Interesting pictures of a Korean kitchen knife being forged

blue lander

blue lander

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https://translate.google.com/transl...jirisan.com/mountain/12788&edit-text=&act=url

Unfortunately the article's in Korean and the google translation is really bad, but it appears these two guys are brothers and they forge knives from old railroad ties.

The knives themselves look a lot like Japanese kitchen knives except that the spine of the blade appears to be wider than the rest of the knife. Maybe that gives you better control.


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I hadn't noticed that, but it sort of does look like it might be. I also read on a kitchen knife forum that some of them at least are laminated. Low carbon iron from railroad ties on the outside, steel on the inside. It's really hard to interpret the poorly translated article but it seems to imply that they make two different kinds of knives - high quality and low quality. Maybe the high quality ones are laminated. Here's a picture from another site. Looks like they make field knives too

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I ordered one of these knives and it arrived today...

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The knife's spine has a T shape to it like a Afghan knife except it mostly "tees" out on one side. It tees out a little on the other side but not as much

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It's fairly sharp, it could do with some sharpening but it isn't dull or anything like that. There's a difference in steel color by the edge, not sure if that's due to differential hardening/tempering or if the steel is laminated.

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The pommel appears to be designed to crush garlic.

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The handle appears to be made out of laminated wood but it feels very lightweight and hollow. I guess it's sturdy enough for kitchen use but I'd feel better if it was sturdier

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I'll have to use this thing before I decide if I like it or not. I really don't like how lightweight the whole thing feels, but maybe that's because I'm used to heavier knives. Maybe it's the perfect weight for a kitchen knife. Who knows, we'll see.
 
Very unusual. You will have to let us know how you like it after you use it a bit. I am trying to figure out if the "garlic crusher" is all that good an idea if that handle is hollow and as lightweight as you imply? How far down does the tang seem to go, can you tell? I am still trying to figure out the concept of the T spine. Not sure why you would want that on a kitchen knife. Makes cutting larger potatoes, squash anything thicker than the knife is tall a real pain I would think.
 
I've been thinking, perhaps the T-spine is for sharpening? Kinda like a non-detatchable angle guide? Could explain why one side is more T'd than the other too. Just set the knife on its side on a waterstone, and bam, you've got almost a Scandi grind. Just my thoughts, though I could be totally wrong.
 
SingleGrind said:
I've been thinking, perhaps the T-spine is for sharpening? Kinda like a non-detatchable angle guide? Could explain why one side is more T'd than the other too. Just set the knife on its side on a waterstone, and bam, you've got almost a Scandi grind. Just my thoughts, though I could be totally wrong.
Click to expand...

They usually do it for strength. Like a piece of "I" beam steel. I suppose if it was just the right you could use it for a guide. Check out a Khyber knife and you will see they use it because the blades are long and thin but the "T" shape adds rigidity and strength. They look kinda like the one Bookie made a while back.

On another note: The reason I always hated thumb studs on folding knives is because if you want to sharpen near the choil the dang thumb screw is always in the way. Ive contemplated grinding them down so that they could be used as an angle guide and still work as a thumbscrew. I still hate them tho. Id rather drill a hole in the blade myself or enlarge the one thats there (aka spyderco).
 
Ahh that makes more sense..kind of... but what Shavru said about cutting potatoes would definitely be an issue, or so I'd think.

Ndog, I'm not a huge fan of thumb studs either, but I do love the thumb disc on my Emersons. Best part is that if you don't like it, it can easily be removed via 1 phillips head screw. I do like the Spydie holes, but don't love the associated "hump" at the front of the blade. I've got a Paramilitary 2.

On a side note, any chance of a pic of that knife made by Bookie?
 
But...but...but... if you grind off the thumb-stud it will slow down the speed you can thumb open your blade and cut into that cardboard box (or your thumb if you are like me). You might even have to <gasp> use TWO hands to open the blade. LoL, Sorry, I just don't care for thumb studs either but then my EDC knife is for cutting things, not people so I never have to get it out quickly for that I use a 1911 ;) I guess I really AM an old fashioned gal. 2 posts in 2 today that point out to me just how antiquated my thinking is. :D
 
Antiquated is nice. I chuckled a bit at your preference for an A1 AR. I'm still stuck on the M14, guess I'm a bit dated as well.
 
LOVED my original issue which was a M-14. But I only had that during Basic Training. Once I hit OCS they issued us 1911s since we were "gentlewomen" and Officers. Then once I got to my unit they had already been issues M16s. I like the fact the 16 was .223 because if you have ever fired a M14 in fully auto you know it numbs your shoulder in minutes. Plus the 14s were, challenging, to change the magazines on unlike the 16s that were pull and push done. While at that era both mags were 20 rounds the 30 cal hits harder but in the brush the idea was to put as many rounds down range as fast as possible, not really to aim and fire at something which the 14s were much better for. That is why they made the M21 and 25 sniper systems out of M14NationalMatch components (while the M24 Sniper system is a bolt action based on the Rem700).
 
