Help choosing knife blank? chef knife...

C

c33

Joined
Dec 26, 2013
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New guy here, looking to get some help in the right direction. I have always had a strong interest in knife making, however I have no experience with metal working. I do have plenty in woodworking, as it is a hobby of mine. I have a few birthdays coming up for some good friends/family members, and I would like to build a knife for them; a chef knife. The thing though, is that these people have professions in the food industry (sous chefs, catering, etc....) so they would use this knife frequently and for their own jobs.

Before I signed up, I did some research and was glad to see that they do make cutlery knife blanks. But with all the choices, and me being new, Idk exactly where to start...?

My idea for all of this (and also to gradually get into knife making) is to buy a knife blank that is ready to go. One that is already shaped, heat treated, etc and may or may not need sharpening...then I would get some wood blanks and use my skills to form a handle.

With all that said, what knife blanks would you guys recommend? remember, these knives will be used frequently by career-chefs, not home-cookers. So i'd really like to get something that is known to be durable, sharp and something that they can count on. Idk if the quality of knife blanks will match up to something like wustoff or henckel, but I would like to get close. I hope you guys have some that you could recommend?

I appreciate the help
 
If you want to get a blade that is top quality, you may not find what you are looking for in existing kit blades. There are lots of kit blades out there and I've heard that many of them are good, but I haven't seen anything in the last 20 minutes of looking that I would feel good about giving to a professional chef. I'm not saying that you WON'T find what you want, just that you MAY not find what you're looking for. An option to consider is to have a custom maker sell you a blade without a handle, or buy a completed knife and replace the knife.

- Chris
 
Look for old Ontario or Forgecraft knives on eBay, or decent old knives you can rehandle. Or you can buy new Old Hickory carbon steel chef knives very inexpensively, they are thin and sharp, exactly what you want in a kitchen knife. The only problem is they have stubby partial tangs so you will be restricted to making a wa style octagon handle.

Here are some examples:

An old Ontario carbon blade converted to wa handle:

med_1363348727-297298_10200418026469888_646622396_n.jpg


A couple of converted Forgecrafts

DSC02846_zps447b5605.jpg


Various other re-handled older knives:

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...-Ealy-Henry-forgecraft-and-Antique-Sheffields
 
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