Novice needing some education

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bittercabbage

Joined
Oct 30, 2012
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I need to rebuild my kitchen knife collection, and being a victim of the housing crisis, I have been going to estate sales in my town where the higher end stuff for sale seems to be from the 50s & 60s.
I'm not a chef, just someone who appreciates genuine quality tools.

What manufacturers and brands from this period should I be looking for?
I don't need a matching set, in fact I kind of enjoy variety, plus it adds fun to the game of collecting.
I may decide later to focus on a proper set; right now I just need knives in my kitchen.

Not knowing much about the subject, I bought a bread knife last week for $1, by Imperial Veri Sharp Stainless.
It caught my eye because it has a beautiful rosewood handle, and I could tell just by holding it in my hand that it was at least decent.

Anyway, I joined this site because I thought maybe people might be willing to help out someone who is just starting out and who truly loves beautiful tools.
(more about this on my bio page, in case anyone cares...)

Thanks in advance!
 
Forgecraft is one of my favorite brands from that period, really most knives you will be finding will be cheap stainless or pretty good carbon. Personally, I would steer clear of the stainless, and look for any carbon, Dexters, old hickory, forgecraft, henckles or sabatier.
 
Thank you, Kalaeb!
That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for.
In my past life as a regular consumer, I bought a couple of new Henkles (now ruined by the move), only to be told by my chef brother that new Henkles are not of the same quality that they used to be - something about how they are forged maybe?
Anyway, I obviously have lots to internet research to do and you gave me a great start - those are names with which I was not familiar.
I'm so happy to have a new hobby and something new and interesting to collect that I can financially justify! That's something that has been missing from my life for a few years.
Glad I stumbled upon this site.
Thanks again!
 
Here is a pic of my daily use Forgecrafts (sorry about the low light cell pic):

IMG_0298.jpg


75+years of work and still going strong!
 
Look for Japanese kitchen knives that are stamped Molybdenum and Vanadium on the blade. These elements form hard carbides which give the blades wear resistance. Most of these blades are quite thin which promotes ease of slicing.
 
hi,
IMHO look for Case XX kitchen cutlery, Sabatier 4star with elephant(usually on handle), anything that says Sheffield, Made in England(or UK), Old Hickory(but don't pay much, they still make them here in USA of 1095), and Gerber. I would look at handle condition, amount of blade left, was knife cared for or did someone try to sharpen it with a bench top grinder. For more info about kitchen knives, I would try Gator97's site http://zknives.com/index.shtml. he has some good articles about knives, kitchen knives, then his personal review of knives.
 
Oh, rats! I just passed up a few Sheffields. Oh well, that was just my first weekend.
That is good information about the knife condition –that's the beginning level I'm at currently.
I'll have to figure out what a bench top ground blade looks like.
Maybe I'll see if there is a knife sharpener in town, and hope he's not a hack (we don't even have a UPS Store or Krispy Creme here, if you can believe that!).
Perhaps I'll have better luck with the retired men at the antique malls - that's been the case w/ getting help with rewiring/repairing my vintage fans, radios, phones, etc. They have the love as well as the knowledge, and seem to get a kick out of helping a girl out.
So far, I've just been checking to see if the blade is true and isn't loose in the handle, as well as for any obvious nicks.
Also thanks for letting me know about identifying marks like the elephant, I've been wondering about things like that, so that's very helpful.
Thanks again!
 
Wow, Kalaeb - those are cool!
What are those handles made of?
And are those striations I'm seeing on the blade or reflection?
 
I have another question:
Since I'm low on funds, I'm looking for blades that don't need anything more than sharpening.
But what if I find a really great knife that has a small nick or something?
What injuries to a blade are worth having fixed by a professional, or should I just pass anything like that by?
 
bittercabbage said:
Wow, Kalaeb - those are cool!
What are those handles made of?
And are those striations I'm seeing on the blade or reflection?
Click to expand...

The striations are actually as a result of the manufacturing process.

Handles are made of a bunch of materials, the second from the top is natural.
African blackwood, oak, buckeye burl and dyed maple.

More often than not you can "re-hydrate" old handles by soaking them in some mineral oil over night, most handles don't NEED to be replace...I only do it because I get bored and into trouble if I don't do something with my hands, lol.

