Sunday's Grinding

Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith

Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith

ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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I tried to post these in the Kit thread, but was having some sort of problem.

This is the 70+ blades I profiled Sunday. Some of them will be used for the Exchange thread.
 

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First thing...WOW!!! that is alot of fine looking blades. Second what time do you get up in the morning? Third how many belts did you go thru to profile that many blades? Fourth, are the blades all the same material?
 
Damn dude, that's a lot of blades. You did that in one day? My hat is off to you. :thumbup:
 
D A M N !!! That's a lot of band saw time! What is that crazy looking one at 9 o'clock in the first pic with the hole in it?


-Xander
 
The 2 tantos and the 3 up front left of the cleaver are very nice.
 
Its the way to go man, i do the samething 10-30 at a time then start grinding,saves time and money exspecially when your h/treating your own blades
 
The photo angle makes them look a bit larger than they are for some reason in a few shots .The third shot was better for proportions.
Steel types are:
CPM-154
CPM S35VN
W-2
CPM-D2
CPM-M4
Most of what is on the table came from Aldo.

I have had several emails and PM's about those two "tanto shaped" blanks .

Looking at the third photo, lets start with the "cleavers". That group is three nigiri style blades from 8X2" to 7X2.5", a sashimi blade about 9.5X1.4" and two santoku blades about 6X2". The big bananas are just shy of 20" and are the prototypes for a blade style/series I am going to introduce later this year, maybe at Ashokan. It may become a production knife. More on that later.
The rest of the front are all kitchen blades from Chef's blades to boners. The side and back of the photo have groups of fillet blades with from 6" to 16" edges. There are a variety of other things on the table from Sgian Dubh blades, to Bird and Trout, to hunters. The two small scalpel looking like profiles just above the Nigiri are manicure blades. Doesn't everyone have a S35VN hand made manicure blade in their shop? No...well why not! They will be some of the hand made Christmas presents to hard working and black fingered friends. A little scrap curly maple and a piece of leftover steel from profiling makes a wonderful hand made gift.

Other answers;
I cut out and ground about eight hours. The belt is a Cubitron 50 grit and has profiled at least 100 blades and is going strong for a hundred more.
All were cut out on a HF bandsaw that was modified for a bench bandsaw ( throw away the base). It runs a Lenox 18TPI blade. I get maybe 500-1000 blades profiled from one band saw blade, I never kept count. I like to work with 4" wide sheet stock about 24-36" long. I draw all the blade profiles on ( using my templates) and try to use common lines from end to end ( common lines are when you let two blades share a line, like along the edge/spine). That allows the tips to be angle nested for best yield. Cut the long slices, and then cut the angle between the tips. No need to try and remove every curve and indent, the grinder does that in seconds. Trying to cut curves kills a band saw blade faster than any thing else.
I write on each profile what steel it is cut from before cutting it out. You can't tell one steel from another when the blades are cut out, often. If I can tell folks one thing that will make your life easier, it is to label in a good permanent marker what every piece of steel and blade in your shop is. Do both sides and both ends of every bar. When you cut off a piece, re-label it right then. You will not remember which is S35VN and which is 1095 later on. Trust me on this. Keep a black sharpie in your pocket when in the shop. The white "metal marker" paint pens from Fastenal are great too. Their markings even survive HT on stainless steel. When a blade is ground out and ready for HT, I use this type marker to label the blade.

Aldo is the man for steel. He has .060" thin W-2 for carbon slicers, S35VN for stainless blades, and all the forging stock you will want from paring knife sizes to honker sword stock. He has great W-2 and 1070 for Japanese style blades.
 
Stacy, 3 over from the stick tang cleaver....Is that a sujihiki? I plan on doing a bunch of profiling later today and wanted to get a few kitchen knives out. Looking great Stacy...You are going to be a really busy man lol.
 
Stacy, I know you have a few kits on the site but I think that kits would sell better if they included handle material, all pins etc, and a photo of all parts you get.

I'm sure those blade blanks will sell real quick with some basic parts and instructions.
 
Boy that's working it !!!! Great doin's and all in a day !!! Super !!! I believe you picked some great steels to have available. I have lots of respect for your knowledge . This has given me a lot of respect for your practical ability. Frank
 
Yes. that is a sashimi/sujihiki style blade. This is my favorite style. Paired with a santoku, the two can do almost any kitchen chore.
 
That is a lot of sparks for a single day of grinding steel. I had no idea that quantity of steel could be ground away that fast. Thanks for posting.
 
Way to go Stacy! Glad to see you still have time to actually make knives with all of your moderating tasks!!:D Great looking batch!
 
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