Kitchen knife design help

S

saltyveins

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Nov 13, 2013
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Looking to make something I can use in the kitchen to prep veg and meats on occasion. Have some .156 1 1/2 1840. I know that may be a bit thick. Plan to run the bevel beyond the scales for a plungless look. Pins are subject to change. Any suggestions regarding overall shape and design? Is that stock just too thick for my intended application?

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Looks like a good basic small santoku. I say get some metal and go to work.

On the metal, .156X1.5" is a good bit thick for a kitchen knife with a 4" blade. It will work with a full tail to tip taper, and a full flat grind. I would normally use .060" to .100" .... but use what you have. Taper the handle slightly to match the blade taper for grip comfort and aesthetics.
Make the handle simple and fairly thin. A kitchen slicer can be almost rectangular in cross section. The flat sides help keep the cutting edge oriented to the work surface without having to grip the handle hard. Pinch grip works very well with these type knives and handles.
 
looks liek it will be fun to use but not really large enough for main prep knife. a nice utility blade tho grind it thin at the edge and do a bit of distal taper to help lighten it up
 
Thanks for the feedback! Sounds like I am on the right path, and will make a go of a nice taper on both ends. I have become a pinch grip user, so def plan to design all kitchen knives around that.

butcher_block said:
looks liek it will be fun to use but not really large enough for main prep knife. a nice utility blade tho grind it thin at the edge and do a bit of distal taper to help lighten it up
Click to expand...

Yes, I am a bit fearful of going for the full size just yet. I am afraid don't have the stock, grinder, or skills for it quite yet. If all goes well on this one, a nice thin wide bar of AEB-L will be in my future.

I don't really "need" another big knife (have a nice set of henckels), but I do feel I could often use something longer than my paring knife, shorter than my chef's knife, but wider and maybe a bit shorter than my small slicer. That perceived need is where the size of this knife was driven from. This size also seems doable with my current build level.

Again thanks for taking the time to comment.
 
For steel that thick, taper from the butt all the way to the tip in a continuous taper. With the butt at .150" and the tip at .030", that will bring the spine thickness to around .090" at the ricasso.

You might want to draw it with a 1" longer blade and see how it looks.
 
I made a kitchenknife that looks a bit like your drawing and exactly as Butch says I wish I would have made it a bit longer. app 6" would have been better

appell25.jpg
 
yep you can gain 2 inch easy with a stick tang. they can be intimadating for a new maker but if you make the "guard"/fron of the handle out of a strip of micarta 1/8 thick you can file the slot fairly easy then you can make the back of the handle a looser fit and fill with epoxy making for a great handle
 
Hey Salty,
I have 0.065" 15N20 and 0.094" 1095 both from Aldo if you want to ride over to Mobile. I think you'd be much happier starting with thinner stock. Plus it would be cool to meet another new maker in the area. I made my first kitchen knife, which looks very similar to your drawing, from the 15n20. It was easy to heat treat (similar to 1084 but with a lower temper) Using my test files I believe it's in the 60-61 range. I've been using it almost daily for a month and haven't touched the edge.
shoot me an email cgermany81@yahoo.com
 
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That looks great FT, and awesome offer. Since I need to ride over that way to see about a warranty repair I can easily make that a combined trip. Email inbound.
 
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