Serrated Advice?

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Nov 19, 2016
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I know that serrated kitchen knives aren't all that popular in these parts. I don't like 'em myself, but "many" friends have been asking for serrated bread knives. Two quick questions:

Do you think a Foredom with carbide burrs would be reasonable approach to getting neat, sharp scallops and points? (Hand filing drives me insane.) Also, I'm wondering if anyone has put together a nifty jig they'd care to describe? I tried Stacy's method of scalloping on a small wheel pre-heat treat, but consistency was tough! Actually, the initial cuts were sort-of even, but going back post-HT with finer grits threw off the lines.

Any advice is welcome ... and thank you, once again.
 
A simple row of scallops is not too bad. Following advice from here, I just use a chainsaw file. After each one is filed I place a round rod snugly against the file (inside the last groove) to space the next one. I try to keep a consistent angle. I don't take each one to full depth until after, going back to get them all as even as possible.

I once did a breadknife with a repeating pattern of 4 different types of serrations. For that one I did an initial very small cut with a triangle file at all of the marked locations, then went back with the various files...not fun for well adjusted people.
 
Richard pretty well summed it up.

Use a round file of sufficient size to get the scallop you desire .... test it on scrap steel.
File the first scallop at the plunge.
Tape a round steel or brass rod of the same size as the file to the file on both ends.
Place the smooth rod in the previously filed groove and file the next groove with the file.
Do the same down the blade on each new groove.
Leave a tiny space between each groove, as you will file again after HT. When doing the post HT filing, use a round diamond file or wrap fine sandpaper around the file.
If you like the sharp point between each groove, use a triangle file to cut a sharp notch in each tiny space between the grooves.

It is best to experiment on a scrap bar of steel to get the angles and size of the scallop grooves down before doing it on the knife blade.

It takes some skill to do the grooves with a dremel or flex shaft.
 
Most makers get this request of making a serrated blade for cutting bread or making a gut hook hunting knife. The object of a bread knife is to be proficient at slicing bread and doing it with ease. When I get the request for a serrated blade I let that person slice bread with my bread knife, which is made of W2 and measures .079 at the spine handle junction. With the bevels ground to zero at the edge, followed by a 12 or 13 degree per side edge grind, this blade will out cut anything with serrations I believe it is one of those: we have done it this way for so long, we tend to continue down that avenue.

That said, a well made serrated bread knife will be much appreciated by the non knife maker. :)
Happy grinding, Fred
 
I have read a few times that grinding one side of the edge on a 36 grit belt and the other side of the edge with a 400 grit belt leave a very aggressive bread edge. I would suspect a very quick micro bevel with the 400 grit on the rough side would make it even sharper.

If you skill set isn't up to all the work, it is a very good option to buy a pre-made bread knife blade from one of the knifemaking suppliers and handle it up as you wish.
 
I have read a few times that grinding one side of the edge on a 36 grit belt and the other side of the edge with a 400 grit belt leave a very aggressive bread edge. I would suspect a very quick micro bevel with the 400 grit on the rough side would make it even sharper.

If you skill set isn't up to all the work, it is a very good option to buy a pre-made bread knife blade from one of the knifemaking suppliers and handle it up as you wish.
The bread knives at our house have a 400 edge with the burr removed on an ERU.
 
Thank you all for your thoughts. Some very good suggestions ... including, alas, the need for hand-filing. Ugh! But when I consider the time I spent saving time ...

Appreciate it!
 
I use a radius'd cbn wheel on a variable speed bench grinder (that I have my vfd hooked to) with coolant being sprayed on it. Edge never gets hot, burr doesn't even turn colors, and I grind in post ht. It's a semi expensive set up though so not worth it unless you do it regularly. I also have a source which can take a cad file and make a 1-2" wide plated wheel in a specific pattern for very consistent grinding, but it's $400-500 or something like that for a wheel iirc.
 
A thought just came to me. Would it help to put in the serrations up to a marked depth and then grind in the primary bevel on the other side to expose the scallops? It would help in not over heating the scallops and would allow some room to adjust things.
 
A thought just came to me. Would it help to put in the serrations up to a marked depth and then grind in the primary bevel on the other side to expose the scallops? It would help in not over heating the scallops and would allow some room to adjust things.

That is how I do it.
 
i remember seeing somewhere you use rubber bands under your belt on a contact wheel.
seemed to make sense as the wheel rotates with the rubber bands below would allow deeper cutting in their spot , next set might be a pita to line up .
never done it but think it should work .
 
Another easy way to do it is make the blade profile a bit large and then scribe where you want your edge to be. Then drill holes at the scribe line. The holes, if they are lines up correctly, will make the troughs and peaks of the serrations after you grind the excess material off. Then all you need to do is file the bevels of the serrations on one side. It really helps get uniform spacing between the serrations.
 
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