Dustin Quade Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 This was another kitchen knife order i had come in. The customer wanted a knife done in the french chef style. I looked on line for some image references and i think i got the shape down more a less. Heat treating this one was the most annoying knife i have done to date. I think i dook the edge down too close to finished before heat treat because the edge kept getting a very slight warp towards the tip 3 times, and it was just the edge, the spine stayed bang on straight every time. But in the end i got it to go right. Handle is my favorite i have done so far for shape and comfort. I rounded the top and bottom edges over with a slight rounding to the sides. It fits in the hand very comfortably. Hopefully the customer agrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Mr .Quade, Very nice knife. May I make a few suggestions for improved function of your chef's knife? Grind the sharp edge at the base of the blade. It is very easy to cut your hand as the knife is grasped ahead partially of the handle. That is, the thumb and forefinger rest on the blade at the base of the blade. Japanese knives retain the sharp edge but there is an indentation at the blade's base where it is grasped. (many chef's will still grind the knife's sharp corner down a little, just to be on the safe side.). The chief source of blade failure occurs at the place where the handle and blade meet. Professional chef's knives are upset at that position That raised section serves as a reinforcement for the blade. If the preceding description is not clear, consult a picture of a chef's knife on the net (Google etc.), to see good examples. Or drop by a knife store, and check it out. (eg Canadian Tire in a pinch, or Bed Bath & Beyond, if there is one in Canada). Again you have done an excellent job. I am jealous. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhartironwerks Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Hi, I haven't been posting recently, but still look at the pics. I have a suggestion for warping based on the machinery I have in my shop and the school of hard knocks and wasted steel. I start by profiling the blade and bring the thickness to about 1/8" for chef blades. This is where I heat treat. I heat the blade to 1500 deg (1095-15n20) and quench in AAA at about 120 deg while agitating up and down for about 10 seconds, then immediately place the blade between 2 pieces of 1.25" aluminum plate and apply pressure. I have a hydraulic press which makes the process easy, but heavy weights will work. I flatten one side then flip the blade and do the other. No edge grinding is done until after tempering. If you still have warping, repeat the heat treat. Another mitigating factor to minimize warping is to thermal cycle several times, normalize and anneal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Quade Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 21 hours ago, SLAG said: 21 hours ago, SLAG said: Thanks for the tips, I understood what you meant about the upset between where the handle ends and the blade begins. I usually think of this as an integral style blade and with the stock i am working with i cant really upset the stock to provide this, however i do try to leave the tang portion as thick as possible and generally keep that thickness about half an inch up the blade before i start the edge grind. Its not quite the same but it should midigate the failure possibility somewhat. The edge grind is something i would like to try and fix if its something that is a concern for user safety. As i said above the cutting edge doesnt actually start for about half an inch from the handle. Is this what you meant? Or were you saying the corner should be rounded? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 The integral bolster at the base is different for French- and German-style knives. French-style (top) is only at the handle; German-style (bottom) extends towards the edge. (Please excuse both the crappy photo and the mass-market knives.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Quade Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 16 hours ago, gearhartironwerks said: Hi, I haven't been posting recently, but still look at the pics. I have a suggestion for warping based on the machinery I have in my shop and the school of hard knocks and wasted steel. I start by profiling the blade and bring the thickness to about 1/8" for chef blades. This is where I heat treat. I heat the blade to 1500 deg (1095-15n20) and quench in AAA at about 120 deg while agitating up and down for about 10 seconds, then immediately place the blade between 2 pieces of 1.25" aluminum plate and apply pressure. I have a hydraulic press which makes the process easy, but heavy weights will work. I flatten one side then flip the blade and do the other. No edge grinding is done until after tempering. If you still have warping, repeat the heat treat. Another mitigating factor to minimize warping is to thermal cycle several times, normalize and anneal. Thanks for the idea about how to minimize warping. I dont have access to a press or anything but i suppose i could try to get my hands on some heavy steel plates instead of aluminum just for use in straigtening. I actually had fully annealed and thermal cycled the blade prior to heat trating. I do that for all of my knives now which is why i was so annoyed with the warp i kept getting. I had definately gone down much past 1/8 inch for the edge though which im sure is why it kept happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 As for what SLAG says about "the sharp edge at the base of the blade", he's talking about the vertical section between the bottom of the handle and the back corner of the edge. Sharp edges there could cut the user or at very least cause irritation over a long chopping session. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Quade Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 5 minutes ago, JHCC said: As for what SLAG says about "the sharp edge at the base of the blade", he's talking about the vertical section between the bottom of the handle and the back corner of the edge. Sharp edges there could cut the user or at very least cause irritation over a long chopping session. Thanks for the clarification. I will try to clean that up and round it out a bit before i deliver it to the customer. Last thing i want is anyone using something i made and hurting themselves while doing so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 Rounding over of the spine is not a bad thing either, for the same reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Quade Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 12 minutes ago, JHCC said: Rounding over of the spine is not a bad thing either, for the same reason. Oh yea i always do that, i was taught that if you round the spine before you heat treat i helps to midigate the risk of cracks. Dont know if thats true or not but i have always done it just in case lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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