Random Shop Pic for 8/27/07

Daniel Koster

Daniel Koster

www.kosterknives.com
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 18, 2001
Messages
20,978
Have a look:

RandomShopPic082707.jpg



Getting the next batch ready for glue-up.


Here's what I've got:


First tray (on left) - already heat-treated, ready to glue-up

Mater 1 & Mater 2 in 1095 (more details later :D )
K6 Karda (new design!)
French Chef - Long (7.5" blade)
French Chef - Short (4.5" blade)
Nessmuk in W2
Nessmuk in O1 (w/ pommel & guard)


Middle tray - awaiting heat-treat

K-BOAR - 3 in 5160, 1 in 5160 with half-tang. ;)
K-BOAR - 1 (new one-off design) in O1/L6 Damascus. :eek:
Gyuto - 2 in 1095
Santoku - 1 in 1095
WSK - 5 in 5160 (1 w/o sawback), 1 in 3V and 1 in O1/L6 damascus. :eek:
Mater 1 & Mater 2 - these are for the passaround! :thumbup:
Pikal Paring knife - 5 in S30V...new design. ;)
K4 in 13C26
K5 in 13C26
K5 in D2


Last tray (on right) - already heat-treated, ready to glue-up!

Santoku in S30V (3)
Gyuto in S30V (1)
K-BOAR
Monster Nessies (5)




Some of these are orders....which should bring a few smiles....:D :p


Most are "up for grabs"!

Speak now if you have a handle preference. Glue-up is imminent. :eek:



Thanks for looking!

Daniel Koster
 
Wow! Many interesting creations are coming up:thumbup:! I wish the photo was more revealing:D...
 
Daniel

One more thing: I believe that is going to be helpful for us if you could provide us with some kind of comparative data for the steels that you have used in this batch so that choosing becomes somehow easier. Just a thought...
 
sounds like a great idea. :thumbup:

Let me get all my data together....it's going to take a bit....:o
 
Daniel Koster said:
Mater 1 & Mater 2 in 1095 (more details later :D )
K6 Karda (new design!)
French Chef - Long (7.5" blade)
French Chef - Short (4.5" blade)
Nessmuk in W2
Nessmuk in O1 (w/ pommel & guard)


Middle tray - awaiting heat-treat

K-BOAR - 3 in 5160, 1 in 5160 with half-tang. ;)
K-BOAR - 1 (new one-off design) in O1/L6 Damascus. :eek:
Gyuto - 2 in 1095
Santoku - 1 in 1095
WSK - 5 in 5160 (1 w/o sawback), 1 in 3V and 1 in O1/L6 damascus. :eek:
Mater 1 & Mater 2 - these are for the passaround! :thumbup:
Pikal Paring knife - 5 in S30V...new design. ;)
K4 in 13C26
K5 in 13C26
K5 in D2


Last tray (on right) - already heat-treated, ready to glue-up!

Santoku in S30V (3)
Gyuto in S30V (1)
K-BOAR
Monster Nessies (5)
Click to expand...

I can't wait to see this one. It will have to show up on that other thread after I get it.:thumbup:
 
Here's my take on the various steels:

O-1
High carbon. Great toughness. Good for small to medium sized knives. Inexpensive. Rusts easily.

5160
Medium carbon. Greater toughness ("springy"). Doesn't rust as quickly. Better on larger/thicker knives. Inexpensive.

1095
High carbon, low alloy steel. Inexpensive. Can be clay-quenched for a hamon line. Can get great hardness. Takes a keen edge and keeps it. Best on knives where hardness is most important. Best for kitchen knives.

A2
Very similar to O1, but with 5% chromium...makes it "semi-stainless". Good all-around steel. Moderate in price.

3V
Very tough steel. At thicknesses above 3/16" is nearly unbreakable. Great edge-holding too. Trade-off? Expensive!

W-2
Same as 1095, but with vanadium for better wear-resistance. Has to be forged down from bars. Moderate in price, but takes time/effort to get usable billets for knives.

D2
Large-carbide semi-stainless steel. Best for "toothy-edge" knife needs (cutting rope, draw cuts, etc.) Moderate in price.


