of them, well, they're hard to get.
I guess all that and more right here on the Knife Junkie podcast.
Do you use terms like handle the blade ratio walk and talk, hair pop and sharp or tank like?
Then you are a dork and a knife junkie.
OK, so we're gonna be talking about hollow grinds today and I wanted to stick to.
The like the the deepest, most most hollow ground hollow grinds that I have here and that I think represent a good spread of the market.

18:36
However, there are a couple that I wanted to show off in the state of the collection here that deserve mentioning, but don't don't quite make it into the list for one reason or another.
The first one is the Strider.
SMF Strider came up in the comments earlier when I talked about my favorite comment of the week and.
If you don't know Mick Strider is.
Was a guy who was embroiled in some controversy early on but somehow got a pass.
I'm not sure why.
I guess, maybe it's because he makes a very popular knife.

19:10
Knives in the Strider knives, but he he's known for.
I guess saying he was a Navy SEAL when he really wasn't.
Or let's just say I don't know if seal was the thing, but inflating his military record, you know, beyond beyond the deserved and so people, people never looked kindly on that.
Hence the comment, grifter, et cetera.
And now the reason I liked that as a comment is because it's showing how things have shifted when.
Luxury knives were were starting to become a thing.
Luxury folders were starting to become a thing.

19:45
Luxury production folders, tactical, high end, hard use folders.
The Holy Trinity was hinderer Chris Reeve, Knives, and Strider and things have changed people.
People have moved on and not that these aren't still prized and respected, but so much more has happened in knives.
I've heard, uh, grimsmo, Shira, Gorov, and Koenig is the new track.
You know, a lot of people have their new triumvirates, but I still believe that Strider, despite any personal things I'm I'm able to look past the personal when it comes to art and artwork and design in this case and production.
If it's good stuff, and I still think Strider is good stuff, so I don't really care about Mick.
Strider love to have him on the show, but I don't think he would come on so.

20:34
The Strider SMF SMF that's the big one you can tell because of the three screws on the top as opposed to the SNG.
Is A is a knife that I've had.
I had the Lego version.
I got rid of it.
It had a very wedge like flat grind.
I got rid of it for a number of reasons.
The ergonomics were poor.

20:55
The lockup was bad.
I could never get rid of the lock stick and the cutting was the cutting edge was oblique.
So I ended up getting rid of that.
I got this one later.
This is a concealed carry, a CC version, meaning it's thin and it's contoured when you look at it in cross section there so it fits in the pocket in the hand.
Much easier than that blocky Lego edition and then this one has a hollow grind.
That's what I was so excited about with this one.

21:24
It's got a hollow grind and the guy I got it from, that's Terrell Todd Zelretch 42 of Todd knife and tool he.
He put a a wicked edge on it so so it's backed up there and it's hollow ground so that turns the Strider, which was basically a folding axe.
At least the one I had into a proper usable slicing knife, and I I credit that hollow grind so very nice hollow grind on this for a big thick ***.
I mean, look at that thing.
It is a thick chunk of steel, but thanks to that hollow grind it gets to a pretty decent behind the edge measurement.
Especially with that tall wicked edge on there.
So that's that's the first one.

22:10
The second one is a. I know that this gentleman who made this knife that's Douglas Esposito of attention to detail.
I know he's a. He's knows Mick Strider from back in the day, and this guy's a marine.
And I know he took some influence from Strider knives.
This is a very early mark, one large mark, one from attention to detail Mercantile.
It says before he went to bearings and before he had his detent dialed in.
And all that.
But I still love this knife and prize it, and I bought it.

22:45
From him, right after we had him on a on a town hall and he showed this one off.
And this this huge micarta natural micarta inlay on both sides done with a panograph is perfect.
And now you know he's moved on.
He has C&C and is just doing crazy textures on his handles and making these beautiful mark one models and he has a couple of other models now, just beautifully done.
But this early model I I really like.
It's got, it's got, uh, none of the refinement of the new ones.
But all of the charm and the good looks and this hollow grind is just extreme so.

23:29
Somewhat thin blade stock you're saying?
What's the measurement?
I'm saying I don't know.
I don't have my calipers, but a thin ish blade stock but with a very broad that's a like an inch in.
A little bit more than an inch and a half broad and more than an inch of that is hollow ground and it comes to a sickening behind the edge.
Thinness, which makes this an extremely sharp and slicey knife.
When I was at Blade show last year, I got a chance to check out a bunch of his other knives and hit.

