Hey all,
i got kinda into this question by DanF "Can a simple knife be made today for less than a hundred dollars?"
Im the type that nerds out on these little challenges. I think its a worthwhile endeavor.
This type of format will challenge us makers to be as efficient as possible.
Heres the details on my entry. I'd love to hear more from everyone else. Either your own specs/process on a "$100 dollar knife" or comments and criticism.
I will try to be detailed on my process so that you guys might see obvious areas to improve. Feel free to ask me to elaborate though if anything seems outa wack.
I made 3 of these as a batch - I only finished 1 so far.
RECIPE:
Profile , chamfer, prepare for heatreat. mins. Tools used - portaband , northridge grinder. Time 20 mins. (3 blades)
Preheat oven to 1480. Time 60 mins. Tools used: Evenheat Kiln
While oven is heat treating, prep handles. nat. Walnut , western shape. Tang holes drilled 1/16" pilot, 1/4" drill 3" deep. 10 mins/handle
Austenized 3 blades @1480 for 10 mins, quenched parks 50 and plate quenced rest of way - less than a minute from parks to plate quench - rc65 file skating.
Temper at 350 2 hours .
surface grind on platen using magnet 60 grit VSM - add distal taper 120 grit VSM- debure choil and spine 120 grit scallop- 20 mins per blade.
rough grind (slack belt bevels) - 60 grit VSM - 120 grit VSM - a160 gator - 400 grit cubitron - fine scotchbrite - 10 mins per blade
mount handle 10 mins. shape handle 10 mins. epoxy handle 10 mins. per blade
finsal polish and sharpening/ quality control - 20 mins. per blade.
The style of knife I chose is a 26C3 carbon steel @ .040" thickness. I wanted to really cut down on grinding bevels time and experiement with flexible blades.
I think 26C3 is relatively easy to process and inexpensive as well. Awesome bang for the buck knife steel.
I chose my 6-1/2" petty chef blade length. I've made alot of these and I think it gives me the best utility vs processing speed.
I used natural walnut for the handle - it looks and functions good, i had it already, and its fast to work.
I am calling this the "Naked Feather" Its naked carbon steel ready for a patina and it weighs just under 50 grams. The balance point is @ the makers mark.
In my testing it cuts really nice - the slack belt grinding gives you an arc over the entire blade face - flat grind would be too "sticky" for a kitchen knife.
It is limited to lighter tasks and ingredients. This aint the one to break down that squash or bang through a bunch of carrots. It slices and dices regular "one meal" sized portions of almost everything just fine.
So yeah! the Naked Feather - first one is available in the exchange.
business-wise this is what it looks like:
material costs (inlude inbound shipping)= $32
shop rate $69 per hour @ 90 mins= $104 (working out of my house in the Bay state - this is sustainable)
Looks like I can offer this knife @ 136$ plus shipping.
Any knifemaker can do this and we will all have different results based on our skills. Collectors and users get some pretty aproachable prices and us makers stay challenged and engaged.
Let me know what you gus think and if anyone else wants to follow the format MAYBE we can start a whole new collectible genre right here based out of blade forums shoptalk.
