commissioning a custom kitchen knife

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biogon

Joined
Jan 2, 2002
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I'm looking to have a custom/handmade kitchen knife made for a birthday gift in late February.

I'm looking for a Santoku style with simple double full flat grinds, 6" long blade, 0.200" thickness 440A or 440C. Machine high or satin polish. Contoured handles, exposed tang.

Handles will be some kind of stabilized wood with colored micarta spacers/liners and mosaic pins.

Fit and finish is important. I'd like to cap the price at the $100-150 range.

Can it be done? Any makers here interested, or want to suggest a maker? Should I just give up and get something off the shelf from a production company?

Thankee,

-jon
 
Have you asked in the Bladesmith Forum yet? That is the place you'll likely hook up with an interested knifemaker.


All the best,
Mike U.
 
J.P. Holmes made some steak knives for me...stabilized black walnut handles and S90V steel. They were about average steak knife size and were $100 each...his work is excellent, however, I do not think he ever uses 440C. (I don't know of any maker who uses 440A.)

You can find out about J.P. and his knives here:

http://www.knifecorner.com/jpholmes/index.htm
 
jon,

You obviously know what you want, this is the good news.

I think that you could find someone to make what you want, you may even find someone at your price point. The bad news is that to get what you want at the price you want, is probably not likely.

To get exactly what you want, in most cases means searching for a maker and, unless it is something the maker usually produces, lots of communication.

440C would be a pretty good cutlery steel, but do not limit yourself, unless this is your main criteriam.

You are probably far off on your price, unless you searh out a newer maker, but misque's idea of the Bladesmith Forum is a good idea.


Steve-O
 
It can be done in that price range but I would be concerned about the weight. I make them from .125" material and they are easy to handle.
 
if you're not restricted to stainless, murray carter and shenichi watanabe can make custom santokus in that price range I think. plenty sharp and laminated blades rock imho.
 
I finished a santoku for a customer for Christmas! 1/8" thick, full flat grind (double ground) 440-C. The tang is hidden: I went for the look of a traditional santoku, but with a few changes, especially in materials. I used a black paper micarta bolster that slid over the tang, and then mortise tang construction with the natural micarta scales. She's a beauty! She cuts well to because of these 2 dimensions: 8" long, 2" wide. Yeah, sounds big, but it really isn't. You grip a santoku somewhat infront of the handle (with the thumb and pointer finger), and this gives incredible control over the edge. This is also where the balance point ended up on the knife I made, so it works out very well :) Or, for long slices, you just grab the end of the handle and make long, smooth pulls.

When I designed this santoku, I cut out 2 at 1 time, and the second one is half ground, in case anyone is interested!

As far as a few specifics go from the original post, your price range is a bit slow for all that you are asking for, but it doesn't hurt to ask! Also, your choices of steel are fine. Phil Wilson uses 420 for kitchen knives. It is very corrosion resistant and easily responds to a steel. I have been pleased with the 440-C knives I have made for the kitchen (3" parer, 4.5" wharncliffe utility). They sure do hold an edge a lot longer than junk brands, and even Henkels stuff.

Happy santoku finding!
 
I've never heard anything bad about a George Tichbourne blade, so if he says it can be done, I'd be talking to him about doing it!
 
6" long blade, 0.200" thickness
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That would be a "beefy" kitchen knife, and It would weigh too much for my preference. For me 2mm stock (0.08") is the right thickness for even an 8" chef's knife such as the MAC superior series. http://www.macknife.com/page3.html But 1/8" (0.125") would be good all around as well and would be better for heavier jobs.
george tichbourne: It can be done in that price range but I would be concerned about the weight. I make them from .125" material and they are easy to handle.
Click to expand...
This sounds better.:D I'd love to have a Tichbourne kitchen knife! I think you should talk to George.
 
Hey fellows,

Sorry for being a little late in responding.

Thanks for all the good tips. I'll post over in the Bladesmith forum also.