24:01
His grinding is just.
Is is incredible and he can get that hollow grind very very thin and and the point of that is slicing and utility slicing for cutting sake.
When it comes to.
Utility, but it's not just.
It's not just slicy, it also gives the blade a long life, especially if you have a nice cutting sharpening choil here.
Now here with that plunge grind he comes right up against the edge.
You could sharpen that and move that edge up a bit.

24:34
And since it's so thin it would still be nice and slicy, but that's what you're looking for.
You're looking for that, that hollow ground blade, but also how it how it interacts with that plunge grind on this.
I would say that plunge grind could move.
Back further, if I were to, you know, nitpick, and that would give you even more life on that hollow grind.
Just love the hollow ground blades and you know I talk a lot about aesthetics here and how things look.
Just reason artist uh, anyway part of the hollow grind thing is the looks I gotta say, ever since I laid eyes on the cold steel master tanto with that thin hollow grind I was like Oh my God, it's like a straight razor with a point.
I love it.

25:22
So yeah, the hollow grind is is not only a very useful thing to have, you know you don't want it if you're batoning through wood, but for pretty much everything else if you need something that's going to cut.
And cut really well hollow grinds just do an amazing job.
These two oldies but goodies did not quite make the list the A 2D.
This is an older version and they're they're quite expensive.
His knives are expensive and then same thing with stryders.
They're hard to get and and for a hollow grind this is still pretty thick, but in this case the hollow grind rescues the entire blade in in my humble opinion.
So those two oldies but goodies.

26:03
I was looking through the rest of my collection at.
At the hollow grinds and there are fewer than I was expecting, and I think that's because it's easier to in a factory flat grind both sides of a blade as you have moved through.
A A grinder I think.
Speculation yet again.
But that's OK, alright.
Next up, let's talk about these ten amazing hollow grinds now.
We go from super hard to find or expensive to very available and.

26:40
Close to superior, let's just say close to and that is the sevi astacus.
Now I'm using the astacus as a. Proxy for basically all the savvy holograms and there are not all equal.
Some hollow grinds are thinner than others from.
The service, but they seem to specialize in it and.
Excuse me of the hollow grinds, I have experienced from them this.
This astacus is by far the thinnest it is.
It is incredibly, incredibly thin, and if you can see it's very apparently hollow ground.

27:19
Sometimes you have to take a ruler, or sometimes I have to take a ruler and and put it up against the edge like this, and then see does it fit exactly, or is there a scoop now with the sevis you never need to do that?
You can, you can tell just by looking at them, and then when you get your hands on them and feel they are.
Exquisitely, deeply done, and this one, I think this is the sharpest one or the the thinnest one I've ever experienced.
I did have the.
What is that the dogma which is actually now sitting on Jim's desk?
So maybe he could chime in at some point, but that thing is also ridiculously sharp and 11 great way to tell about how thin a hollow grind is besides just pinching it and feeling it with your fingers.
But this I love this.

28:07
I'm going to put this up to the mic.
There's just a certain sound.
It sounds thin, you know it, just it just sounds like it's ready to ready to cut.
So first one here is I'm going to say all the Sev Hollow grinds.
But the example I'm using is the best one I've ever personally used and experienced and that is on the astacus.
This is a great knife.
The Aztecas is and you can get it.

28:35
It can be had for inexpensive.
And you can also get it for expensive with damasteel, but all these different handle materials including wood including the more like handle covers including wood, all sorts of different G 10s and my Carta.
So check out the astacus.
It's a big knife, but it's it's one you're going to love all right Next up this one maybe shouldn't be on the list because this is a Gen one.
Oh wait, whoops, I'm out of order.
I'm out of order.
I'm going to go to this one next.

29:08
This is the.
Umnumzaan from Chris Reeve knives.
And now again this is sort of a stand in for the omnem the sebenza which have very thin hollow grinds.
Now I understand that the.
What what was it called?
The other one, the empanda?
There's a third.

29:33
Boy, it's on the tip of my tongue.
Leave it in the comments below, but the third that looks a lot like these.
And is, you know, is in the same size range as the umnumzaan and the sebenza.
I know you're screaming at, you're screaming at it, you're at your speakers right now or your computer.
But it has a less thin hollow grind that other one I'm talking about because it's meant to be a little bit more of a robust tool than the other two.
I don't know if that's true or not.
I have no personal experience, but I do with this and the sebenza and and such such nice deep hollow grinds.