Both my department M14's are full auto. They do numb the shoulder but it's a joyful kind of numb.

They are parade rifles that we occasionally take up to the range. I made up two stocks for each, one for show and one for go you might say.

We affectionately refer to them as Thelma and Louise. Love to have one to call my own. Maybe a scout squad would be nice.
 
I still haven't had a chance to use this thing yet, but the wife used it to make some stew. Here's her in-depth review: "good knife, cuts good."

I think the T-spine is either a byproduct of the way they're forged or it's to give you a thick spine to put your thumb on while still keeping the thin blade. I can see how it might cause problems cutting hard root vegetables, but the wife apparently used it on potatos without any problems. The T doesn't stick out that far anyways. I'll have to try it myself.

No idea how long the tang is, will have to test it with a magnet. But it isn't peened to the pommel, there aren't any pins and the handle feels hollow so it can't be glued in there. But while it feels light it does seem sturdily built. It doesn't rattle or wiggle or anything. And this is the "premium" version, the regular one has a plain wooden dowel for a handle. So you'd figure it must be better than that.

As far as the garlic crusher goes, I think the thing is sturdy enough to crush a clove of garlic. I wouldn't use it to split a coconut or anything.

Another observation: the blade doesn't appear to rust! My wife always leaves my carbon steel blades wet and they end up looking they were dredged out of a swamp after one or two uses, but this one doesn't seem to be staining or rusting at all. My theory is that the edge is carbon steel but it's clad in low carbon soft iron from railroad ties. Sanmai construction. Or maybe the whole thing is made from low carbon iron and it won't hold an edge. Time will tell.

I read there's been a resurgence in traditional kitchen knifes in Korea. The art almost died out during the Japanese occupation and after that they mostly used Japanese or German knives. But a few years ago a Korean Soap opera came out about a chef working in a palace a few hundred years ago, and the creators had traditional Korean knives made for props. The show was hugely popular and Koreans became interested in their traditional cooking implements again.

Anyways, I still wouldn't be comfortable recommending these knives until I see how durable they are. Between me and the wife we'll surely break the thing if it isn't durable.
 
ndoghouse said:
They usually do it for strength. Like a piece of "I" beam steel. I suppose if it was just the right you could use it for a guide. Check out a Khyber knife and you will see they use it because the blades are long and thin but the "T" shape adds rigidity and strength. They look kinda like the one Bookie made a while back.

On another note: The reason I always hated thumb studs on folding knives is because if you want to sharpen near the choil the dang thumb screw is always in the way. Ive contemplated grinding them down so that they could be used as an angle guide and still work as a thumbscrew. I still hate them tho. Id rather drill a hole in the blade myself or enlarge the one thats there (aka spyderco).
Click to expand...
The strength of the I beam Indo Persian Pesh Kabz pattern was intended to better penetrate armor.

Since its a kitchen knife and mostly raised on one side I believe it would be good for scooping up cut vegetables to throw them into a bowl or pot. You can do that with sufficiently wide Japanese or other countries' blades but the raised part in this one will prevent cut things from falling down even better.
 
Cool Blue, I'll look forward to hearing how it holds up. Yep Jens, Thin blades would punch through armor better except they are flimsy and fold over. Thin triangle stays straight and punches through.

Had a couple of M14s with the white honor guard stocks still in my unit. We would occasionally get to take them to the range. I still love that rifle. I just wish our silly state would allow me to bring my M16 home. Almost as stupid a law as the SBR ban AND the I-594. Zero benefit to the public and nothing but a p.i.t.a for us gun historians.
 
Hmm, maybe it is an armor piercing kitchen knife. They eat all sorts of strange stuff in Korea, maybe they have to pierce through the shell of a sea monster or something.

The knife sat damp on the counter overnight and it doesn't have a bit of patina on it, so it is probably carbon steel clad in iron. That seems to jive with the pictures I posted of these knives being made.


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Looks like they fold a sheet of iron over a steel sheet and then cut the excess steel sticking out?

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There's some Korean writing on box it came on as well as the handle and blade itself. My wife could read most of it - basically just the company name and where it was made along with a blurb mentioning it was featured on some Korean TV show. There's one sticker on the handle that she can't understand, maybe that has some hints on what its made of.
 
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Didn't find any details of a laminated construction, but did find this video showing one of these knives making thin slices from a freestanding tomato:

[video=youtube;p3-6YmXvjkg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3-6YmXvjkg[/video]
 
That looks like a dead ringer for mine except the stamps on the blade are in a different position. The yellow sticker at the bottom of the handle is the one that might have some technical info about the knife. The rest are just the name of the company and province they're from. One of the stamps on the blade is the name of the company, the other is in Chinese characters (Hanja), no idea what they mean. I'll take pictures when I get home.
 
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