Stuart Davenport Knives
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2022
- Messages
- 418
This time I have a very nice custom made santoku to offer everyone. The steel is CPM Magnacut which is a fairly new particle steel developed by Larrin Thomas and Crucible. The goal was to make a steel that was extremely corrosion resistant, had a very fine grain and carbide structure for excellent toughness, good wear resistance, while retaining high hardness. They really succeeded in their goal. Check out Larrin's discussion about Magnacut on his website in this link...https://knifesteelnerds.com/2021/03/25/cpm-magnacut/. This steel works well in a very broad range of knife uses from chopping/camp knives to kitchen cutlery. During corrosion testing, it beat just about every stainless steel out there with the exception of Vanax and LC200N. The heat treatment on this santoku was done in house and included a "cryo" soak to complete the quench and triple tempers bringing it to a final hardness of ~62HRC. At this hardness, the wear resistance in testing is very close to S35VN or CruWear to give you an idea of its edge retention,
The thickness of the blade near the plunge grind is 0.100" and has a full flat grind with just a slight bit of convexity. The edge geometry was taken to "zero" and then backed off just enough to reflect light, and then sharpened with diamond plates to a low 10° per side angle. Prior to the final hand rubbed satin finish, I pay close attention to removing steel behind the edge, "thinning" it for a good cutting experience. If you hold the knife in the light just right, you can see just how thin the grind is near the edge. The spine features a nice high polish in contrast to the satin finish on the bevels.
The "D" shaped handle is a beautiful piece of curly maple with a black g10 bolster. The bolster is not just epoxied to the maple, it has "rebar" through the joint for extra stability. The blade is simply epoxied into the bolster/handle. In case the blade were to ever come lose, all it takes is to re-epoxy it back in place. No pins to drill out. I think a lot of Japanese kitchen knives have blades that are simply press fit into the handles for that very reason....easy replacement should the time come. The maple was soaked with many coats of Watco Danish Oil, which I find penetrates very well, and then final coats of TruOil, which seems to excel at sealing the wood and giving it a gloss finish. A coat of wax was then applied for extra protection. The balance came out perfect...right between the maker's mark and the front of the handle.
Once the knife was completed, my wife asked if she could take it out for a test spin. She was dropping cherry tomatoes on the knife while it was edge up and it would slice them like a laser beam. She has a few fine kitchen knives, but we were both really liking how this one was cutting. I think if I had to chose just one knife to have in the kitchen, it would be this one.
OAL: 12 3/8"
Blade: 7" 3/8"
Handle: 5" Curly Maple/black G10 bolster
Thickness: 0.100"
Steel: CPM Magnacut ~62HRC with "cryo"
Edge: 10° per side, 3 micron DMT EEF plate
Price: SOLD
This knife includes a plastic edge guard and free shipping anywhere in the USA. Paypal preferred (samuraistuart@yahoo.com). The first person that says "I'll take it" and sends the funds gets the knife. All of my knives come with an unlimited lifetime warranty. I ask that the clients understand that my knives are not made for the masses but as fine instruments tuned to the job they were intended. They have thin stock, thin grinds, thin edges, and hard steel. Thanks for taking a look and follow me on Instagram: stuartalandavenport.
The thickness of the blade near the plunge grind is 0.100" and has a full flat grind with just a slight bit of convexity. The edge geometry was taken to "zero" and then backed off just enough to reflect light, and then sharpened with diamond plates to a low 10° per side angle. Prior to the final hand rubbed satin finish, I pay close attention to removing steel behind the edge, "thinning" it for a good cutting experience. If you hold the knife in the light just right, you can see just how thin the grind is near the edge. The spine features a nice high polish in contrast to the satin finish on the bevels.
The "D" shaped handle is a beautiful piece of curly maple with a black g10 bolster. The bolster is not just epoxied to the maple, it has "rebar" through the joint for extra stability. The blade is simply epoxied into the bolster/handle. In case the blade were to ever come lose, all it takes is to re-epoxy it back in place. No pins to drill out. I think a lot of Japanese kitchen knives have blades that are simply press fit into the handles for that very reason....easy replacement should the time come. The maple was soaked with many coats of Watco Danish Oil, which I find penetrates very well, and then final coats of TruOil, which seems to excel at sealing the wood and giving it a gloss finish. A coat of wax was then applied for extra protection. The balance came out perfect...right between the maker's mark and the front of the handle.
Once the knife was completed, my wife asked if she could take it out for a test spin. She was dropping cherry tomatoes on the knife while it was edge up and it would slice them like a laser beam. She has a few fine kitchen knives, but we were both really liking how this one was cutting. I think if I had to chose just one knife to have in the kitchen, it would be this one.
OAL: 12 3/8"
Blade: 7" 3/8"
Handle: 5" Curly Maple/black G10 bolster
Thickness: 0.100"
Steel: CPM Magnacut ~62HRC with "cryo"
Edge: 10° per side, 3 micron DMT EEF plate
Price: SOLD
This knife includes a plastic edge guard and free shipping anywhere in the USA. Paypal preferred (samuraistuart@yahoo.com). The first person that says "I'll take it" and sends the funds gets the knife. All of my knives come with an unlimited lifetime warranty. I ask that the clients understand that my knives are not made for the masses but as fine instruments tuned to the job they were intended. They have thin stock, thin grinds, thin edges, and hard steel. Thanks for taking a look and follow me on Instagram: stuartalandavenport.
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