My first knife "order"

Hello Greg,

I really enjoyed reading through this thread. Those first two slicers are beauties. I saw this thread and thought it would be a great one for me to read, as I would really like to get into some knife crafting eventually. I'm very interested in seeing how the 6 inch chef's knife turns out. I worked in a kitchen for 5 years, and learned the "pinch grip" method from the executive chef that was there at the time.

I spent hours chopping vegetables for soups - celery, carrots, onions (so sad!), and potatoes. I also took up cutting the cucumber slices by hand - they were normally done with a food processor and usually ended up very ugly with stringy messes attached to them. The time I spent chopping all of this stuff really got me comfortable with chef's knives. I typically used anywhere between an 8"/10"/12" chef's knife, 10" being a good middle ground. The knives we had in the kitchen were really cheapo ones with white synthetic handles (dishwasher safe - no idea what the material was) and I have no idea what the steel was.

There was one chef's knife in the kitchen that everyone fought NOT to use - the handle was set too low and you would always end up grinding your knuckles to death while you were preparing the food.

The other thing I can mention is the term you hear about a lot in bushcrafting forums as far as handle shape / material. Hotspots! When you end up doing some serious work with the blade, your hands will take a beating after a while - and the shape and material of the handle will really affect how much damage you suffer.

I say grab the chef's knife in your kitchen that is closest in resemblance to the one you're making (the 6") one, and chop up a 10 lb bag of potatoes. Try the "pinch grip". It feels awkward at first, but once you get the hang of it you feel like you are the master of the blade.

This video is pretty much exactly what the executive chef at the restaurant taught me, but with more expletives and dark humor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20gwf7YttQM

Very amazing work!!
 
A lot better.

What I would do in a case like yours would be to draw a line from the heel to the blade edge center. Grind the edge back to that line. The re is normally no reason for an upward curve toward the heel of a blade.

I would just set the edge on the flat platen and grind the last half straight, then roll it toward the tip to keep the transition smooth. I always grind the edge from heel to tip, BTW. This way you establish the straight lines before adding the curve. I do the spine the same way. Most folks who try to shape the curve or tip first on a knife like a santoku get a funny looking tip.

I sort of figured the handle was just the start, but wanted to make sure.
 
dishcore said:
Hello Greg,

I really enjoyed reading through this thread. Those first two slicers are beauties.
Click to expand...

Hi. Thanks for your comments. Just as an update, I'm in the process of post-HT hand sanding the 6" chef knife blade now, and have completed the 400 grit stage, so I expect I'll be finishing the knife this weekend. I spent some time today putting the handle parts together, so now I have two parts that will be assembled when the blade is ready for final assembly.

If anyone is interested, I have been using internal alignment pins on the handle parts so they can withstand any sheer force they might encounter.

I also cut and flattened some small scales for the remaining two paring knives
 
tryppyr said:
If anyone is interested, I have been using internal alignment pins on the handle parts so they can withstand any sheer force they might encounter.
Click to expand...

If they are fitted to the tang and JB welded on the tang they will be supported on all sides with metal and adhered to it and will with stand any sheer strength and probably be destroyed before they ever move again.
 
AVigil said:
If they are fitted to the tang and JB welded on the tang they will be supported on all sides with metal and adhered to it and will with stand any sheer strength and probably be destroyed before they ever move again.
Click to expand...

True enough, but the tang doesn't go all the way to the back pieces (the last bone slice and the trailing bit of bog oak). I found out the hard way that those break off easily without internal supports, so now I use the alignment pins.
 
I found some serious scratches on the blade of the chef knife I'm making for my friend, so I had to pull back to 280 grit to address them, and then move back up to 400 grit, where it is now.

In the meantime I roughed out the shape of the handle. A lot of refinement left to do on the handle, but at least it fits together snugly and holds the blade correctly/

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Last night I refined the handle a bit with my files. Today I taped one side of the blade and sanded the other side to 1200 grit. Now that side is taped and when my last meeting for the day is done I'll sand the other side to 1200 grit then etch my mark on it and start sharpening it.
 
Today I sharpened the blade and refined the handle. It's getting close to time for final assembly, but I'm going to pause here and make damn sure there is nothing else I need to do before the epoxy is applied. Feeling really good about the edge. I may try it out in the kitchen tomorrow before I decide to glue it up.

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This morning I worked on the little vegetable knife for my wife. It's been sanded to 1200 grit, etched, edged, and now it's time to work on the handles.

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After reviewing Stacy's suggestion, I started thinning out the LV and African Blackwood on all sides. Still plenty to remove, but progress has been made.

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It's been a busy week at work so there hasn't been much time I could spend on the knives, but I did make some progress. The two larger blades are now sanded to 400 grit and are ready for HT, and the smaller one will join them tomorrow. I will waste no time getting them in the mail to Peters. While they are away I will probably profile another blade from a small bar of S90V I have.

I drilled the pilot hole for the pin in the saya and began the process of shaping it to suit the chef knife. On the whole I'm pleased with how things are progressing. These three knives will be mothers day gifts for three of the mothers I know.

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Today the three blades got back from HT. I've decided to wait a little bit before resuming work. My right hand is a bit of a mess... cracking and cuts on my thumb and forefinger need to heal before I get back into hand sanding again.
 
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