Big ol chef knife

Chris Leahy

Chris Leahy

Joined
Jul 9, 2019
Messages
55
I was going to post this in the gallery forum, but it says I dont have adequate permissions to post there.
Maybe theres a threshold number of posts needed?

Anyhow this is pretty much my 2nd knife. Its not perfect, but on the whole I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Its a 10" chef knife, forged 1095, differentially hardened, Burma padauk handle.

I'm happy with how the hamon turned out. Still have to sharpen it...

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The Knifemakers Gallery is for knifemaker memberships. You are a basic membership.
Posting it here is fine.
 
You sure got the hamon to turn out nicely. Good looking knife - you'll enjoy using it.
 
I neglected to comment on the knife - you did a really good job!
The hamon is just about as perfectly placed as you could want. It is also well developed.
I don't like dropped handles and finger grooves on chef's blades, but you did a nice job with the Corby bolts on the handle.

For future information,
A dropped butt on a chefs knife is going in the opposite direction of the cutting action, thus making the cut less efficient. It also moves the knuckles closer to the board. The butt on your knife looks close to even with the board, thus making a full slicing motion nearly impossible once you add your fingers. You will have to raise the hand to get clearance, thus using only the front half of the blade to cut. Normally, thebutt is slightly larger than the front of the handle and the handle is aligned with the spine.
BTW, There are actually special kitchen knives with raised handles to increase the cut force and assure complete slicing.
Finger groves are for knives being forced through things like wood, cardboard, and ropes. That is fine for a camp knife or hunter. A chef's knife is most likely to be used in a baseball grip or pinch grip. Neither needs grooves. A very small belly swell is more than sufficient for grip position.
Classic+Chef%2527s+Knife.jpg
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With the handle, there is also the angle of the wrist to consider. A chef's knife is generally used standing, cutting on a board at about waist height; dropping the handle will bend the wrist at a weird angle.
Maybe it would work as a BBQ knife or something? Use it for a while, see how you feel about it. It might work for you.

That said, the knife looks really cool! nice hamon and finish, and the blade looks good. What's the distal taper like?
 
Yeah, very nice knife. The blade on a chef knife should be more triangular and the handle straighter.

Hoss
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I neglected to comment on the knife - you did a really good job!
The hamon is just about as perfectly placed as you could want. It is also well developed.
I don't like dropped handles and finger grooves on chef's blades, but you did a nice job with the Corby bolts on the handle.

For future information,
A dropped butt on a chefs knife is going in the opposite direction of the cutting action, thus making the cut less efficient. It also moves the knuckles closer to the board. The butt on your knife looks close to even with the board, thus making a full slicing motion nearly impossible once you add your fingers. You will have to raise the hand to get clearance, thus using only the front half of the blade to cut. Normally, thebutt is slightly larger than the front of the handle and the handle is aligned with the spine.
BTW, There are actually special kitchen knives with raised handles to increase the cut force and assure complete slicing.
Finger groves are for knives being forced through things like wood, cardboard, and ropes. That is fine for a camp knife or hunter. A chef's knife is most likely to be used in a baseball grip or pinch grip. Neither needs grooves. A very small belly swell is more than sufficient for grip position.
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Thanks Stacy (and others) for the handle design tips. I actually agree 100% on the grooves and the angle. With a 10" blade, its also longer than a lot of people would want for the kitchen as well, This knife was originally going to be a big, drop-point camping knife and I changed course after I started grinding the bevels. At that point the angle and profile of the tang had already been established :)

Fortunately the blade is quite wide and theres sufficient clearance that my knuckles dont quite smack the cutting board. This was a happy accident. I may still grind some of the very bottom off the end of the handle to make a touch more clearance. I'm going to use it for a bit before I decide...
 
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DevinT said:
Yeah, very nice knife. The blade on a chef knife should be more triangular and the handle straighter.

Hoss
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Thanks Hoss.

Agree on handle angle. The shape is a personal preference thing. I spent 6 years in the kitchen professionally. 3 years as a line cook and 3 more as sous chef.
I used a Wushtof 8" chef mostly with a nice curved cutting edge like I made on this knife. I prefer this shape for slicing and ground the curve intentionally.
I had a Henkels chef that was flatter which was better for chopping.
 
Very nice knife. I don't know enough about chef's knives to comment on handle specifics, etc. but as a second effort, that looks like some great craftsmanship.
 
