Foundryman Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 I was recently commissioned to make a pair of kitchen knives as a 21st birthday present for a member of my family, I was given some photos of the blade and handle profiles that they wanted and then approved the sketches that I came up with, then it was time to get to work! The blades are 150 layers of 15n20 and Uddeholme 20C steels with a ladder pattern ground in and then forged out, the handles are bog oak with stainless pins all as requested by the customer. A question to those with more experience than me, is ladder pattern damascus particularly prone to warping during heat treat? I had more trouble with the larger of these blades than I've had with any that I've previously made, even though my heat-treat process remained the same. The blades were left 2mm thick at the edges, they were triple normalised and then quenched into pre-heated rapeseed (canola) oil, whereupon the larger blade decided it would rather be a banana than a blade, I repeated the process and it still warped but not as bad and I was able to take most of the bend out immediately after the quench and the rest I managed to remove during the temper cycles by clamping it just past straight and allowing it to spring back. These are my 11th and 12th finished blades and I'm happier with the lines on these knives than with any of my previous ones so they definitely represent improvement in my mind. Simon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Can't coment to your issue with warping, but I would compliment you on the knives. All to often I see some presenting a "kitchen knife" that has no understanding of what works, you sir have made a pair exceptional French chef knives. Only need to add 4 to the set, lol. French butcher, filet, boning and bread will round things out nicely ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 when you flattened after the ladder cuts, you must have put more compression (gave more or harder hammer blows) on one side than on the other. a few nornmalizing cycles will help with that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foundryman Posted June 5, 2016 Author Share Posted June 5, 2016 Thank you for the kind words Charles, I enjoy cooking and I've made several chefs knives before of the "clunky" variety, these by far feel the most natural in your hand. Maybe I can offer to add to the set for future birthdays, actually that's not a bad business model. Thanks for sharing your wisdom Steve, that seems fairly likely as it was drawn out by hand, that information will be very helpful in my next project, always learning, Simon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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