Darrin Sanders Boning Knife

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PayneTrain

Joined
Oct 24, 2013
Messages
290
This is my first custom knife, and I gotta say it is a beauty. Elmax steel, micarta handles, flat ground, tapered to a nice thin point.

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Great at breaking down chickens and other normal boning knife chores, but the size of this thing makes it so much more. At first I thought the handle might have been a bit large, but after using it more it really just accommodates all the various grips I use throughout the day doing different things. Did well cutting tenderloin steaks and fixing up a small roast, chopping up veggies and smoked pork butt, and just about anything else you could want a 6" knife to do. The best part is, I haven't had to sharpen it yet and it's still sharper than the old Forschners at work.

Don't tell Darrin, but I totally insulted his knife by making my own kydex sheath for it. It's definitely more about the function than the fashion, but I guess it could be worse. The knife travels a lot, so I needed something.
 
Darrin is one of the "Good Guys". He puts his heart and soul into his blades.

Good catch Payne Train.

Robert
 
Definitely. Hard to tell exactly from the wide angle pic, but it is exactly 11" overall and 6" tip to scale. About 5-3/8" sharpened edge. Weight is 5.48 oz. Slightly handle heavy, but I don't know if it's just me but I quite prefer that in a knife that has to be as maneuverable as a boning knife.
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Robert Dark said:
Darrin is one of the "Good Guys". He puts his heart and soul into his blades.

Good catch Payne Train.

Robert
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I believe it. He was really cool to work with and pretty fast too, as I understand it. It's got great lines and a real nice finish. Can't thank him enough!
 
Matt-I'm glad you're pleased. I took a peek at the sheath and you shouldn't be ashamed, it turned out nice.

Robert-Thanks for the kind words.
 
darrin sanders said:
Matt-I'm glad you're pleased. I took a peek at the sheath and you shouldn't be ashamed, it turned out nice.

Robert-Thanks for the kind words.
Click to expand...

Hah thanks Darrin, it'll do for now. I have to keep it safe from my coworkers somehow.

Speaking of which, there is one thing I forgot to ask you. What is the hardness of the Elmax? I ask because I am wondering whether or not a butcher's steel is good/safe to use on this knife, or if I should stick to my stones. I couldn't find any kind of good answer on when to use and when not to use a steel, so if anyone has any input on this I'd be happy to hear it.
 
The hardness is 62 on the Rockwell "C" scale. As long as you use the steel properly using it will be fine but in my opinion you would get better results with a strop. If you don't have one you can make one pretty easy. Just get a piece of wood about 3" wide and 12" long, make a 4"-5" handle on one end, & glue a 7"-8" piece of leather to the other end. Apply some white or green buffing compound to the leather and strop it back to sharp. This will take care of 90% of your sharpening. Just strop in until it doesn't seem to get as sharp as it should then re-sharpen on stones.
All a steel does is remove any burrs along the edge or straighten any rolling of the edge. I seriously doubt that ELMAX at 62 will ever roll. A strop loaded with compound will polish the edge and get it back to that nice keen edge. You'll only have to use the stones to remove a little steel once the strop stops working.
I hope all that made sense. If you have any questions fell free to call me to discuss it.
 
Ok, that's what I thought. Yeah I seem to remember reading somewhere that harder knives can actually ruin the steel, and of course gain nothing in the way of sharpness from it. I do not have a strop, but I guess it's high time to make one. To this point I've just been using my Spyderco ceramics. Off to work now, let's see if I can dull it today. Thanks again Darrin, and if I ever get a chance I'd like to get some nice action shots up here.
 
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