Thinking about making a kitchen knife. Opinions wanted!

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WhiteOwl

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Nov 10, 2011
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I have 2" wide - 1/16" thick 1095 steel. I am thinking about making a general purpose chefs knife. What kind of grind? Would a full flat grind be pointless on steel this thin and wide? Maybe start the bevels half way up? Is this steel too thin for a chef's knife?
 
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Hmmm....I'm going to move this thread to Shoptalk.
 
IMO 1/16" is ok for a small chefs w/a 5-1/2" blade,for an 8" or bigger 3/32-1/8".
Stan
 
With stock that thin and wide I think a sabre grind would give you a nice keen edge and maintain some level of stiffness along the spine. Honestly I'd make that piece into two 1" wide filet or boning knives and get an 1/8" piece for a chef's knife. Either way, profile and drill it before HT, then grind the bevels afterward.
 
Well, I make a lot of kitchen knives from .060" stock. Small chef's, paring, fillet, and boner all work well at 1/16". With 2" wide stock, a small santoku would work. A 2X5" blade santoku is a really useful counter knife. A complimentary 3" utility/parer would make a super set.

I would profile the blade, and harden it...then grind the bevels. A convex grind is all you will need for 1/16".
 
All of that sounds good! A convex grind at what degree? Would the grind start near the top of the blade? Midway? I really appreciate the help guys!
 
james terrio said:
With stock that thin and wide I think a sabre grind would give you a nice keen edge and maintain some level of stiffness along the spine. Honestly I'd make that piece into two 1" wide filet or boning knives and get an 1/8" piece for a chef's knife. Either way, profile and drill it before HT, then grind the bevels afterward.
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By saber grind you mean ground on one side only? Single bevel?
 
A sabre grind is a flat grind that only goes part-way up the blade; the bevel is the same on both sides.

A single bevel chisel grind would also be a pretty good idea, actually. It would certainly make for a very keen slicer. I think many sushi/sashimi knives are ground that way. Stacy knows a lot more about Japanese cutlery than I ever will, perhaps he'll clarify for us.
 
just wanted to say that while i am not a knife maker. i am a chef. having used several knifes with saber grinds that after a while they can get annoying. anyone who has brunois 50# of potato with a sabre grind knife will probably agree. also something to consider. is that as bad as this is gonna sound. if the knife is to sharp it will bite into the cutting board shortening your boards life and also slowing you down. never really had a problem with traditional bevels with that more so convexed. again i am not a maker just a worker so take that as you will
 
WhiteOwl said:
By saber grind you mean ground on one side only? Single bevel?
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Sabre grind is normally a high sided scandi grind often with a secondary microbevel to get the stronger cutting edge. Bevel usually comes to halfway or more up the blade. Double bevelled. Often found on stainless "samurai sword" wall hangers.
 
Ok. I think I'll go with a 1" high double bevel or sabre grind. That will make the grinds about 2 degrees either side. It will be crazy thin at the edge.
 
GuinnessSynd said:
just wanted to say that while i am not a knife maker. i am a chef. having used several knifes with saber grinds that after a while they can get annoying. anyone who has brunois 50# of potato with a sabre grind knife will probably agree.
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I completely agree. A saber grind is horrid on a chef knife for multi use. It would be all right for chopping through chicken bones.

That said, I'm no expert knife maker, but what has been working for me lately, as an ameture, in making a chef knife is to do a saber-type grind pre heat treat with 1/8" x 2" stock, usually in the 9-10" blade lenght. This helps it prevent warppage, especially if you are backyard heat treating. Then post heat treat I take my time and grind to a full flat all the way to the edge.
 
WhiteOwl said:
Ok. I think I'll go with a 1" high double bevel or sabre grind. That will make the grinds about 2 degrees either side. It will be crazy thin at the edge.
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No offense man, but before you do the grind, take out one of your double beveled or saber ground field/camp knives and cut a potato in half down the middle. Then try again with a quality kitchen knife. You should notice a big difference.
 
spareparts said:
No offense man, but before you do the grind, take out one of your double beveled or saber ground field/camp knives and cut a potato in half down the middle. Then try again with a quality kitchen knife. You should notice a big difference.
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I can see your point with that. I just thought that using stock that thin there wouldn't be any difference. So you think that tiny grind line half way up will change things? 1/16" is very thin!
 
WhiteOwl said:
I can see your point with that. I just thought that using stock that thin there wouldn't be any difference. So you think that tiny grind line half way up will change things? 1/16" is very thin!
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I know my comparison was a little extreme with using a field knife for the comparison, but yes, you'll feel it when you cut through thick food. Something like chopping herbs won't really matter but when you drive the blade through an onion or potato you'll feel the friction when you hit the grind line.

Also you'll want to distill taper a good chef knife as well (not sure if this will be an issue with 1/16" stock). I use the tips alot for finer cuts and a big blocky tip really sucks.

With 1/16" are you going to be able to heat treat without warping? I'd say give it a try, you'll never know what you really like in the kitchen if you don't try things out. I've made about a dozen kichen knives over the last year, several of which didn't survive the heat treat. Cool thing is that I finally settled on a design that works for me, fits my hand perfectly, and works great.
 
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I would be sending it off for heat treating. I guess I'll pass on the sabre grind and use a convex grind. It'll look a lot better on a kitchen knife too. Spareparts, would you mind posting a couple of pics of the knife you decided worked best for you?
 
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