30:10
I was.
Going back and forth between whether I would show off this or my sebenza 21 I'm I have to specify it's a 21. It's not a 31. It's a 21 and they do have very very thin blades.
I couldn't tell which one was thinner so I decided I'd trot this one out to have a little more Tonto representation in this in this lineup.
And we do know that Tonto representation is important here, and so this one very thin behind the edge very takes great advantage of that hollow grind.
And then.
That sharpening choil so you can sharpen this up a an eighth of an inch or so and you'll still have something quite thin behind the cutting edge to slip through material.
One sort of problem you might come into in into contact with with the hologram we're actually, we'll take a look at that on the next knife.

31:05
I won't mention that here, but yeah, the the the Idaho made.
Hollow ground Chris Reeve knives awesome awesome I'm.
I am curious to get my hands on a 31 and see how it see how it compares.
I do know that Chris Reeve knives is now run by Tim Reeve, Chris's son and I would like to see like to feel.
And I mean in a more.
I'd like to feel the difference between the 31 and the 21 I have picked up the 31 I I played with it at Blade Show, but I mean to have him pocket to own to live with.
So maybe maybe this is something I have to do all right.

31:44
Next up is 1. This is problematic as the kids say because for two reasons.
It's a Gen one and is no longer hollow ground in the generations after that, and then we'll talk about the other thing in the second.
So this is the AD 10 from cold steel knives.
OK, so this is the production version of the Demco Classic.
Custom 8010 and by all accounts cold Steel did an amazing job.
Let's put the ruler there.
You can see this is very hollow ground very deeply.

32:21
Very deeply hollow ground here.
I kind of wish cold steel didn't change to the flat grind on this.
I don't know how many they made, but this was the first release and and they got it wickedly thin behind the edge now.
My question is, did they change it because they thought, well, the 8010 is supposed to be a super hard use knife, which it is?
It's got the triad lock, it's got very comfortable.
Ergonomics Control G10 and you know just.
Great protection for your hands forward and aft.

32:56
I guess I could see why they'd want to go flat ground.
Maybe.
Maybe this hollow grind wasn't enough material on the blade for how people were using it.
It's fine for me and I've used this a little bit in the back 40. That's 40 feet by 40 feet.
Ladies and gentlemen, 40 yards by 40 yards.
But it it?
It does work well I I don't know if I need the the flat right now.

33:22
Maybe they also changed it for this reason deeply hollow ground but thick blade stock.
So when you reach the shoulder of that grind on the cut.
It might hang up there now.
This one does have the benefit of having a pretty high hollow grind, so the transition into that shoulder isn't as abrupt as.
As as like say, the Spyderco Yojimbo or something like that.
But so I'm wondering if that's why they made that change.
Plus some people get it in their minds that they should use their folders for batoning kindling and such.

33:59
And maybe it was just getting a lot of that.
I mean, you're kind of asking for it when you come out with the strongest luck ever, you know and market yourself as that people are going to go crazy on them.
So maybe really that hollow grind didn't make sense for something that they're advertising, as, as you know, hard, hard use, look at that hollow grind though.
Look at the light if you can't see this, the light.
Is dancing across the hollow grind on the 8010 Umm just a great knife and a beautiful beautiful blade?
That's S 35 VN by the way right?
Yeah S 35 VN.

34:33
Blade steel you may have heard of also on this knife and.
This is the Riat K2 and.
Just this adds something OK, so the hollow grind?
Yes, very very very thin.
The blade extremely sharp, but what is unique about this is how beautifully done it how, how beautiful it looks.
So that is a hollow grind on the long straight of that blade.
I'll try and get the light to dance on it so you can see it.

35:06
And then of course the tip of that Americanized tanto is flat.
But the the grinder satin that they get on these blades is stunning.
Look at that.
Look at the grind lines on that.
Just gorgeous so you have the all of the utility benefit of this very thin hollow grind here and then.
Also the robust puncturing capability of the flat grind up front.
But then you also have that beautiful grinder satin to look at.

35:38
I could look at that all day.
That's one of the things about riat that I just.
You know, I I think really nudges them to the to the top of the heap.
I know a lot of people like to to.
To rank the the OEM's from China and I I do too and I still place Riyadh at the top for reasons like that.
I like Riyadh, I like rich.
I like you know for their for their machining capabilities.

36:07
I like best tech because they make some of my favorite OEM knives and and and a great variety of them very well but.
This thing, this thing and and and Riyadh in their hollow grinds?
They're they're just stunning.
Alright, so enough about that.
That's the K2 now I really, really have gotten to the point where I am not interested in tanto blades that don't have a hollow straight part.
I had the civic brazen, tanto great knife.
Really great knife, quite quite a thin flat grind, but still a flat grind.

