steak knifemaking

B

beyondmyken

Joined
Dec 23, 2000
Messages
217
My wife has "commissioned" me to make her an 8 piece set of steak knives. She has settled on curly birch for the handles and doesn't mind scales or hidden tang. She doesn't like big steak knives, prefers sizes more in the paring knife size. Any suggestions on blade sources? I have looked in texasknifemakers, knife and gun, and kovals online catologs. I am more interested in hidden tang blades as I have more latitude with handle shape. What are good finishes for the handles? Oil stains, superglue, epoxy dip? Of course they won't go in the dishwasher but could get left in a sink of water overnight.
Thanks in advance, Al.
 
there's lots of options for steel and handle material, are you just looking to buy the steel and forge or grind, or are you looking for kits. Also, I made my wife a kitchen knife about 3 yrs. ago, I put osage orange on it for handle material, that thing has been in the dishwasher many, many times and just left in the sink for hrs. and its still in great shape, so you might consider, osage orange.
I forged the blade out of 5160, its black as coal now, but it doesn't rust and still cuts like a champ. But your probably wanting stainless, looks a lot prettier after a while.

Good Luck,

Bill
 
Funny you should ask. I have been planning a set of 4 knives for sometime. Here's what I have so far (FWIW).

Stabilized Spalted Madrone. It has big curves in it, so I'm going to make bigger than normal handles. Also stabilized will, hopefully, last a good 300 years.

The steel we agreed on stainless to keep the looks.

I'm using a hidden tang to preserve the wood's pattern.

The handles are going to be shorter than a regular knife. I like the butt of the knife in the palm of my hand for steak knives.

Also the blade length will be fairly long with a long belly. The length is to reach past the mash potatoes. The cutting is done on the belly.

I haven't decided on the exact blade shape tho. Still trying different shapes.

Hope that gives you some ideas,

Steve
 
I am more interested in hidden tang blades as I have more latitude with handle shape.
Click to expand...
If you find a pattern you like in full tang, you can usually knock enough material off with a bench grinder to go the hidden tang route.
just don't let excessive heat creep into the blade.
Regards,
Greg
 
Thanks for the replies. I should explain that I do this as a hobby and have a very limited setup, basically hand tools and a weak 1 in belt sander. Due to this I limit myself to blades already made so maybe I should state I make "parts of knives". I like the idea of cutting off part of a full tang blade. Still what are good ways to seal, finish the wood handles in a kitchen environment? For now, I will not use impregnated woods due to cost.
 
beyondmykenand all,
I have done several kitchen knives with a linseed oil finish. What I have been doing came from a video whose title or maker I can't remember right now.

What I do is to finish the knife and handle, wood of course, and soak in linseed oil for a day or two. Being the second cheapest person I know, I put the linseed oil in a plastic bag that fits the knife or knives and soak for a day or two.
I'm sure it would get more penetration if I did the vacuum and pressure routine but I'm not set up for that right now.

I have been using a couple of these knives, with little care, for a couple of years and so far have shown no damage.

Just what I do, Lynn
 
Steve, I like your idea of the steak knife design. And Lynn, the boiled linseed oil works pretty good. I even made a hunter for a client that requested and received a boiled linseed finish. I also gave him a bottle of linseed oil to apply every year or two, if the handle looked like it might need it. It has an osage orange handle, too. A hand rubbed polish of linseed oil on the close grained osage is a good looking and durable finish.
 
K&G and Jantz have some fun steak knife blanks.
http://www.knifeandgun.com
http://www.knifemaking.com

One more thing to think about - use stainless pins instead of brass, if you can.

If you're going to have knife handles sitting in water overnight, you might want to consider dymondwood. It gets a lot of flack from knifemakers because it's considered "cheap", however, it's a great material for beginners because it's dimensionally stable, available in many colors, and it's very easy to machine (since it comes perfectly flat). And, of course, it's quite inexpensive if you buy the bigger sizes - about $2 per knife. Oh...and you don't have to oil it or finish it. Just sand it down to 600 or 800 and then polish it with whatever you have on hand.

You can run that stuff through the dishwasher a thousand times, and it will still be ok. Ask me how I know. ;)


I know you mentioned greater lattitude with handle designs for hidden tang, but if you want a set that looks like a matched set, you're better off with a full tang blank. That way, each knife will be within at least 95% of the others in size/shape. Personally, I have a tough time making just 3 of the same shape...:rolleyes:


Dan
 
Hello Al

The Finnish and other Scandanavians have a working knife design called a "puukko" that may fit your needs. They are all paring knife sized, or smaller, hidden-tang designs. Handle materials are commonly curly birch or stacked birch bark. Brisa Kife Supply in Finnland (www.brisa.fi) have a wide variety of blades and kits in carbon steel and stainless. They also sell handle materials including stabilized curly birch. Closer to home, Kellam Knives (www.kellamknives.com) in Florida has a smaller selection of kits.

I picked up a book by Bo Bergman that talks about making scandanavian style knive and sheaths. It helps to explain how to use the parts that you see for sale on the Brisa website. I can look up the title when I get home if you want.

Hope this helps. Enjoy.

Phil
 
I'd recommend either Behlen's Salad Bowl finish, or lots of coats of an oil finish (I like Watcos)

I used the salad bowl finish on a couple paring knives I rehandled for my mom a long time ago. One was black cherry, and the other was black cherry and poplar laminated with titebond II wood glue. They look pretty rough now....but have been in the dishwasher at least 1000 times :) I am very impressed with how well the salad bowl finish held up to the heat, water, and caustic soap. Under less abusive conditions I think it would be the ideal finish for a kitchen knife. It chips a little too easily on folder scales or I would use it on just about everything.
 
In addition, the chinese used Tung oil on their boats/ships. I have used it on a couple paring knives that only have about seven months use. So far so good. That is the extent of my kitchen knife making experience.

RL
 
A few years ago, just to see, I made my wife three kitchen knives. You have to understand that regardless of what I tell her, they would STILL end up in the dishwasher. I used black linen micarta AND Corby BOLTS, not pins. These are full tang, not hidden so it may be a mute point in your instance. As far as the epoxy goes, I figured that it would only seal at best after going thru more than a few cycles in the dishwasher. If it wasn't for the bolts I don't believe the handles would still be on them. I just love the "drying" cycle in the diswasher! Everything comes out HOT and sterilized, for sure. (It could probably be used for a tempering cycle on some steels!:))

The above is an extreme example but it is true. When its time to do the dishes I won't argue. Its better than the "well why don't you just do them then" response if I try to remind the missus about the "no custom knives in the dishwasher" thing. I just sit back and "don't say nuttin'". I have learned that life is simpler if I do that on occasion.

On a more serious note, if using wood, look for some nice stabilized wood such as at WSSI. It may appear to be a bit expensive at first but is well worth it in the long run PLUS the wood is usually nicely figured. Other knife supply houses have it as well.

Craig
 
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