flat grinding kitchen knife

[pso]

I would like to grind (file by hand, really) a flat-ground kitchen knife out of some 1/16 inch thick stock. Should I leave the area just in front of the tang the full thickness from the spine down to the bottom of the tang? In other words, would there be a "grind-line" extending forward from the bottom corner of the tang? Otherwise, I would imagine that the tang would be tapered from the top to the bottom, making it more difficult to keep the surfaces of the tang flat so that they mate with the scales properly. Hope my question makes sense. Thanks in advance.

Phil

 

[tmickley]

That totally flat part between the knife handle scales and where your 'grind' starts is called the ricasso and is purely a personal choice to have one or not....but if you don't, the handle scales and tang will probably have a slight space allowing food gunk to build up in that crevice over time. It's probably best to have at least some ricasso there for that reason.

 

[peter nap]

I agree although the scales can be fitted to give a good fit. One advantage of file only knives is that for me, it is easier to get a clean clear line here. It took me a lot of practice to get a clean entry line with the grinder. I still often need to touch up with a fine file. I expect you will get the bug and will do many knives. Try both ways and decide what works best for you. Good luck and have fun.