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- Oct 9, 2002
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WARNING. THIS POST IS IMAGE INTENSIVE.
I undertook this project for the heck of it. When forumite 2 knife suggested we show our “60-minute knives” some makers were skeptical if it could be done. Here, I show that it CAN be done ! The knife is just a small working knife with synthetic handles & an machined satin finish. But it is fully funtional and will give pretty good cutting performance. The finished knife even has a full tapered tang & a filed thumb traction groove !
I spent +++time planning, considering a range of options in my mind & on paper, before even attempting it. I also had to consider my method of taking the photos. I had to develop a zen-like state that required complete focus & zero distractions. Turned the cell phone off, etc. I’d organized all my materials & equipment & even did some mental trial-runs. Some of the techniques were visualized down to the absolute detail, including the foot steps I would take as I pressed the camera button to get back to the grinder, etc.
To be honest, the entire project took me 68minutes for absolute start to finish. However, considering the time it took to set up the camera for each shot, I feel that I would have completed the knife in under 60minutes. That’s why when the stopwatch buzzed at the 60minute mark, I kept going & felt I had enough time to do some further hand sanding & to file in a single traction groove (see the last frame).
I was very fortunate that I made no obvious mistakes, & didn’t need to perform any corrections. This is very rare. In addition, virtually all the photos I took turned out & seemed to be on the mark. This is even more rare !! So everything really worked out in my favour this one time !! I don’t pretend that I can actually reproduce this feat. Thinking about my usual knives, I figure to achieve the same result, I’d usually spend twice as long working on the knife, so this is not my usual way of making a knife.
BUT… there is ONE major catch.
The knife leaves much to be desired – the major area is that of the heat treatment. The technique shown is one of a number of traditional blacksmithing heat treatment methods. I DO NOT regard this as necessarily the most reliable or accurate method of tempering a blade. It was chosen simply because it was the ”most reliable” QUICKEST way to temper such a small knife, that I could think of. I have done this before & I know it works.
My usual method of tempering an O1 carbons steel blade is to temper at 385-390F for 60minutes x 3times. This tempering process alone takes at least 6hours. I guess on a long shot, we could technically ignore this time as I am not being hands-on & simply waiting for the purposes of the “60-minute knife” test. .
Nonetheless, in making this “60-minute-knife” the outcome of the bare-bones heat treatment was successful. The blade passed the brass rod edge flex test & any concern about the accuracy of the tempering process was dismissed.
On close inspection, the machined satin finish is on par with any other working-grade knife I have made recently. I do this intentionally to reduce costs & to encourage customers to use such knives. The fit & tolerances are equivalent to that of my full-house custom pieces. In other words, I have chosen time-saving techniques, & NOT quality-skimping techniques.
To ensure that I would end up with a knife equal to my other knives I would proudly sell, I planned that the knife shown at the very end, actually has scales & pins that are removable. The pins could be tapped out & the blade put through my usual tempering process to assure quality, then re-assembled.
TIME & EFFICIENCY
Another thing to say is that, if one were to set up a so-called “production line” style of making knives, eg.- grinding 20 blades, then heat treat 20 blades, then finish 20 blades, then attach 20 handles, etc. one might find it more likely to approach the TRUE “60-minute knife” mark. This can be put down to achieving peak efficiency (which is different for every maker). A good example of improved use of time, is that it takes the same amount of time to heat treat 20 blades as it does 1 blade. This is especially true with stainless & high alloy air-hardening steels. Well, provided one has an oven large enough… It is of course very dependent on the type of knife one is wanting to make.
The 60-minute mark is not recommended, nor is it necessary, to be regarded a good knifemaker. I think that patience is one of the very best virtues a knifemaker can develop. While it is always good to challenge one’s limits & abilities, a knifemaker, should only compete with one’s self, & not with others. In order to make a good knife (& there is no point in making a lesser knife…
, a maker should simply take as long as he or she needs.
HOLY CRAP. I JUST READ MY POST AND REALISED, I SURE CAN CRAP ON...
