Kitchen knife questions

T

Technohedge

Joined
Sep 9, 2018
Messages
84
Hi guys, been away from knife making for a few months now (had a puppy so no bloody time!) and I have a challenge on and could use some advice.

My lil sis is getting married in about 6 months time, i am planning to make her and her partner a kitchen knife as a personalized gift. Its gonna be a challenge to do a really good job of it (I think I have to impress myself more than them to be honest) as i have only a couple of knives under my belt.

I have a pattern Im happy with. One question I have is what steel to use. So far all my knives have been made out of mild steel as they are all practice units. I have in stock some spring steel (g260 high silicon), some 1075 an some 1095. I can easily get some more in for the job if needed. Would I be better with a stainless steel? Other than the obvious heat treatment I would have to outsource, would stainless be a better choice?

I guess m a little worried about how easily the non stainless would rust. Happy to tell the customers its not good to be wet for long periods of time, and I imagine it may get shelved rather than used but whats the thoughts on this?

Second, Im planning to do a full flat grind on it (only grind Im used to so far). For a general purpose kitchen knife would it be a good idea to do a secondary bevel? Some kitchen knives I see have this but then again they are cheapo knives

Also thinking a micarta handle, full tang

anyhoo, thanks in advance for any info

Dave
 
Make it stainless and shiny, etch their names and wedding date on the blade and have them cut the cake with it
 
Hengelo_77 said:
Make it stainless and shiny, etch their names and wedding date on the blade and have them cut the cake with it
Click to expand...

Yea the etching and cake cutting thing are what I'm aiming for. It would be a good sign if in a month Im asking questions about etching haha
 
Definitely stainless. Outside of Japan, people don't like knives that rust. Stainless steels like AEBL are just as cheap as carbon steels now and are available in thin stock for kitchen knives.
 
Stainless steel. I suggest AEBL if you don't have lots of experience.

I agree, a white handle with a black bolster would be very "wedding" (or go all white).

How do you plan on doing the HT?

A trophy or engraving shop can do the name engraving or laser etching on the blade.

Filling out your profile so we know where you are will help with recommendations and offers of help.
 
Gee, everybody suggested what I was going to: Stainless.

I tried a carbon steel chef knife. My wife, who knows better, can't resist laying it on the counter wet side down and walking away. Surface rust in minutes. I had to lock up the knife - only I'm allowed to use it.

Thickness?: order it at no more than 0.100". Depending on the width of the blade, grind it down from there.
 
What is the style knife you're planning?

As others have said, AEB-L for sure, in the .090" to .100" range, or even thinner will work. Do send the blade out for HT'ing. Our own JT here does a GREAT job on AEB-L. While a white handle with black bolster would be nice, a bit easier to do might be white liners with black handle?
 
For a cake knife. .09-.11 is fine. For a slicer, you can go down to .06-.07". I use the .07 stock from Aldo a lot. His .11" is good for larger chefs knives.
 
I'll be the voice of dissent: If they are the kind of people who can take care of cast iron skillets or carbon steel pans without rusting, then they can take care of a (non-stainlesss) carbon steel kitchen knife. But many people can't be bothered with the extra care required by cast iron and by extension are not good candidates for a carbon steel knife either.
 
Thanks for the info guys. Im in New Zealand so stuff is a bit tricky to come by here. AEBL isnt readily available in the size I want, would Nitro V be OK? Or 12C27?

cheers
 
NitroV makes excellent kitchen knives so if you have access to that steel I would recommend it. Do you have a place to send it for heat treatment in New Zealand?
 
Jasoncap said:
NitroV makes excellent kitchen knives so if you have access to that steel I would recommend it. Do you have a place to send it for heat treatment in New Zealand?
Click to expand...

Not as yet mate, do you know of anywhere? Is there anything about nitro v that a standard heat treat place wouldnt be able to perform?

cheers
 
There have been reports of Nitro V curling during/after HT but I know Peter's and I think JT both have the HT process dialed in. Either one will do a good job for you.
 
I have used Peters for mine and have gotten over 60 blades done without any curling or other issues. New Jersey Steel Baron is the only source for NitroV currently so you will have to order it from them.

Feel free to message me if you have any specific questions I’m happy to help any way I can.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top