Chris Leahy said:
Agree on handle angle. The shape is a personal preference thing. I spent 6 years in the kitchen professionally. 3 years as a line cook and 3 more as sous chef.
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Hey chris - incredible results for a second knife (i should wish to do that well!). Regarding comments on design (and i suspect i will ruffle some feathers, and maybe initiate some comments like ”you are a newbee - what do you know) i completely get your comment on blade profile being a personal preference thing. I have not been a professional cook ... but i have been the only person in my house dong the cooking for more than 40 years, and i definitely have my preferences for knife design, based on function, that runs counter to the “popular” shapes for various knives (dont even get me going on “high end” european knife styles, unless you want to hear a rant). I personally would not want to use so highly curved a knife, but i can certainly imagine prep techniques where that shape would be preferred. Regarding the handle (which is beautiful), personally, the shape and angle would not bother me in the least: mostly i use a full-up pinch grip, with the rest of my fingers resting lightly on the sides of the handle - there would never be an issue with my knuckles getting pinched between the handle and board (and if you need some special angle on the handle to impart more force, somethng is seriously wrong either with blade, what you are trying to cut, or technique (cutting/slicing/prepping food should be mostly an effortless thing - if you are exerting significant force, that is when things get dangerous). With great respect to the craftsmanship and experience of others who have critiqued the design, i would nevertheless encourage you continue to tweak your designs for your personal needs - they are after all for you, not someone else, right?

(Aside - i have several knives in process that after reading this i strongly suspect will raise objections: a modified “chinese cleaver, a modified nakiri (both of which, by intent, vary from the “standard” design), and a “paring” knife that might have people screaming, but they all vary in their own way for reasons. They may succeed in practical use for me, my family, and friends, they might not .... but it is surely worth a try?
 
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Cushing H. said:
Hey chris - incredible results for a second knife (i should wish to do that well!). Regarding comments on design (and i suspect i will ruffle some feathers, and maybe initiate some comments like ”you ate a newbee - what do you know) i completely get your comment on blade profile being a personal preference thing. I have not been a professional cook ... but i have been the only person in my house dong the cooking for more than 40 years, and i definitely have my preferences for knife design, based on function, that runs counter to the “popular” shapes for various knives (dont even get me going on “high end” european knife styles, unless you want to hear a rant). I personally would not want to use so highly curved a knife, but i can certainly imagine prep techniques where that shape would be preferred. Regarding the handle (which is beautiful), personally, the shape and angle would not bother me in the least: mostly i use a full-up pinch grip, with the rest of my fingers resting lightly on the sides of the handle - there would never be an issue with my knuckles getting pinched between the handle and board (and if you need some special angle on the handle to impart more force, somethng is seriously wrong either with blade, what you are trying to cut, or technique (cutting/slicing/prepping food should be mostly an effortless thing - if you are exerting significant force, that is when things get dangerous). With great respect to the craftsmanship and experience of others who have critiqued the design, i would nevertheless encourage you continue to tweak your designs for your personal needs - they are after all for you, not someone else, right?

(Aside - i have several knives in process that after reading this i strongly suspect will raise objections: a modified “chinese cleaver, a modified nakiri (both of which, by intent, vary from the “standard” design), and a “paring” knife that might have people screaming, but they all vary in their own way for reasons. They may succeed in practical use for me, my family, and friends, they might not .... but it is surely worth a try?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comments!

I suspect theres a difference between what we would make for ourselves and what would make the most sense as a "production" chef knife meant to sell. I expect the best approach there is to design according to what will appeal
the most to your average cook/chef.

The joy of doing this as a hobby, and having spent a lot of time in the kitchen, is that we can design specifically for our own needs/taste.

I do expect that if I had set out to make a chef knife from the outset I would have had some drop to the handle because its aesthetically pleasing (to me), but not as much as I did for this one.
 
Chris - agreed on all - enjoy the experience!

I think you hit it with the word “joy”. I am making a skinner for a friend (who is a hunter) - and has BIG hands. We went through a process with cut out paper profiles, and came up with a result, comfortable to him, with a handle significantly longer and wider in height than typical designs. He asked how i was going to find a blank to use, and when i told him i was not, that i was going to cut it out of steel to match this specific profile, his eyes lit up. Priceless.

(Now i just need to work to execute the technical details/ craftsmanship well enough!)
 
Cushing H. said:
Chris - agreed on all - enjoy the experience!

when i told him i was not, that i was going to cut it out of steel to match this specific profile, his eyes lit up. Priceless.
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Nothing quite warms the soul like having something made just for you. One of a kind.

I build custom, one-off guitars and see this every time I work with a customer to design their guitar. Its even more pronounced when you present them with the finished product :)
 
Chris Leahy said:
The joy of doing this as a hobby, and having spent a lot of time in the kitchen, is that we can design specifically for our own needs/taste.
Click to expand...
Yep. One of my personal kitchen knives has quite an unusual handle, I personally find it very nice to use.
As for the profile of your blade, it looks fine for some styles of chopping. I wouldn't blink if i saw that on someone else's knife rack.
 
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