Kitchen knife question

[jdm61]

The recent article in the New York Times about the resurgence of high grade carbon steel kitchen knives has inspired me to give a chefs knife a whirl. The one thing that worries me is that they are so thin,1/8 inch at the spine or even less for tradition Japanese style knives I would be concerned about them warping like mad in the quench. I am looking for advice. Do you guys who make such blades harden them before you grind in the bevels to reduce the chance of them doing the corkscrew boogie?

 

[erik markman]

Quench between thick aluminium or copper plates.

 

[jdm61]

Would that work for plain carbon steel? I am planning to use Cru Forge initially, but eventually might use 1084 or even W2.

Quench between thick aluminium or copper plates.

 

[Don Hanson III]

Joe, it's a balancing act. On the really thin stuff, I grind about 50% before HTing and the rest after.

A warp is easy to fix right out of the quench, but a wrinkled, wavy edge (from being too thin) is not.

No quench plates on plain carbon steel.

 

[JMJones]

One thing that has worked great for me is as follows. Normalize three times starting at 1600, 1550 1500. Then soak at 1200 for 2 hours and let them cool in the ht oven. When they come out they are often warped to a degree. Straighten them however necessary. Once they are straight, then do the hardening.

 

[erik markman]

Would that work for plain carbon steel? I am planning to use Cru Forge initially, but eventually might use 1084 or even W2.

Yes, it works for O1. I guess it works for Cru forge too.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I am using my aluminum plates on carbon steel now.

I make a lot of carbon and stainless kitchen knives.
On carbon steel, like W-2, many are ground from .060" thick stock.
On .060-.090" blades, I profile only, and grind the bevels after HT.
On the .100 -.125" blades ( which I consider thick), I grind the profile, and take down the bevels about half way. I leave a lot on the edge, probably .050".
.165" blades get a good bit of grinding, leaving about .040" on the edge.

After the blades are ready, I do all the normal pre-HT steps, and then austinitize at 1450F. I quench in fast oil and pull out after 6-8 seconds. After checking for any bad warping, and straightening with the HT gloves, I immediately clamp the blade between the aluminum plates, and leave to cool for a few minutes. This seems to eliminate most warp and twist.