Matthew Gregory
Chief Executive in charge of Entertainment
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2005
- Messages
- 6,358
I don't have a good paring knife in the house.
Yeah, I know... a knifemaker is supposed to have great knives laying everywhere. I suspect if you asked MOST guys, they'd either be embarrassed to tell you they have crummy kitchen cutlery or they're still using the crummy knives they were given as wedding gifts, or bought at the grocery store, or who knows where else. The same holds true for me. I'm always meaning to get around to it.
Well, I finally did.
These are 1095 steel, fully distal tapered and ground to just about .002" right behind the edge. The handles are cocobolo for the top and bottom, and lignum vitae for the middle (I took this photo a scant hour after finishing the handles, so it kind of looks like the lignum vitae was rubbed on a freshly mowed lawn - eww! It's a strange wood, but immensely tough. Over time it will mellow and develop some real character!
The cross section of each of the handles is roughly diamond shaped, although it's hard to tell from the photo. Each handle was done just a pinch differently, with varying levels of beveling. It's a point of contention in the house - I prefer the hard, sharp look of the bottom knife, but she like the slightly softened edges of the top one. The lignum vitae version has the bevels fully smoothed in, and a slightly different shape to the butt. They all feel great in the hand, so it really comes down to the preference of the individual, I guess. The mosaic pins are something I NEVER use. I bought this pin stock from Koval Knives I think, so it's got to be eight or ten years old. Just felt right on these.
All thoughts and comments welcome!
Yeah, I know... a knifemaker is supposed to have great knives laying everywhere. I suspect if you asked MOST guys, they'd either be embarrassed to tell you they have crummy kitchen cutlery or they're still using the crummy knives they were given as wedding gifts, or bought at the grocery store, or who knows where else. The same holds true for me. I'm always meaning to get around to it.
Well, I finally did.
These are 1095 steel, fully distal tapered and ground to just about .002" right behind the edge. The handles are cocobolo for the top and bottom, and lignum vitae for the middle (I took this photo a scant hour after finishing the handles, so it kind of looks like the lignum vitae was rubbed on a freshly mowed lawn - eww! It's a strange wood, but immensely tough. Over time it will mellow and develop some real character!
The cross section of each of the handles is roughly diamond shaped, although it's hard to tell from the photo. Each handle was done just a pinch differently, with varying levels of beveling. It's a point of contention in the house - I prefer the hard, sharp look of the bottom knife, but she like the slightly softened edges of the top one. The lignum vitae version has the bevels fully smoothed in, and a slightly different shape to the butt. They all feel great in the hand, so it really comes down to the preference of the individual, I guess. The mosaic pins are something I NEVER use. I bought this pin stock from Koval Knives I think, so it's got to be eight or ten years old. Just felt right on these.
All thoughts and comments welcome!