36:47
I want to see this transition here.
I want to see on a tanto I want to see the transition from this flat up front to that hollow.
You'll get that curved line there.
That's what I always want to see.
That curve represents that hollow grind.
It reveals that hollow grind.
It looks cool.

37:07
It also the the extremity of the curve.
Shows the depth of the hollow grind and to me that is.
That's what I want to see on every Americanized tanto.
Is that OK?
Next up is from an American OEM.
That's right, an American OEM.
We talked to them here on the show Josiah De Mill of Millet knives.

37:29
Came on a couple of times.
Great guy and Millet knives.
Really doing yeoman's work out there trying to figure out how to make an American OEM work, and so father and son came from.
Chris Reeve knives and started their own.
Company making knives and machining parts and such, and this was one that was designed by TJ TJ Schwartz.
And was distributed by drop produced by Millet, and this is the Perpetua.
It went away, it went away and I was lucky enough to score this one because a great listener and friend of the show, Mr Falado, donated it to the channel.

38:11
That means gave it to me and I really appreciate it.
He sent me a box and knives to check out last year some beautiful winklers and other cool knives and this was in it and he said, I know you like this thing, it's yours.
And having it I I really I think it is the I'm gonna say it.
I think it's the griptilian killer.
What did he say?
I really do.
It's it's got a great drop point hollow grind.

38:39
What do you call this blade?
Sheepsfoot it's got a sheepsfoot hollow grind and very very very effective cutter.
Very thin hollow grind.
You might run into that shoulder issue with this one only because it's a half height hollow grind.
I have not, but I'm not sure what you're doing with your knives so I have not run into that.
This is a great utility knife.
This thing has awesome ergonomics.

39:08
It came in a it came in this green and Gray that hollow.
Drop point Nitro V and and an excellent axis style bar lock.
Also nice clip.
Not not deep carry, but.
You don't always need deep carry A or I don't and B on a smaller knife.
I prefer a clip mounted like this because this swells in my palm so it fits perfectly in my hand like that.
Whereas if you have a loop over deep carry pocket clip, it's more on a smaller handle.

39:45
It's it's hitting my hand right on the edge and not as comfortable.
I love the way this thing looks as well as how it works and how it cuts.
A little bit more weight relief on the inside might do, but they did a pretty thorough job it.
It does feel a little weighty this knife by by today's standards and this is a knife that was made maybe two years three years ago.
They stopped making it, but look at that look at that hollow grind.
Look at that sharpening choil you you get some life out of out of this one.
The Perpetua Ohh, by the way, that's a TJ Schwartz, maker Mark makers mark, very cool knife.

40:25
I hope they bring this one back out.
Josiah indicated that they were going to be making more of those, and I'd love to see it.
I'd really love to see it.
OK, so Next up is one that you've seen a lot.
This is the Jack Wolf Knives sharpshooter Jack.
Now I chose this one over the.
Let me get my fingerprints off of it, chose this over the laid back Jack because it's got a taller blade and a signature of these Jack Wolf knives is a full height hollow grind.

41:00
I love saying that it's a hollow grind that goes from starts, super, super duper thin, down here at the cutting edge and then goes all the way to the spine.
There is no flat on the blade except the Ricasso area.
No flat on the blade.
Also beautiful grinder satin.
Just a stunning stunning knife and.
I I cannot, I cannot get across to you how thin they get these knives.
I mean this here.

41:30
Ohh, maybe I can we put it up to the mic.
Can you hear that?
Maybe, maybe not sounds then to me, but very very, very thin and then this triangular sharpening notch here.
Is perfect, perfectly done for a long, long life.
Now this is M390 blades deal.
You will probably not be using this to the point where you sharpen it all the way up that sharpening notch, but you could.
You could you could sharpen that and move that edge all the way up to the top of that sharpening notch and it's still going to be a thin slicer, so this this is amazing and.

42:13
Here so we see it here too on the laid back Jack.
It's just that I feature this one here because of how tall that blade is.
Now from my angle, I'm going to see if I can get this in the camera from my angle.
If I look at the grind lines here, let's see if you look at the grind lines, you can see how dramatic.
That you can see how dramatic that hollow is, how deep that hollow grind goes.
Just a just a a thing of beauty of course.
And then just a wonderful wonderful utility knife cutter and let me tell you what I think about.

