My bro-in-law, on permenant disability, used to be a chef and I want to make him a nice knife for Christmas.
I'm not able to forge or heat treat at this time, so I need a pre-made blade.
Any recommendations from the pros?
First of all,
NOT a pro here. I have handled some blades and the folks I gave them to really liked the knives and the thought behind them. I bought mine at a gun show I hit every once in a while, but lots of folks use these vendors.
http://www.texasknife.com
http://www.jantzsupply.com
I am sure there will be others coming shortly. Be sure you buy from a reputable dealer, one that can tell you the source of his blades. The man I buy mine from has spent a little time to educate me on sourcing of materials, etc. and told me that there are a ton of fair to bad knife blade suppliers out there that sell Chinese, South American, and others that aren't up to snuff.
He recommends (and hasn't steered me wrong yet!) USA blades first if you can find them. Then Japanese, Swedish/Finn and Spanish, depending on the steel and style you are looking for, not in any special order of preference.
Make sure you get the balance of the supplies you need when you buy the blade such as epoxy, bolts or rivets, or pin materials. For the kitchen use, you might want to consider looking at stabilized blanks, or laminate scales.
But if you are on a budget, stabilized wood isn't a must. A dry, solid piece of a hard, closed grained wood will work fine for scales, even in the kitchen - as it did centuries before stabilization.
My sister has a set of Old Hickory and Chicago Cutlery knives with unifinished wooden handles that she has been using for about 25 years in her kitchen that have unfinished handles and they look great. I told her that a coating of mineral oil (same as for he cutting boards) might make them last longer, but I think they only get that treat once a year or so.
Robert
