What's on my Bench Today?

Well my friends, the answer to 'what's on my bench today'...today...is blood, lol.



I was completing the final polish/sharpening on two ko-gyuto, and sure enough, one bit me. I'm positive the other was laughing about it, too. The cut was to the bone on my fingertip (I felt it stop)...but it sealed up quickly enough, and a dab of super glue is keeping it that way. Gotta love a sharp knife lol...I can't even feel it now .


Partner's in crime!!


And a nice pair of buckeye burl with nickel silver wa handles glueing up for them .

 

Now they are officially your knives

 

Right, lol? Almost every one of these things bites me at some point. I've decided that it's either because I'm simply not too bright, or its how they're expressing their love, lol.

I'll let you guys come to your own conclusions .

 

Can't wait to see the finished product, Chris, looking frickin awesome. Oh ya.... OUCH!!!

 

You should put those on the BST - Blood Sweat & Tears.

 

Thanks man! I honestly cant wait either, lol. On the cut though...other than the initial sting, it doesn't hurt at all. Just a bit of soreness to remind me its there .

Lol, if that's the case...they'll all go there. ALL of them make me bleed in one way or another, lol. For example...I took the tips of all my middle knuckles off on the grinder yesterday beveling a gyuto . Just how it works!

 

that's a selling feature. "I've personally invested blood in each one of my knives"

 

What can I say, your knives just want to be remembered by their maker!

 

Lol, I'd remember the one that DIDN'T bite me more =p.

Anyhow, I got a handle roughed out, and fit it to the longer of the two knives. I think it'll work just fine .







Now I've just got to finish out the handle, wax it in, and this one will be ready for testing!

 

whoa those look amazing, great handle choice

(got auto corrected)

 

Thanks James!

 

Handle looks nice; it's actually kind of hard to decide which blade I like more. Can't wait to see the other one suited up.

 

I'll be getting to the other tomorrow morning for sure. I need to go pick up another belt/disc sander from Harbor Freight (the motor burned out on mine...again!)...and then I'll be able to more easily finish both handles.

 

And for all intents and purposes...done.







I may fiddle with the handles some more...take them to a higher grit etc, and I still need to etch my mark, fit the handles, and put their final edge on them...

But otherwise, these two are finished .

 

Look frickin awesome, Chris! Let me know if you are looking for a Pro Chef to test them.

 

those handles are sexy Cris!

 

Thanks guys...I''m pretty happy with them both.

Annnddd, on an unrelated note...

I'm pretty sure this is NOT how you use your $90 pyrometer to determine that your oven IS in fact at 1450°F.



Needless to say, today hasn't been such a great day.

 

just a little chard... it's still good

 

It's a flesh wound.

 

)Oh well!...I still managed to get a couple of things done today, despite incinerating my pyrometer.

As some of you may know, I've had some issues with my heat treating process over the last couple weeks. I usually quench kitchen knives in Parks 50...it's a VERY fast quenchant, nearly the speed of water. However it is also much more gentle on the steel than brine, reducing warpage and pretty much eliminating cracks. The problem is...since I've been back in the shop full time, I haven't had a single success with it. The blades harden unevenly or not at all...and I refuse to trust a customer's blade to an unknown like that. I have however, quenched a number of short blades successfully in brine. All, and I mean EVERY long blade I quenched in brine, cracked. This is after quenching almost every blade from day one of bladesmithing in brine, and only having two cracks.

It's been a bit frustrating...and has held back two separate custom orders, as well as three passaround knives.

The good news is, I spoke to Maxim Oil (my supplier of Parks 50), and they assured me that the issue came from the oil being stored outdoors in an unsealed container for the better part of a year. Being moderately hydroscopic, it's almost guaranteed to have absorbed water...and with all the clay quenching I've done in it (leaving clay in the bottom of the quench tank)...it's also bound to be saturated with contaminants. Both of these things slow the quench down substantially, as well as making it uneven.

So, my new pail of Parks 50 will be here Thursday.

Anyhow, I forged out and rough ground one of the blades that cracked today (@larrybard) , and I'll be doing the other (@apathetic) tomorrow along with the three separate passarounds. I also forged and ground out @mkriggen's 300mm sujihiki collaboration we're working on (this one's going to be SERIOUS fun guys!).

So, here's a couple pictures of the things I've actually SUCCEEDED with today, lol:


@larrybard's 250mm gyuto...it's currently at 120 grit, flat ground from 3mm on the spine to 2mm on the edge, and ready for heat treat.


@mkriggen's 300mm sujihiki. This one still needs finish profiled, flat ground, and taken to 120 grit...but it's cleaned up at least, lol. Mike will be doing the handle for this one himself. It should be something pretty special when its all said and done .

So that's that. I had my new dual channel pyrometer overnighted and it should be here tomorrow. I'd like to get all of these blades thermal cycled over the next few days, and ready for heat treating on Thursday. With the completion of the two ko-gyuto today, I'm very much looking forward to getting some of these other blades finished for you guys.