IMO, many of these older blades are not hardened to their maximum and will require some basic care as well as sharpening. I know funds are tight, but I would suggest perhaps getting a king combo stone to start (30-40.00) and learning how to sharpen. In the long run it will save you some green as opposed to sending it off to a sharpener.

Also, IMO, part of the appeal of owning vintage blade is the tinkering and modifications you can do to help bring the life back to the blade.
 
bittercabbage said:
Oh, rats! I just passed up a few Sheffields. Oh well, that was just my first weekend.
That is good information about the knife condition –that's the beginning level I'm at currently.
I'll have to figure out what a bench top ground blade looks like.
like the elephant, I've been wondering about things like that, so that's very helpful.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
back in the day, Sheffield used to be the center of the British steel industry and made some excellent knives.
what i meant by bench top grinder was the kind you would have in your garage with a big coarse stone on each end. if you tried to sharpen with one, you would probably leave major scratches and gouges in the blade.
Case XX kitchen cutlery used to be made with high quality USA stainless steel
this store deals only with vintage kitchen knives, don't have to buy from them but I would use it as a reference source. http://stores.ebay.com/ralph1396?_trksid=p2047675.l2563
you can get a two sided Norton sharpening stone from most hardware stores for less than $10 which will be plenty good to learn to sharpen on.
good tutorials on this site on how to sharpen.
scott
the old sailor
 
tiguy7 said:
Look for Japanese kitchen knives that are stamped Molybdenum and Vanadium on the blade.
Click to expand...

Thanks tiguy7 -
Should both elements be marked on the blade, or is it either/or?
I recall having come across blades marked Vanadium, but not sure about the other.
 
kalaeb said:
Also, IMO, part of the appeal of owning vintage blade is the tinkering and modifications you can do to help bring the life back to the blade.
Click to expand...

Ooh, you are preaching to the choir!
I often say that my self esteem is directly tied in to how well my '69 motorcycle engine is running. It's like working on an everlasting puzzle.
I regret never getting around to learning to forge my own blades when I had the opportunity. In Seattle, you can't throw a stone without hitting a metal worker of some sort or another (and some of them deserve it ;P ). Forging is very big there.

Those are gorgeous handles! I look forward to learning to do that myself someday - you've already given me some ideas...
 
Vanadium is better than Molybdenum because it forms a harder carbide, but there are many knives out there that have both.
 
Not wishing to be a buzz kill on the Molybdenum or Vanadium thing but steels with those big carbides can be a challenge to sharpen. May be forced to go with diamond stone or water stones (I have diamonds). Since the OP declares himself a novice, I wonder if knives more like those shown in that picture wouldn't be a better move. They'll hone on a steel and they'll be much easier to sharpen on just about any good quality stone. Some of the German stainless is very good too. No, it's not going to be as hard or resist edge degradation like some but it will sharpen up so nice. Robert Herder of Germany makes some very thin knives of good German steel. They are a little pricey. The best bang for the buck are the Forshner Fibrox. Great German steel, excellent blade geometry, easy to care for, etc.
 
HoosierQ said:
The best bang for the buck are the Forshner Fibrox. Great German steel, excellent blade geometry, easy to care for, etc.
Click to expand...

I'm so glad you mentioned that - I was just looking at my mom's Forshner knives last night and was wondering about their quality, since they are mid-century and likely to pop up at the estate sales I'm going to.
Thanks!
 
I sharpen ZDP-189, S-30-60-90-110-V, Stellite 6-B & 6-K, BG-42, Cera Titan, Beta Titanium, CM-154, CPM-154, CPM D-2, etc. on Silicon carbide. Aluminum oxide, and micro crystaline quartz (Arkansas) stones. Don't worry about finding a kitchen knife that's too hard to sharpen on conventional stones.
 
tiguy7 said:
I sharpen ZDP-189, S-30-60-90-110-V, Stellite 6-B & 6-K, BG-42, Cera Titan, Beta Titanium, CM-154, CPM-154, CPM D-2, etc. on Silicon carbide. Aluminum oxide, and micro crystaline quartz (Arkansas) stones. Don't worry about finding a kitchen knife that's too hard to sharpen on conventional stones.
Click to expand...

Okay, that sounds like something I can handle. I think I'll practice on my knives that got damaged first, until I get it down pat.
Thanks!
 
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