Worthwhile to prototype steak knife handles?

[Fixall]

Well, I think it's safe to say that my wife is firmly on board with the project.

We're going to be traveling for Father's Day, so I received my gifts early. She bought me a Milwaukee Portable Band Saw, Swag Table, and the most beautiful end-cut, walnut cutting board I have ever seen.

 

[RayseM]

YEAH ! - Congratulations Dad and thank you for being you - now get to work.

 

[RayseM]

Yea... This might come as a really big surprise to you, but I tend to overthink things (lol). I grew up using a set of Old Hickory steak knives that had a handle shape really similar to that and they did everything we ever asked of them.

I hope to see some pics of the knives you're working on, they sound like they are going to be some beauties!

Fun to go through the process and you are doing it right. As for my project - likely months away but I will share photos as they happen.

 

[Storm W]

Just a idea. Considering that MagnaCut is hard to come by right now are you sure that you want to use it on a steak knife? Unless you are really into steak and use a wooden plate or cutting board no steel is going to stay sharp on a plate. Have you thought about doing a pairing knife instead? It's not that much different and you can still use it for steak. If steak is your thing forget everything I said. The most interesting part is to make what you want unless you are selling knives and then you have to make what someone else wants.

 

[Fixall]

Just a idea. Considering that MagnaCut is hard to come by right now are you sure that you want to use it on a steak knife? Unless you are really into steak and use a wooden plate or cutting board no steel is going to stay sharp on a plate. Have you thought about doing a pairing knife instead? It's not that much different and you can still use it for steak. If steak is your thing forget everything I said. The most interesting part is to make what you want unless you are selling knives and then you have to make what someone else wants.

I was lucky enough to end up with 18" x 3" of .063" MagnaCut, 18" x 3" of .156" MagnaCut, and 36" x 3" of .093" MagnaCut when Niagra had their release, and I'm hoping to pick up more from Pop's in July when they release their stock. I also have a bunch of DamaSteel, AEB-L, 52100, 80CRV2, 1095, RWL34, as well as well as about thirty or so blanks to make handles for, lol. LOTS to keep me busy. I want to switch to using MagnaCut, Cru-Wear, and 52100 (or Super Blue) exclusively in the future, but I imagine MagnaCut will be a lot more available by the time I work through all the stuff I have on hand.

I had thought about a paring knife, but I have a nice Kramer/Zwilling 52100/african blackwood paring knife that I really like, as well as a Pfry 52100/african blackwood paring knife (Stacy is familiar with that one!), and a Northwood CTS-XHP/african blackwood paring knife, lol. Steak knives and a bread knife are the only real gaps in our kitchen knives. I'm planning on forgoing serrations, so some nice wooden plates are definitely in our future.

We're a big-time steak family in our household! I used to be a meat cutter before I blew my shoulder out, and I fell in love with high quality beef when I was doing that. We probably eat way more red meat than we should... We picked up a Kamado grill last year and that hasn't helped, lol.

 

[Storm W]

I was lucky enough to end up with 18" x 3" of .063" MagnaCut, 18" x 3" of .156" MagnaCut, and 36" x 3" of .093" MagnaCut when Niagra had their release, and I'm hoping to pick up more from Pop's in July when they release their stock. I also have a bunch of DamaSteel, AEB-L, 52100, 80CRV2, 1095, RWL34, as well as well as about thirty or so blanks to make handles for, lol. LOTS to keep me busy. I want to switch to using MagnaCut, Cru-Wear, and 52100 (or Super Blue) exclusively in the future, but I imagine MagnaCut will be a lot more available by the time I work through all the stuff I have on hand.

I had thought about a paring knife, but I have a nice Kramer/Zwilling 52100/african blackwood paring knife that I really like, as well as a Pfry 52100/african blackwood paring knife (Stacy is familiar with that one!), and a Northwood CTS-XHP/african blackwood paring knife, lol. Steak knives and a bread knife are the only real gaps in our kitchen knives. I'm planning on forgoing serrations, so some nice wooden plates are definitely in our future.

We're a big-time steak family in our household! I used to be a meat cutter before I blew my shoulder out, and I fell in love with high quality beef when I was doing that. We probably eat way more red meat than we should... We picked up a Kamado grill last year and that hasn't helped, lol.

Hey if you eat a lot of steak them it would be awesome to have ultra sharp steak knives. My wife and I split a steak and it stays on the cutting board. I sharpen knives and when people give me steak

 

[Storm W]

Just a idea. Considering that MagnaCut is hard to come by right now are you sure that you want to use it on a steak knife? Unless you are really into steak and use a wooden plate or cutting board no steel is going to stay sharp on a plate. Have you thought about doing a pairing knife instead? It's not that much different and you can still use it for steak. If steak is your thing forget everything I said. The most interesting part is to make what you want unless you are selling knives and then you have to make what someone else wants.