42:53
Since you asked, let me tell you what I think about super steels on small knives.
I think super steels on small knives are the most appropriate places for the small for the Super steels because.
Chances are you're walking around with this in your pocket, and then maybe you're walking around with this in your pocket and more often than not, this will be the appropriate cutting tool due to who's around you, what you're doing, what you're cutting, so you're going to be using your small EDC
more than your big you know tactical knife or big EDC carry.
Therefore, you're gonna be using it more.
You want a a blade steel that you're not gonna have to constantly sharpen.
And with this with with M390 or or 20 CV or these kind of blade steals.

43:40
With the kind of work you're going to be doing with that little utility EDC folder, you're not going to need to sharpen that thing.
So if it comes with a great, you know you might drop it now and again, but if it comes with a great edge on a great steel.
And you're using it to remove thread or open boxes or open mail.
Chances are you're not going to have to put a new edge on that thing, ever.
You'll just keep it up with stropping.
At least that's my philosophy.
What do you think?

44:09
Maybe some people are like Bob?
I actually use my knives.
I have to sharpen them frequently and and in that case, I still think that that super steels are more appropriate on small knives because you'll still have to sharpen those small knives less.
Alright, enough about that.
Next is a one of those big knives I was talking about.
This thing has an awesome hollow grind.
This is the production version of my absolute grail knife.

44:38
This is the boker squirrel designed by I have a feeling it was originally called the Squal.
I think.
I think when you buy a Charles Marlow custom knife, this is Charles Charles Marlow knife design.
If you buy a Charles Marlow, if you're lucky enough if you get struck by lightning and you happen to get.
One of his custom knives.
I think it's called the squal, not the squirrel, but anyway, this is the Boker squel.
I will say it looks like an Italian racing boat to me.

45:07
It's just got incredible style, just a beautiful, beautiful, intrinsically beautiful thing.
You don't have to even know it's a knife to know.
It's a beautiful thing, but it has this recurve blade is just.
Incredibly thin and hollow ground.
So to me this is like a yes I said in Italian racing boat.
It's also a classy Assassin's knife to me because it's got that.
Or maybe it's that classy guy who who works the the illegal knife fighting gambling circuit and you can only use folders and this is what he uses because it's got that great.

45:47
Puncturing point there with this hollow ground swedge that meets that hollow ground main edge it looks like essentially it's like a dagger up front and then this recurve blade so great at slashing but also for cutting.
You know you you could mangle some cardboard with this for sure.
Constantly feeding the cardboard into this.
To that recurve on a push cut this is this.
Would make a great utility knife too but it brings up different fantasy to me so this really really thin behind the edge.
Hollow Grind is also accompanied by a great sharpening choil.
Look at where the plunge grind is all the way back here.

46:27
That means you can.
You can sharpen this thing.
A bit higher and still get a wicked behind the edge or or wicked sharp knife because it is thin behind that edge.
It does thicken up a little bit right here, so you might end up taking that off.
In in subsequent sharpenings, this is VG 10. I haven't really had to put a an edge on it, I don't.
I haven't really used it much.
I have carried it a bit because it's just so appealing and it's a nearly four inch blade.

47:01
This is.
This is such a great knife.
Boker makes really good knives, I think when I when Booker came on my radar, they were suffering some quality control issues and and I think that that stink stuck for a little while in my mind.
But I realized the brokers.
I have and I have about five I think are really really outstanding.
Excellent builds.
OK, Next up I mentioned earlier I mentioned the Yojimbo.

47:29
This is the Yojimbo.
Also a great hollow grind on this.
If you look at it maybe you can't see it right now, but it's a little less than half height hollow grind, so it's a pretty.
Pretty deep hollow grind.
Pretty steep it.
It reminds me a little bit just a little bit in concept of how the Medford knives are sharp.
You got a big giant slab like on my pretorian that I once had was a giant ridiculous blade slab of steel and then at the very bottom a super aggressive deep hollow grind.

48:06
Now that is the perfect example of where it's super sharp and super super duper sharp.
And and thin at the edge, but so quickly and abruptly flares out that you're going to hit the shoulders when you're trying to cut cardboard with something like that.
With this you get a little bit of that, but but much less.
I mean much less.
It is a thick blade stock though.
And you want that for this, the intended purpose of this is as a slasher thruster.
You know this is a a self defense tactical style knife, so you, you don't necessarily.

