Terms Related to Bevels on Circular Blades and Straight Knives

Below, are terms related to bevels found on circular blades and straight knives.

This submission is part of our on-going series about industrial blade and knife terminology. At the end of this entry, you’ll find links to other articles about terms relating to the world of blades and knives.

First of all, let’s take a look at the term “bevel.” We originally defined “bevel” in our article, “25 Terms You Need to Know When It Comes To Cutting Knives.”

A bevel is the part of the blade that slopes away from the knife’s body to the blade’s edge. As a side note, it’s usually made through the grinding process.

We should also bring up “double bevel.” We defined that term in our article “Next Level Terms Related to Industrial Knives.”

Basically, a double bevel is when there’s a bevel on each side of the blade. Another way to look at it is the blade has been ground on both sides.

As our title suggests, both circular blades and straight knives can have a bevel or a double bevel. There is no such thing as a triple bevel but as you’ll soon learn, you can have a blade with a double bevel and a secondary bevel.

Bevel Side — The bevel side is the side of the blade with the bevel (on a blade with a single bevel)

Bevel Width — Bevel width refers to the distance from the beginning of the bevel to the blade’s edge.

Compound Bevel — A compound bevel is when two bevels are found on the same side of the blade.  Each of these bevels has a different angle. The steeper angle is the secondary bevel. The other is the primary bevel.

Double Bevel with Land — The “double bevel” part just refers to a blade with a double bevel. The “with land” part means there’s a flat portion at the edge of the blade.

Primary Bevel — A primary bevel is the first bevel of a double bevel blade. It’s also the bevel that starts closest to the center and has a shallower angle.

Secondary Bevel — The second bevel is found on a double bevel blade. It’s the bevel that starts closest to the edge and has the steepest angle.

Single Bevel with Land — Just like a double bevel with land, a single bevel with land has a small flat spot at the edge of the blade. This “land” runs from the bevel’s end to the back of the blade.

Single bevel with land and double bevel with land are found on both circular blades and straight knives.

Want to learn more terms related to the interesting world of knives? Check out these great articles:

25 Terms You Need to Know When It Comes to Cutting Knives

Key Terms Related to Circular Blades

Key Terminology Related to Toothed Straight Blades

Next Level Terms Related to Industrial Knives

Scientific Terms Behind Hand Knives