Knives 5&6 WIP -Gyutos

[Blaster-6]

Been away working and applying knowledge... Curse all of you who helped, challenged and motivated me to get into making these edgy objects!! I can't stop!! This is my first time posting any pics of my work. Learning this craft is an exciting yet humbling journey.

I've made a couple successful smaller knives and thought I'd jump in and try my hand at a gyuto. Always loved the shape and functionality. 15n20 at .09" from JT. So a few pics below.

I attemped to grind the bevel on the first one and it didn't go so well, complete amateurish job and I wasn't happy. I think I salvaged it but it's not perfect. The bevel line doesn't match up with the profile on the radius towards the tip. Hurricane Matthew rolled through so I built a file jig during the hurricane and proceeded to start my bevel on #2. Figured a file jig would help me keep that bevel line in better line with the profile on these longer blades. (Curse you all for making it look so easy!!) Anyway it was a lot of file work but I'm pleased with #2. Need to touch up and clean them.

Anyway, I think I'm almost ready for HT and handle prep. For HT I plan on a 2-3 normalizing cycles and then heating to around 1500/non-magnetic and quenching in an ammo can of canola oil (haven't invested in any Parks #50 yet - neccessary?). Haven't decided on handle material yet but plan on a traditional octagon shape over a pinned dowel rod. Slow process - not enough shop time between work, family and engraving stuff! Any tips would be appreciated.

Twins, cut from the same sheet of 15n20

smoothed down.

File work during Hurricane Matthew

Progress

Left is bevel from my 2x72, right is bevel from the file jig. This is where we are today.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[timos-]

It looks like you really have your profiles dialed in. They look magnificient!
Just a word of caution with these style of knives in regards to where the machi is and the tang start is very narrow. In all the Japanese knives I have re-handled some are remarkably narrow but always are soft. These knives dont really take abuse anyway but If you did drop the knife just right on a hard tile floor it could snap there at the neck if it is fully hardened all the way through.

One step I have added into my progression is using a big waterstone to check for high low spots. I guess you could use a flat platen and a slow speed also. It really helps to fine tune your bevels and true everything up.

 

[jdm61]

That looks good and you are one step ahead of me. My kitchen knife patterns are still cardboard even though I have been telling myself that I will make some mild steel patterns for like 3 years.

 

[Blaster-6]

Thanks guys! 2D profiles I've got down pretty well. It's putting that initial bevel on em and getting it smooth and even that's challenging for me. Then the follow through with my belt pattern...still working on that as well. Practice, need more... time, need more of that too!

Heat treated today. 2 gyutos I've been working on in 15n20. Boric acid is my new best friend to prevent surface scaling in the heat. Happy with the results and the test coupons grain. You can see where I didn't fully coat the blades with the boric acid. I prewarmed the blades to 450 in a toaster oven, coated with the BA I had poured in a foil wrap, once in the furnace the BA turned to a sticky glass coating. Really impressed with the results, you can see the handles lacked the BA coating. Happy with the experiment and overall results today.

Clean up, handles, final edge work to follow.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk