A Very Cool Scandi Grind Pocket Knife

Bushcraft folks really like the Scandi grind type knife edge. A lot of knives made in Scandindavia are Scandi grind knives. I got the mechanism of the Enzo Birk 75 from Brisa of Finland, a seller of lots of quality knifes. It comes in s30v or D2 steel, Scandi or flat grind. I chose the D2 steel, Scandi grind. All I had to do is add the scales, for which I used stabilized curly birch.

Shown above is the first stage of the Enzo Birk 75 in Scandi grind, and a BSA branded frame lock knife with a hollow ground blade. The Mora knife is also a famous example of a Scandi grind, and is beloved by survival types and bushcrafters both. In the typical hollow grind knife the material at the edge is pretty thin, and thus it is easy to sharpen. A micro bevel bevel is put on the edge and it can be very sharp. The Scandi grind doesn't have a micro bevel at the edge. The edge is formed where the planes from each side meet. It is sharpened by removing material from the whole entire bevel on each side.  Putting a micro bevel on the edge of a Scandi grind knife is a huge mistake. The Scandi edge can be sharper than a hollow grind edge, and has a lot more material supporting the edge. Thus its far better for tough work like carving wood, and it is easy to get the factory bevel angle on the edge when sharpening. 

My daughter Ciera made the above diagram of knife grinds. Scandi grind on a fixed blade knife is pretty common, but is more rare in a folding knife, and I wanted to make a Scandi grind folding knife. I got a kit from famous Finnish knife maker Enzo. It is the Enzo Birk 75, and its a bad assed liner lock knife.  

The frame was full of holes, and when I epoxied the scales on I had to tape all the holes shut. It wasn't as easy as it sounds, but when finished I found that I could open the blade with one hand, either right or left, and it snapped in place solidly. The blade releases by a liner lock mechanism, which can be opened one handed. 

Shown above is the finished first stage. It was basically done, but it felt kind of bony, like a popsicle stick. I wanted it to feel more like a fat little bar of soap, so I added a green liner layer, and another layer of wood which I put some curves into. Below is the knife with a second layer of wood, some shaping of the approach to the thumb stud, and a lanyard with belt clip. Photos below by Lou Ann Fox.