I'm choosing 440C because it's for my mom, and I'm trying to maximise rust/stain prevention, ease of sharpening, and edge holding.

Otherwise I'd opt for carbon, but she's not exactly the best person to maintain her knives. I LOVE carbon, especially Murrary Carter's... oh, yum.

As for the thickness, I wanted something with a little more heft as she uses it for -everything-, including chopping up chicken joints and bones. Maybe 0.2" is indeed too thick. I wanted to stay away from the thinner stock, as that's starting to get close to the stamped and "forged" thinness of the Henkels/Wustof series, and it flexes too much for her.

She grew up using a cleaver for every cooking chore, so she's used to the heft, but she found the Cutco "never needs sharpening" cleaver she bought (without asking me!!!) too heavy.

I just went to go check out my Becker '7, which is 0.188" and 7" long... and indeed, that makes a rather heavy kitchen knife.

Crayola,
Pretty nice! I like.

Manicreader,
That guy's stuff looks just on the spot. Too bad he's not taking orders anymore! :(

Thank you to everyone for the good advice.

-jon
 
Mrs. Claus gave me three kitchen knives from George Tichbourne.
1ea. of his K6 Chef's Knives that was "Modified" for my needs
2ea. of his #3 Vegetable knives

His website does not do these knives justice. They arrived very sharp, with excellent fit and finish. I used them to bone-out a chicken and dice vegetables for soup this afternoon. I will be placing another order in the not too distant future. Thinking about another vegetable knife in Talonite w/Desert Ironwood scales :cool:
 
>Manicreader,
>That guy's stuff looks just on the spot.
>Too bad he's not taking orders anymore!

Biogon... don't believe everything you read. Try sending some email.
 
Biogon,
There's something to be said for allowing makers to work in materials with which they are comfortable/familiar.

As luck would have it, George Tichbourne happens to specialize in kitchen knives, 440C steel and high quality finishes.

Combine that with the enjoyment you'll experience in dealing with George and Carol, and, well it just doesn't get any better than that. :)
 
Hiya,

Thanks for all the good tips and direction.

I got in touch with a maker who I believe will do a great job with what I'm looking for.

Thanks again! This has been a really informative thread. And a good thing enough people told me that 0.2" thick kitchen knife would be ridiculous.

I'd just seen a lot of ultra-thick Japanese chisel-ground knives of that type.. thought they handled relatively well.

-jon
 
biogon,

I'm glad you found a maker to do what you need! That is awesome.

As far as the super thick Japanese chisel ground knife, well, you have seen an entirely different animal than a santoku.

From what I understand, Japanese kitchens usually had 3 knives, a Deba, a yanagi, and a usuba. The Santoku is a kind-of amalgam of these specialized knives, a Japanese "French Chef's knife", so to speak.

The Deba is a thick (3/16"ish) chisel ground blade, of curvy blade shape (sometimes confused with a Santoku) which is used to cut through fish (bones and all), and cut through chicken and reduce meats. Though thick, you can cut meat very well with it. The yanagi is a long, willow leaf shaped blade, which is a slicer. "sushi knives" are yanagi style. Usually chef's use a yanagi to get the cuts they want after a block of meat has been prepared by a deba. The yanagi is 1/8"ish. Again, most are chisel ground. The usuba is a veggie knife. Often these are rectangles, with a chisel tip! Kinda neat I think. These knvies are for cutting soft veggies, and are 1/16"ish thick. Thin eh! Well, you get real nice cuts on soft veggies with that knife. From these 3 came the santoku, which is thick enough to handle rough-liek chores (though a Deba is better on fish bones), and thin enough to do fine cutting (though a usuba will make super thin, precise cuts on soft veggies more easily).

Go to www.japanese-knife.com and look at every knife. Loot at the fine details. There are regional differences in blade shape, as well as how handles are attached to tangs. One of my favorite Japanese knives is the noodle knife.. what a great big sucker! And eel cutting knives look like mega American tanto knives. :)
 
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