Kitchen knife kits
#11
Has anyone here made kitchen knife handles from premade blades or kits? Any recommendations? I have a hodgepodge of nice German steel kitchen knifes but I’m considering doing a really nice set for my next “small” project. I would like to find blanks that are high quality like a Damascus or a Japanese steel. I figure if I’m going to dedicate the time they should be something special when I’m done.

I haven’t given too much thought to the wood species yet but Madagascar ebony would be stunning.


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#12
(02-12-2018, 10:30 PM)Kansas City Fireslayer Wrote: Has anyone here made kitchen knife handles from premade blades or kits?  Any recommendations?  I have a hodgepodge of nice German steel kitchen knifes but I’m considering doing a really nice set for my next “small” project.  I would like to find blanks that are high quality like a Damascus or a Japanese steel.  I figure if I’m going to dedicate the time they should be something special when I’m done.  

I haven’t given too much thought to the wood species yet but Madagascar ebony would be stunning.



Your post has piqued my interest - we have a set of Laguiole steak knives similar to the set below (bought on a vacation to Quebec years ago) - but do not use often - our regular set of 'steak knives' is a mix collected over years and in need of replacement - I was recently looking online for a purchase of a half dozen 'good' knives for daily use - NOW, if I could obtain some excellent steel blanks and add the handles, then a cool project - have no suggestions (never made knives), BUT will be interested in the comments - Dave
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#13
(02-12-2018, 10:30 PM)Kansas City Fireslayer Wrote: Has anyone here made kitchen knife handles from premade blades or kits?  Any recommendations? 

A while back I had an add pop up in my email for a sale on Knife Blanks from Peachtree woodworking.  I bought 4 different knives for a future project.  The name is "Zhen" knives.  I have a full set of Whustoff knives and my wife has a full set of global knives so we don't need any more knives but I liked the look of these.

I have done some research on the knife making process.  The key term I see in the handles is "stabilized wood".  It seems to be a big deal, unless you use G-10 fiberglass or stabilized wood the handle may not survive dunking in the sink or whatever abuse it sees.  Just something to consider.
A carpenter's house is never done.
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#14
I have more knives than I need , but find that the important factors to me include shape of the blade ,meaning how much curve to the belly, thickness of the steel, and balance of the overall knife. I did make one knife from a woodcraft Damascus blank a few years ago and it came out well. I wouldn't worry as much about the type of steel, I have a number of different types and they all get sharp if sharpened correctly. The bigger issue is finding the right overall shape, weight and feel fir you to enjoy it. For handle I used Brazilian cherry from some leftover flooring, it is fantastic, I did not apply a finish and it has a great trip to it
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#15
Ron Hock sells kitchen knife kits.  I highly recommend anything Hock sells.  His steel is superb and it holds an edge a long time.  It's not exotic steel either (it's O1), so it's relatively easy to sharpen.  Because it's O1, it'll require some care and feeding to remain rust-free.  If you want a Japanese style knife, Zhen makes knife blanks as well.  Same care and feeding required.  Zhen kits can be found on Amazon.

http://www.hocktools.com/
Still Learning,

Allan Hill
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#16
I've been buying my blanks from Alabama Damascus for the last couple years. They've got a nice selection, you should be able to find the profile you're looking for.
Mark

I'm no expert, unlike everybody else here - Busdrver


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#17
(02-12-2018, 10:30 PM)Kansas City Fireslayer Wrote: Has anyone here made kitchen knife handles from premade blades or kits?  Any recommendations?  I have a hodgepodge of nice German steel kitchen knifes but I’m considering doing a really nice set for my next “small” project.  I would like to find blanks that are high quality like a Damascus or a Japanese steel.  I figure if I’m going to dedicate the time they should be something special when I’m done.  

I haven’t given too much thought to the wood species yet but Madagascar ebony would be stunning.

I've put several handles on Ron Hock and Alabama Damascus blanks.  Far and away the best blanks are Ron's if you are talking about having knives sharp enough to shave with.  The Damascus blanks are nice but won't get as sharp as Ron's.  These are not stainless and there is good and bad in that.  If you want a blade that will stay shiny no matter what, get stainless.  I don't care about that.  I want a blade that can be sharpened easily to really sharp edge, can be done quickly and will stay sharp a long time.  Ron's fits my requirements and with reasonable care (hand wash and dry) will develop a nice patina.  Once a year or so I will use some fine steel wool to bring back some of the shine.  Another suggestion whatever blank you use, buy the fancy patterned rivets (not the right word for the brass or steal rods that help hold the scales on the blank.  Ken
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#18
I have made several of the Zhen Damascus knife kits, some from Woodcraft, some from Amazon. I researched blade/steel quality and these come up comparatively to the mid-range of Japanese knives that sell for $400-500 each. They are a very high-quality Japanese steel blade that looks very nice and holds a great edge similar to my high-end Japanese ones. They are very easy to build and high-quality knives should not stay in the water fo any length of time so any wood choice is fine. I prefer closed-grain woods like cocobolo, ebony or rosewood, these can be polished without finish, but the last ones were from Thuya burl with Tru-Oil on them. For ones that go in the dishwasher you really need plastic, I have seen some nice ones from the acrylic we use to turn pens from.

The Zhen knives make an excellent gift and come with a box to give them away in. They also come with all the parts you need to assemble. Tape off the blade and I use the slow-cure epoxy to give me lots of time to insert pins or rivets and line things up. Let it sit overnight and shape it on the 6x48 belt sander, if you screw it up, sand off the old one and build it again (I heard you you could do that from a friend :-)).

My 2 cents
Richard D. Wile
Nova Scotia - Canada.

http://richard-wile.blogspot.com/
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#19
I just recently finished a damascus kitchen knife from a woodcraft kit.  It's a medium sized knife and has quickly become a favorite of the wife's.  I saw today, that woodcraft has a couple kit sets with five or six damascus kitchen knives, you add the scales.

I have put together four of the kits, a tanto, two skinners, and the kitchen knife I mentioned.  I haven't been disappointed.  My daughter in OK has carried her skinner I made as a gift around the horse farm for two years, still loves it.
Jim in Okie
You can tell a lot about the character of a man -
By the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.
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#20
Thanks for all the helpful hints. I’m going to look at the Hock kits once I decide to take this on. My family isn’t very nice to knives so I think I may make a set and stash them in a drawer for my own use.


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