Please help a new person find a custom knife :)

A

Agator007

Joined
Nov 17, 2011
Messages
13
Hi all,

I'm new to bladeforums and new to custom knives.

I have several coldsteel fixed blades, but recently got an authentically made japanese shef's knife and am blown away by the quality. Its not damascus, but laminated and differentially heatreated by the clay technique, I think. What amazes me most is that if it accidentally hits a ceramic bowl or any other hard surface, the blade doesn't bend or chip--unlike any of my other knives.

In short, is it possible to get this kind of quality in either a custom made or mass produced knife without breaking the bank account?

I'm looking for a very simple small (5" blade or so) lightweight general purpose outdoor use fixed blade knife--mainly for hiking and backpacking. I like the beauty of the bluish heat discoloration of the differentially tempered edge mainly--also a laminated steel costruction and with a tanto point.

Also, is it possible to save money by requesting a bare-blade knife with no handle or polishing?

Thanks for your help in advance and have a great day! :)
 
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My friend, you have just started on a very long complex journey! For starters, you did not mention your preference, high carbon steel, or stainless. There is a big difference, not just stain resistance. Also, you could be leaning toward some type of damascus steel, when you say "laminated" steel, thereby also edging closer to that "bank-breaking" you mentioned. Myself, I don't like to sell bare blades for "do-it-your-selfers",, as my reputation as a knife maker could be misconstrued by the way you would finish my blade. (I like to sign my work) Keep hunting for info, it's there! Send me a P.M. for more help. Jon
 
Thanks for the response Jon.

Yeah I can definitely see knives are complicated. I'd really like to start learning.

Sorry for these details left out.

As for the steel, I thought that the best knives were always high carbon? Or is it just that high carbon gives a greater hardness? But if that's the case I think hardness is most important.

And isn't laminated different than damascus in that damascus is hundreds of layers where as laminated is the "san mai" of 1 hard layer sandwiched in between 2 soft layers? This is the way it is on my cold steel outdoorsman and the chef's knife. It seems like since its just 3 layers it would be cheaper than damascus.

But if its cheapest to use a single material I suppose the most important thing I would want is the differential tempering. Also I really like the beautiful heat patterns on the Japanese knives--though I'm honestly don't know if its from the clay differential tempering or the boundary of the laminated layers.

Thanks again!
 
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