See below for the real stuff... Jason.
I undertook this project for the heck of it. When forumite 2 knife suggested we show our “60-minute knives” some makers were skeptical if it could be done. Here, I show that it CAN be done ! The knife is just a small working knife with synthetic handles & an machined satin finish. But it is fully funtional and will give pretty good cutting performance. The finished knife even has a full tapered tang & a filed thumb traction groove !
I spent +++time planning, considering a range of options in my mind & on paper, before even attempting it. I also had to consider my method of taking the photos. I had to develop a zen-like state that required complete focus & zero distractions. Turned the cell phone off, etc. I’d organized all my materials & equipment & even did some mental trial-runs. Some of the techniques were visualized down to the absolute detail, including the foot steps I would take as I pressed the camera button to get back to the grinder, etc.
To be honest, the entire project took me 68minutes for absolute start to finish. However, considering the time it took to set up the camera for each shot, I feel that I would have completed the knife in under 60minutes. That’s why when the stopwatch buzzed at the 60minute mark, I kept going & felt I had enough time to do some further hand sanding & to file in a single traction groove (see the last frame).
I was very fortunate that I made no obvious mistakes, & didn’t need to perform any corrections. This is very rare. In addition, virtually all the photos I took turned out & seemed to be on the mark. This is even more rare !! So everything really worked out in my favour this one time !! I don’t pretend that I can actually reproduce this feat. Thinking about my usual knives, I figure to achieve the same result, I’d usually spend twice as long working on the knife, so this is not my usual way of making a knife.
BUT… there is ONE major catch.
The knife leaves much to be desired – the major area is that of the heat treatment. The technique shown is one of a number of traditional blacksmithing heat treatment methods. I DO NOT regard this as necessarily the most reliable or accurate method of tempering a blade. It was chosen simply because it was the ”most reliable” QUICKEST way to temper such a small knife, that I could think of. I have done this before & I know it works.
My usual method of tempering an O1 carbons steel blade is to temper at 385-390F for 60minutes x 3times. This tempering process alone takes at least 6hours. I guess on a long shot, we could technically ignore this time as I am not being hands-on & simply waiting for the purposes of the “60-minute knife” test. .
Nonetheless, in making this “60-minute-knife” the outcome of the bare-bones heat treatment was successful. The blade passed the brass rod edge flex test & any concern about the accuracy of the tempering process was dismissed.
On close inspection, the machined satin finish is on par with any other working-grade knife I have made recently. I do this intentionally to reduce costs & to encourage customers to use such knives. The fit & tolerances are equivalent to that of my full-house custom pieces. In other words, I have chosen time-saving techniques, & NOT quality-skimping techniques.
To ensure that I would end up with a knife equal to my other knives I would proudly sell, I planned that the knife shown at the very end, actually has scales & pins that are removable. The pins could be tapped out & the blade put through my usual tempering process to assure quality, then re-assembled.
TIME & EFFICIENCY
Another thing to say is that, if one were to set up a so-called “production line” style of making knives, eg.- grinding 20 blades, then heat treat 20 blades, then finish 20 blades, then attach 20 handles, etc. one might find it more likely to approach the TRUE “60-minute knife” mark. This can be put down to achieving peak efficiency (which is different for every maker). A good example of improved use of time, is that it takes the same amount of time to heat treat 20 blades as it does 1 blade. This is especially true with stainless & high alloy air-hardening steels. Well, provided one has an oven large enough… It is of course very dependent on the type of knife one is wanting to make.
The 60-minute mark is not recommended, nor is it necessary, to be regarded a good knifemaker. I think that patience is one of the very best virtues a knifemaker can develop. While it is always good to challenge one’s limits & abilities, a knifemaker, should only compete with one’s self, & not with others. In order to make a good knife (& there is no point in making a lesser knife…
, a maker should simply take as long as he or she needs. HOLY CRAP. I JUST READ MY POST AND REALISED, I SURE CAN CRAP ON...
See below for the real stuff... Jason.
