Abstract: The manufacture of bent knives for wood cutting machines is simplified and made less expensive by designing the knife so that the finish grinding operation on its opposite faces may be performed before, instead of after, the bending operation on a flat plate. This is made possible by reducing the plate thickness to 1/4 inch or less which permits a ratio of radius of bend to plate thickness of at least 2.25. This ratio virtually eliminates breakage of the knives because of abusive processing.