A knifemaker's Best Friend

george tichbourne

george tichbourne

Joined
Apr 19, 1999
Messages
3,560
I just got back from visiting my best friend, the chiropractor. I spent the entire day grinding 8" chef's knives and really needed a little assistance straightening up.

I know that some knifemakers who are somewhat clumsy will argue that the seamstress down at the emergency room is more important, can't dispute that not having any direct experience myself.

Today was the last day of the Christmas season grind, 147 kitchen knives in three weeks. Now all I have to do is get handles on them before the 23rd.

The Signatures Craft show starts on the 23rd of November and runs until Dec. 3rd, all 10 hr days. It is a show where I sell a lot of kitchen knives an almost nothing else, not a lot of hunters and fishermen down there I guess.

If you have to do craft shows you have my sympathy, they are tough venues to work.
 
I just looked at your web site George. While I stand by my opinion that ALL professional knifemakers are underpaid for the beautiful work they do, I've gotta say that you earn your living the hard way.
You have some wonderful knives listed, and I can't imagine how you can sell them at those prices.
 
George, You are a steel grinding animal! 147 blades in 3 weeks? I ground 1 last week.
 
yep, geogre i just did a three day craft show here in santa monica, and sold and took orders for all culinary knives except two field knives. i brought along two damascus knife's and spent alot of time explaining how and why damascus is made to people that kept saying how beautiful it was but would'nt lay out that kind of moneyon such excitic steel. yep, craft markets are a different bunch. next time i think i will leave the damascus knives at home :)
 
The craft show is the only place that I show my knives under glass.
I started that practice when a yuppie picked up a knife by the blade to admire the pretty wood handle and nipped his finger. The worst part is that he was surprised that it would be sharp. Since then the craft show gets glassed in showcases.
 
Yes, George there are some real dandys out there, some of them shouldn't be allowed to carry anything but a stick but then they would probably poke an eye out. I like it, when they come up and grab a knife like they really know something and run their fingers up and down the edge, then say your knives sure aren't very sharp. Then I'll take it and run it across my arm and the hair will just fly, and they'll say, I guess its sharper then I throught. I'll bet one of them is sharp and its not the one holding the knife. It takes all kinds, its just amazing that some of them have managed to stay alive this long, with all the stupid stunts they pull..:D

Good luck at the show.

Bill
 
Knifemakers best friend:

tomndog.jpg



While I will READILY admit that is a LOT of knives to grind....the Strider Guys tell me they regularly grind 20 a day!!!!!! And one of Butch Vallotons kids told me he does 50!!!!!!! folder blades a day!! Yikes......I cant even count that high!!!!!! :(
 
Jeez George, those are some great looking blades. And WAY too inexpensive! How can you afford to do such nice work so cheap?
 
George, what kind of grinds are these and what kind of grinder are you doing them with??? :eek:

Nick
 
I use a 7.5HP industrial metal polishing grinder fitted with a 3X97 belt, 14" contact wheel and grind with 50 grit Aluminum oxide belts.

It is a real monster but for the big chefs knives it is the only way.

I can grind 50 or more 3-5" blades a day but only about 30 or so chefs blades. Where things slow down is when it comes to putting handles on and finishing them. The good part is the kitchen knives don't have to have sheaths made for them.
 
well geogre the amount of extra knowlodge that i have to relate to the craft show crowd is a lot. even without the damascus blades there. i dont think i could do ten days in a row without stocking up on prozac:D best wishes for you at the show.
 
Man I couldn't even imagine grinding that many in one day,I would be totally crazy and hanging off the ceiling by the time i got to 10 if that many..
I usually grind two then heat treat and finish and it might be a week or two before I grind another or get to forge another,Now when I did Kitchen knives for gun shows I could do about a dozen complete knives in a day but that was all I would do until the next show date.They drove me crazy..:D
Bruce
 
I forge blades for a day or two and then heat treat, grind and put handles on and make sheaths for the rest of my frigging life! Well, it seems like it anyway. :D
 
Which one is you Tom????

:)
:p
:)


I ground 17 blades in about 6 hours or so, that included profiling from barstock and going to about 220 or 400 on the bevels, depending on the blade. Then i ran out of steel :( I like making kitchen knives because they dont need sheaths and i can grind them on the contact wheel, vertical flat grinding :) no plunges, nice smooth flowing look to them, gets the edge below the fingers and they are easy to polish on the contact wheel. i vert flat grind and go up to 1200 trizact, then about 10 min hand finishing for a nice clean satin finish :) The handles are usually simplier too, most of them a simple oval shape, no finger grooves to worry bout :)

I might be ordering some CPM S30V soon to try kitchen knives out of :)
 
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