Kitchen knife patterns

S

silverhand

Joined
May 11, 2014
Messages
3
I'm in need of some new kitchen knives, and I'm looking to make some for myself. While I make jewellery full time, I do have some experience making the odd knife over the years. What I don't have is a good set of patterns to start from. Does anyone have patterns they are willing to share? I'm not interested in making exact replicas of someone else's knives, but looking for a starting point to make my own.

I'm interested seeing both western and Japanese patterns.

Thanks for the help
Chris
 
If you haven't looked yet, there is more info in the above post then you can shake a stick at. The info has been filtered, concentrated, and approved for our consumption.

To more directly answer the question posed, I too had trouble finding patterns or even design theory concerning kitchen knives. So I just get crazy searching google images and save the useful pics. In so doing, useful links can be followed from some of the pictures. It was just such an occasion when I stumbled upon z knives. I don't know if I'm allowed to post a link to this site but it is easy to find. Once on the home page you will find a link titled Japanese Kitchen Knife types and styles. Click on that. Great resource in my opinion. For western style kitchen knives, I have found the best info on the various manufacturers sites. Lots of pictures and sometimes some discussion on the type of grind or the reason for the shape of the blade. Bear in mind though that there is just as much misinformation as useful bits. If I have a question about a certain feature I read about then I can come here and use the blade forums search engine to research that particular thing. A link to that search engine is in the bunch of links the Count posted above. Hope this gives you a direction to go.
 
One nice thing about kitchen knives is there are lots of stores that carry them. Might be worth wandering into one of those fancy kitchen stores and looking at their wall of knives. You should be able to handle dozens of western knives and hopefully some Japanese styles too. Maybe they'll let you take pictures or trace the ones that catch your fancy.
 
Thank you for the newbie link. I've already been through it, and it doesn't answer the question asked.

I've been through z knives, but hadn't seen the second link. There seems to be more good information about Japanese knives than western ones. I've avoided copying commercial western designs because most mass producers of things don't care a lot about design. I know kitchen knives aren't sexy or flashy, but good design is important.

Thanks
~Chris
 
I make chef knives almost exclusively but dont really have fixed patterns, more like general trends and rules I stick to. I can offer some info but I would recommend looking around, making some drawings outlining some specs and getting feedback and critique from shop talk.

Some guidelines

1/8 to 3/16 at the spine the thickness will determine distal taper, if you start thick taper more and faster, if you start thinner taper less aggressively.

No holes in the edge (places where the edge does not make direct cutting board contact.

1.75 to 2 inches tall at the heal
7-11 inches in blade length.
.005 inch thick edge before sharpening, thicker will detract cutting ability
In a pinch grip, the side the thumb is on should be full flat ground, the other side should have a partial flat grind about sixty to seventy percent up the face of the blade. Then the area above the bevel can be convexed a bit to aid in food release.

The tip of the blade should be about inline with the bottom of the front bolster or bottom of the stick tang on a hidden tang knife.

When you are holding the knife on the cutting board and only the heal of the blade is touching, the edge should angle up and away from the cutting board toward the tip. Kind of like a "greater than" symbol with the lower leg (the cutting board, flat and parallel). This provides for finger clearance you dont want an edge that his parallel with the top of the handle.

The key to a great knife is the balance of all of these things to get a knife that effortlessly cuts up food and does not have that food stick to the bevels with each cut. Being appropriately thin behind the edge allows a bit more flexibility in some things like taper, spin thickness and grind. Most of these are not unbreakable rules but things I have studies and learned from making chef knives.
 
Last edited:
Thank you John. This is great information, and exactly the kind of thing that will help me.

Cheers
~Chris
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top