If steak is your thing then go for it. I was just observing that most people rarely use streak knives and most people tend to use them as pairing knives more often than steak knives. If meat is your thing it would be cool as heck to have a ultra hard steak knife. I have been thinking about making some myself and from the people I talk to and the research I have done the two options seem to be either to add seration or to have the tip far enough forward so that only the tip drags on the plate. If you know of any other options I would love to hear about it.

 

[GABaus]

If steak is your thing then go for it. I was just observing that most people rarely use streak knives and most people tend to use them as pairing knives more often than steak knives. If meat is your thing it would be cool as heck to have a ultra hard steak knife. I have been thinking about making some myself and from the people I talk to and the research I have done the two options seem to be either to add seration or to have the tip far enough forward so that only the tip drags on the plate. If you know of any other options I would love to hear about it.

This is pretty much just the forward tip style you were talking about, but a steak knife with strong recurve with a forward curving handle almost like a miniature kukri would probably have some ergonomic advantages as well if you design it correctly since it could allow you to keep your hands a little bit more in line with your arms.

 

[Fixall]

Alright, I'm going to cut some G10 templates in the next day or so. Here's what I've come up with. I want the blade of the knife to come down below the handle to give some knuckle clearance. Do you guys think a 1" tall blade is too tall for a steak knife? I could pretty easily modify the front of the knife so that I can change the width to 7/8" or 3/4", but I think 1" looks right. The top and bottom profile have a 1" tall blade, and the profile in the center has a 3/4" tall blade.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I like #3 followed by #1. I'm not liking #2

 

[Fixall]

I like #3 followed by #1. I'm not liking #2

#1 or #3 will be the pattern I use for our knife set (probably whichever one I mess of the least on, lol). #2 is mainly just in there because I already put in the effort and my wife is still convinced it's the best of the bunch. I figure it'll be easy enough to make a one off to send in to be heat treated with the knife set to see how it feels and then I'll have the template on hand in the future if we decide we like it.

I like #3 the best too. The quillon(?) and heel of the blade is shaped so that I will be able to easily sharpen it with an Edge Pro and it has a bit more belly.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

People refer to it as the Finger Choil ... but is actually the finger pocket or finger rest. The choil is the small notch at the end of the cutting edge. A finger choil is a curved recess on the blade for choking up beyond the handle.

 

[Natlek]

I would like it more like this .................

 

[Crag the Brewer]

Yea... This might come as a really big surprise to you, but I tend to overthink things (lol). I grew up using a set of Old Hickory steak knives that had a handle shape really similar to that and they did everything we ever asked of them.

I hope to see some pics of the knives you're working on, they sound like they are going to be some beauties!



Wow, that is some intense coloring on the padauk. really awesome. They turned out great.

I was going to suggest a fancier version of Old Hickory......

Unfortunately, I have bought knives costing more than $300 that have had handles less comfortable than OH

 

[Natlek]

Alright, I'm going to cut some G10 templates in the next day or so. Here's what I've come up with. I want the blade of the knife to come down below the handle to give some knuckle clearance. Do you guys think a 1" tall blade is too tall for a steak knife? I could pretty easily modify the front of the knife so that I can change the width to 7/8" or 3/4", but I think 1" looks right. The top and bottom profile have a 1" tall blade, and the profile in the center has a 3/4" tall blade.

If you want clearance you need to change angle of cutting edge towards handle .Half of blade in your model are parallel with handle and there is no clearance and you will not be able to use that part of blade for cutting on a flat surface...........
adjust the edge of knife on the last drawing I reworked , to be parallel to the cutting board and see where would be position of handle be......

 

[Fixall]

If you want clearance you need to change angle of cutting edge towards handle .Half of blade in your model are parallel with handle and there is no clearance and you will not be able to use that part of blade for cutting on a flat surface...........
adjust the edge of knife on the last drawing I reworked , to be parallel to the cutting board and see where would be position of handle be......

I'll mock something up with that blade profile and see how the ergonomics feel while making the cutting motion. The reason I went for a straight portion of blade for the back half is because I use that part of the knife to initiate cuts, while I use the front half to finish the cut. It's not uncommon for us to have 1.5" - 2.5" thick steaks and the motion of cutting feels natural with the flat part starting the cut.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I feel you are really overthinking it now. Come on ... it is a steak knife, not a yanagi-ba. Simple and straight is all it needs. Ergonomics is for handles and blades you use for hours on end or that have specialized tasks. This knife will merely cut up a steak at whatever angle you hold it.

 

[Fixall]

I feel you are really overthinking it now. Come on ... it is a steak knife, not a yanagi-ba. Simple and straight is all it needs. Ergonomics is for handles and blades you use for hours on end or that have specialized tasks. This knife will merely cut up a steak at whatever angle you hold it.

As I tend to do.

Between covid and three months of bonding leave, maybe I need to get out of the house.

 

[Fixall]

People refer to it as the Finger Choil ... but is actually the finger pocket or finger rest. The choil is the small notch at the end of the cutting edge. A finger choil is a curved recess on the blade for choking up beyond the handle.


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Thank you! Not sure how I missed this post. It was driving me crazy not knowing what to call that area. I knew finger choil wasn't correct, and quillon didn't seem right either.