Kitchen knife

[tx4cabbie]

A customer asked for a large kitchen/bbq knife, with a bold outdoor look  - after a little back and forth decided on claro walnut for the handles, brass liners, 52100 ball bearing steel hand forged, with mosaic pins. He wanted his initials electroetched into one side of the blade, and we etched our mark into the other.

Once the blade was made, I figured as he has kids it would live in a drawer, so knocked up a cedar sheath from wood I had lying around, and then with some time to kill, used the left over walnut to handle a ceramic honing rod. The wood was soaked in linseed oil to protect and bring out the figure of the grain, its gone a bit dark in the pics but is more obvious in good light.

the blade is 2.5mm thick, with a slight taper, full flat ground to a 15° convex edge, acid washed to darken the blade and inhibit rust. It flexs nicely, and the brass liners counterbalance the long blade well, so it's very agile in the hand. 

 

I'm quite pleased with this one, it cuts like a laser beam, with enough flat for chopping, enough belly for slicing, and a fine tip for detail work.

Tried to add a pic, added one many times, and I'm not tech enough to fix it. Oops. Sorry.

Edited August 21, 2021 by tx4cabbie
Pic adding

[NoBodyImportant]

I like it 

[Mungler]

Ooooh I like that. 

How much would something like that cost to commission?

[dipper]

A big knife with a long blade l would be happier with a guard on the steel.Especially a person with little experience of useing a steel.

[ditchman]

 

now...........that is a no-nonsense do it all knife...........like it

[JTaylor91]

14 minutes ago, dipper said:

A big knife with a long blade l would be happier with a guard on the steel.Especially a person with little experience of useing a steel.

Just sharpen the knife away from your hand.

[dipper]

That’s not how a steels ment to be used  watch a butcher.Or ask him to show you.

[JTaylor91]

40 minutes ago, dipper said:

That’s not how a steels ment to be used  watch a butcher.Or ask him to show you.

I was trained as a fishmonger years ago. I was taught to sharpen away from you. Ask your local fishmonger to show you. If you don’t have a local fishmonger here’s Gordon Ramsay.

Or Bob Kramer, he knows a thing or two about knives.

 

[dipper]

That’s not how a steels ment to be used  watch a butcher.Or ask him to show you.

[dipper]

I was a time served butcher from 1960 .My point was reference to a guard on a steel .if you have a look on most steels you will find cut marks on the guard.I see your point there being several ways of sharpening a knife .If a knife is blunt you will find it hard work putting a edge back  usually a wet stone is used.when I started butcheringi I worked at a coop so I worked at dozens of different shops with a lot of old butchers They would tell you the best way to steel a knife .So I chose the best for me. Go on internet and you will find loads of different opinions.

[243deer]

There are many steels out there these days that are absolute rubbish and create a serrated edge if you look closely, the ceramic jobbies seem much better. I was taught to use a steel by a chef who did not want me to ruin his knives when I borrowed them so steel point down on the edge of a board and the sharp bit of the knife downwards and always upright, adjust the angle of the steel to get the right edge. The local butcher used to do a bit of theatre flashing his knives across the steel in mid air but then his steels were a couple of feet long.

[ted m]

Having been in the meat trade all my life, I would recommend the best way to sharpen a knife is to start on a quality oil stone and then finish on a good quality steel.  Hold the steel in one hand and it is very important to feel the knife on the steel gently and not bang it on the steel.  This will take quite a bit of practice but it very worthwhile once you have mastered the skill.  If in doubt, I'm sure any good butcher would be happy to demonstrate to you.

[Dougy]

Guards on steels LOL 

 

catch your thumb knuckle once you soon realise you dont need one. 

 

Looking at those hands i thought Fruitloop had made it. 

[tx4cabbie]

On 22/08/2021 at 05:30, NoBodyImportant said:

I like it 

Thanks.

[tx4cabbie]

On 22/08/2021 at 09:12, Mungler said:

Ooooh I like that. 

How much would something like that cost to commission?

Thanks. A set like this from similar materials would be around £200.

On 22/08/2021 at 09:39, ditchman said:

 

now...........that is a no-nonsense do it all knife...........like it

Thanks

[tx4cabbie]

Regarding the ceramic honing rod, I was taught lots of different ways to steel a knife, away from you, towards you, as long as the angle is correct and you end up with an aligned edge, I don't suppose it matters. 

I'll be showing the gentleman purchasing this knife to use the ceramic rod like sharpening a pencil with a Stanley knife, pick your angle, and try to slice off a thin sliver of rod, with very light pressure. The steel is thinly ground high carbon steel so will react well to steeling, and if he does it regularly, he'll need precious steel ground off the blade far less often. 