48:46
You're not thinking about cutting cardboard with this, or you're not so concerned about about that shoulder.
You're more concerned about something that is going to cut no matter what.
It's so thin it's going to cut basically anything if you slash at it hard enough and then up at the tip.
No swedge to keep it.
A little bit stout.
I mean, you know on these knives on this.
Yo jumbo and on the Yojimbo 2. It's so I mean, those tips are so dainty that you do have to be careful.

49:16
I did drop my 20 CV.
Yojimbo and knocked the tip off of it.
I just dropped it.
It fell about 11 inches into a metal sink at work and that was all it took.
And that was 20 CV.
Might be a little chippy or no no this is S30B.
This is probably gonna be the chippy one if anything but.

49:37
That hollow grind very thin, very deep, so a great utility knife, yes, but I think that hollow grind being short like that is more optimized for the self defense use of a hollow grind which is slashing and and cutting but not necessarily worrying about going all the way through materials and how
those materials part all right.
Last up is this is a custom knife and I thought I wouldn't put it in there for that reason, but.
It's a custom knife within reach.
It's a custom knife that costs less than a number of the folding knives that I've shown you, or or I paid less for it and got it brand new custom, and that's a BGM.
Quakin BGM knives.
A lot of people know him for his hollow grinds for his.

50:27
I'm sorry for his aftermarket regrinds he I I want to send him.
I have some knives I have in the docket for him to to hollow grind for me, but this is a beautiful knife of his own design.
This was one of his first.
Designs I believe.
I'm showing it in the sheath because the sheath is outstanding.
I did put the concealed carry concepts.
A clip on there.

50:55
And here we go.
This knife is.
What did I get this in?
I got this in.
I can't remember what steel this is.
One of his premium offerings I remember I was like wow the the knife is so inexpensive I'm gonna go all out and get the premium steel and I love his cord wrap.
So I got this cord wrap with the green and the purple I saw.

51:17
He had posted one with that color combo and I really liked it.
What I get it again.
Yes I might but I might get it purple and black next time.
It's it's cool.
I dig it.
He did a great job on it and it's epoxy coated so it's.
It's got a great feel to it, but really, what we're talking about is this.

51:34
This hollow grind is just.
Nauseatingly thin it slips between molecules I tell you and let me tell you something.
When I got this oddly and I know this is not the case ordinarily, but oddly the the very cutting edge wasn't that sharp.
It was like, oh, you know, like.
I passed it over a a ceramic rod like three times and it was an absolute razor.
So much so that I I accidentally bumped it.
I didn't even slice it or drag it across my finger.

52:11
I bumped it into my finger just like this and I had one of the worst cuts and I've had many, many cuts.
I had one of the worst cuts I've ever had from a knife from this and and and I. I credit that hollow grind because the actual cutting edge wasn't as acute as I thought it would be.
I passed it over the Stone 3, three or four times, and then that's all it took.
So right here, look at that sharpening notch.
I love how he does this.
He does these really high sharpening choices and like I mentioned it's so thin you could definitely sharpen it all the way up to the top if need be and have a long life out of this.
So I won't have to do that.

52:54
This is a super steel, can't remember which one it is.
I'll have to look at the the little birth card he sent, but I carry this as a utility slash tactical fixed blade so it doesn't get lots of use.
Because I don't find myself really using a fixed blade for utility that often and certainly don't find myself using it for self defense that often thank the Lord our God all right.
So this is my roster of best hollow grinds I. I think that the type has really gained momentum in my mind because of how well they cut, how great they look.
And actually frankly they lighten the blade.
OK, so this is a sevi astacus we have.
I'm just going to Sevi Hollow grind Chris Reeve Hollow grind and I got to say cold steel hollow grind not just this 8010 but all of their tontos and stuff.

53:51
I hope they don't.
Turn their back on the hollow, grind as they as they go more efficient with GSM.
The K2 from Riyadh and all of their hollow grinds.
There's the perpetua from Millet knives and TJ Schwartz.
Here is the Jack Wolf Knives sharpshooter Jack to me.
Probably the most accomplished hollow grind in that it's super thin on super steel and it's all the way up to the spine.
Here's the Boker squel.

54:19
The production version of my Grail knife.
You have the Yojimbo or Yojimbo in this case, but they have the same hollow grind and then here the one that takes the absolute cake.
Is a custom and that is the BGM quakin.
A custom knife within reach.
I do recommend you check check them out.
Thank you, thank you for coming on this journey with me through the hollow grind.
I I I love them and as I get more I will show you more and as I have some of my flat ground knives, hollow grind by people such as BGM or others, I'll show that too all right.

54:56
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55:19
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55:48
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