S30V
Excellent stainless steel. Med-sized carbides. High carbon. Moderate to expensive.


13C26
New steel from Sandvik (Sweden). Fine grain structure. Stainless. Med-high carbon. Takes a keen edge (like 1095/W2).


O1/L6 Damascus
Considered "high-performance" damascus. Can be made with or without nickel. Nickel adds contrast, but decreases performance (imho). I usually have mine made without it...(performance junky). It marries the best of both worlds: O1 for toughness, L6 for fine grain/keen edge. Both by themselves are excellent cutting-competition-quality steels. Sometimes mixing two steels means optimizing for on only. In this case, the two compliment each other. I need to look up my notes from Kevin Cashen for more info....when I do...I'll post it!

:thumbup:
 
Now that's what I'm talking about! Excellent job:thumbup:! If I may though, there is one steel missing from this list: O1/L6 Damascus.
BTW, when are we going to see these knives finished along with their respective prices?
 
Got it - thanks!

I updated the previous post.


I should have these finished end of next week - fingers crossed! :thumbup:
 
Way to go Daniel:thumbup::thumbup:! The only thing missing right now is the announcement that these knives will be ready. Come to think of it, we will also need the $$$:D... Make it easy on us Daniel: make them affordable;)!
 
Daniel

Regarding the blade of the WSK, which part is the "sweet spot" when chopping? Given that the majority of them come with serrated spines, do these serrations present an issue when one needs to baton the knife? Further to that, how could someone find out more about the use of the various parts of the blade?

Thank you.
 
You can read the full history of how the blade came to be here:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=385995&highlight=wsk



Do a search on WSK and you're bound to find more info too. :thumbup:



The quick answer to your question is that the knife was designed specifically to address those very problems with the original Tracker design.

The sweet spot on my WSK is right behind the fullest part of the belly - just where you'd want it on a kukri.

The sawback is placed in a way that allows you to baton the knife right above the sweet spot, without impacting the sawback.
 
Daniel

Thank you for the link. I went there and read the posts. This has been very helpful for me. It is obvious that a lot of thought (let alone the elbow grease) has gone into the making of the WSK! Any plans on offering any Monster Nessies in 3V? BTW, given the design of tip of the Nessmuk (or, the Monster Nessy for that matter) how would you rate their piercing ability?
 
Andros said:
Any plans on offering any Monster Nessies in 3V? BTW, given the design of tip of the Nessmuk (or, the Monster Nessy for that matter) how would you rate their piercing ability?
Click to expand...

:eek: :D :p

How'd you guess....:o

(YES! I just cut one out of 3V last week)



Re: piercing ability
I'd rate it medium. The flat grind helps....a false edge would make it better, of course. I tried to make these the best compromise between a nice "bulb" at the end, and maintaining some piercing ability.
 
Daniel Koster said:
:eek: :D :p

How'd you guess....:o

(YES! I just cut one out of 3V last week)
Click to expand...

You can call it "wishful thinking":D. Will you be making some more?



Re: piercing ability
I'd rate it medium. The flat grind helps....a false edge would make it better, of course. I tried to make these the best compromise between a nice "bulb" at the end, and maintaining some piercing ability.
Click to expand...

I was thinking that maybe a way to increase their piercing ability would be to give them something similar to the Busse Penetrator Tip. At least it helps for the Busses and Swamp Rats that I have. Just a thought...:cool:
 
Of course:

DSC00386.jpg


DSC00387.jpg


The first two are from the tips of a Heavy Heart Fusion Steel Heart (HHFSH) and a Mud Razor (MR).
The others are from the tips of an ST-56 and a Satin Jack TAC (SJTAC)

And so that we don't leave the Swamp Rats out, here is the tip from a Battle Rat from a different angle:

Battle_Rat_7.jpg



Let me know what you think.
 
Looks cool to me...I'll have to give it a try on one of the next nessmuks. :thumbup:



My personal preference would have been to include a false edge...but customer outrage was pretty high when I suggested it. :D :eek:
 
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