 

1 hour ago, Dougy said:

Guards on steels LOL 

 

catch your thumb knuckle once you soon realise you dont need one. 

 

Looking at those hands i thought Fruitloop had made it. 

No matter what I do I can't get the damp things clean, sharpening tools everyday has steel dust driven into the lines of my hands that no scrubbing will remove - when I want to look halfway decent I have to sand them with the dremel to get the dirt out!

[amateur]

4 minutes ago, tx4cabbie said:

........ No matter what I do I can't get the damp things clean, sharpening tools everyday has steel dust driven into the lines of my hands that no scrubbing will remove - when I want to look halfway decent I have to sand them with the dremel to get the dirt out!

Have you tried Manista?

It works for me after I've been in the workshop.

[tx4cabbie]

42 minutes ago, amateur said:

Have you tried Manista?

It works for me after I've been in the workshop.

No, not tried, but I will now, thanks for the recommendation. I have swarfega, but that's really for cleaning oil/grease, though it does ok on ground in dirt when you add some sugar or salt for abrasive action. I'll have a look at manista.

[amateur]

I used to use Swarfega with added salt, sugar or sand, but it still didn't do the job effectively, wrecked my hands and smelled awful.

Manista has the abrasive in it, keeps my hands soft and has a nice lemon smell.

It is about £15 for 3kg on eBay

[Gordon R]

amateur - thanks for the heads up on Manista. After a day in the garage - which is every day except Sunday - my hands end up with ground in dirt. I wear the disposable gloves sometimes, but they always tear and don't cover my arms. 

I tend to use washing up liquid and a stainless steel pan scourer.

 

[amateur]

59 minutes ago, Gordon R said:

 

.... I tend to use washing up liquid and a stainless steel pan scourer.

 

Crikey, that's almost as hardcore as the Dremel 🤣

[tx4cabbie]

47 minutes ago, amateur said:

Crikey, that's almost as hardcore as the Dremel 🤣

I WISH I was hard-core, its just after scouring the ******* with a pan scourer whilst waiting for the water to heat up, then realise it's set to 95° 9nce I've plunged my hands under the tap, only to realise I've STILL got black embedded in my hands, I just gently smooth the lines out til the dirt has nowhere to hide! Dremel is great for taking the tiniest amount off without hurting my fairy-soft pinkies!

I'll grab some Manista, thanks for the advice.

[ditchman]

feel a bit uncomfortable about the blade sharp to the handle......i would like edge rounded/or dulled the last 1/2".....just looks a bit dangerous....

still like it tho'

[tx4cabbie]

On 30/08/2021 at 18:01, ditchman said:

feel a bit uncomfortable about the blade sharp to the handle......i would like edge rounded/or dulled the last 1/2".....just looks a bit dangerous....

still like it tho'

Thanks, I am happy with it, can't wait for the customer to see it, he's been following it's progress and getting all excited!

The blade being sharp to the heel let's you use most leverage when cutting root veg - he's got a postage stamp of a garden which he still manages to grow several types of veg in, and  is one of the annoying types who used lockdown to get fitter and improve their diet (as opposed to me, who'd lost 5.5 stone up to march 2020, and then fell off the wagon with a thump!).

He cooks a lot with squashes etc making 1 pot meals full of veg for 2 growing lads and 2 working parents, and specifically wanted this sharp heel, and a rounded spine to make pressing down on it more comfy.

The blade width is 50mm, so when the handle is gripped the fingers are well out of the way of the sharp edge, and the knuckles are clear of the cutting board.

Next in line ready for heat treat are 2 chinese style cleavers, a sheepsfoot chef knife, a hocho inspired chef knife, a couple of smaller prep knives, a pruning knife, some classic ziel - style throwing knives, but rather than the 4.5mm stainless  these are in 6mm carbon steel, and a brisket knife with kullenschliff notches to reduce the suction of slice to blade. 

Been very lucky to have been gifted a load of African hardwoods, and some gorgeous burls, and a joiner pal saves me all the interesting looking walnut, maple, etc that crosses his bench, so the handles should be fun too.

[tx4cabbie]

On 27/08/2021 at 23:13, amateur said:

Have you tried Manista?

It works for me after I've been in the workshop.

Bought some manista, you're not wrong, it's good stuff, game changing that one hand-wash of about a  minute can have my hands clean enough for dinner - used to monopolise the sink for ages, scrubbing and swearing. Thanks for the recommendation