I am not being sarcastic when I tell you to let your HAND do the handle design. I went through that this weekend and finally realized why one particular maker of kitchen knives included a feature that looked as decorative as functional if not more so. I discovered this feel thing early on with handles done In the style of the Bill Moran. I could tell just by feel where that next tiny bit of hand sanding had to be done.
You need to grip thousands of blades to start seeing what you think will work. Ergonomic humps are love or hate. Wusthof Ikon, Henckles 5 star, Chicago Cutlery AC or BioCurve line all leave me flat. F Dick Premier is perfect for me.
Bubba knives for fishermen have very ingenious tidbits for that task on sub par steel, Buck molded handle fillets rock for that task.
One person may love it while the next person will hate it.
Jim
BMCGear , it's a high-end PM steel. That's all I'm saying for now because I want to run a fairly comprehensive experiment to determine what's "best" for different sub-groups. Ex: a chef who sharpens on whetstones may need something with a bit less wear resistance like CPM154, but a home cook who is doing 2hrs of cooking a week with minimal amount of dense vegetables could use something like M390 and throw it on a Ken Onion Work Sharp once every 6 months. Don't have a firm answer just yet, but I do have a view on what will wind up working best for the largest # of people in a cooking setting and there is a good chance it will do really well for professionals and home cooks. Hope that gives you a sense for the way I'm thinking about it.I recently got a line of knives that have G10 handles and I really enjoy them. I would like to see micarta and G10 personally. I'm curious what steel is going to be used?
jdm61 , I'll be at Blade Show and what you describe is one of the things I plan to learn about.I am not being sarcastic when I tell you to let your HAND do the handle design. I went through that this weekend and finally realized why one particular maker of kitchen knives included a feature that looked as decorative as functional if not more so. I discovered this feel thing early on with handles done In the style of the Bill Moran. I could tell just by feel where that next tiny bit of hand sanding had to be done.
R readheads - I'm finishing up Verhoeven's paper on Sharpening. Thank you so much for that suggestion. Pairs really well w/ The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening by Juranitch, Verhoeven mentions quite extensively. Love the scientific details from the Mat Sci professor though.Good luck on your endeavor. To set yourself apart, a few thoughts:
- To me the feel in your hand is as important as the steel. It is like a good fitting shoe. Since you are using CNC you should strive for a method to semi-custom machine your handle to fit my hand.
- Handle warmth and fit are extremely important - I like non slippery wood
- Do not think that you can solve edge retention, consider shipping a ceramic edge tuner with every blade and offer free lifetime sharpening. Everyone loves a freebie and those customers will be repeats and your best marketeers.
- Consider non-serrated steak knives - I love them and 2 strokes per side on a ceramic rod cleans them up every time
- Do not underestimate the importance of high quality heat treatments incl. nitro - get a pro like Peters to do it, everyone says they can do it but environmental controls are everything
- Never send out a knife that has not been inspected under magnification - your best customers are picky yet loyal but its all about transparency, trust and confidence; Especially if I am going to buy a knife which I have never held in my hand
- Manage your own expectations on what is possible and how much $$ you are willing to lose upfront while you establish your customer base
- Find a mentor who has done this before and is willing to share knowledge, again do not underestimate what it is going to take to truly make a living out of doing this
- You are up against major competition, will need to find your nitch, determine who your customers are and make clear the value you bring them
- Get someone to handle the phones - custom makers are famous for never answering the phone
- Consider offering 2 steels - carbon 52100 and stainless AEB-L (or Nitro-V), call NJ Steel Baron and talk to Aldo about you needs and specs
- Read Verhoeven's works on Knife Metallurgy and Sharpening - great stuff on what works