Design criticism.

Daniel Macina

Daniel Macina

Well-Known Member
What do you think of this paring knife design?

Blade length 3 1/2"

Handle length 3 1/2"

Handle width is 3/4" at its narrowest and 1" at the swell.

Bought some thin stainless before I really knew what I was doing when I first got started and figured a might make some paring knives. I think it needs more belly to it. IMG_1260.JPG

Ps: sorry for the shadows.
 
No, the blade is good for a paring knife but I would make a fractionally deeper front finger curve, a little less palm swell and shift the rear curve slightly further toward the back end of the handle. Dont forget that it is often the ladies who are going to be ising these little knives and thier hands are not as big as ours.
 
Thanks guys! All suggestions where stuff that was bothering me! The reason the handle was so short is because I am making them to fit ladies hands. I modeled it for Moms hand but she has a pretty small hand. I will make it a bit longer. Thanks again!
 
Von Gruff said:
No, the blade is good for a paring knife but I would make a fractionally deeper front finger curve, a little less palm swell and shift the rear curve slightly further toward the back end of the handle. Dont forget that it is often the ladies who are going to be ising these little knives and thier hands are not as big as ours.
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+1
 
Daniel Macina said:
Thanks guys! All suggestions where stuff that was bothering me! The reason the handle was so short is because I am making them to fit ladies hands. I modeled it for Moms hand but she has a pretty small hand. I will make it a bit longer. Thanks again!
Click to expand...
I used to make my kitchen knives with smaller handles to fit the wife's tiny hands. Then I made a "decent" sized handle to fit my hand.... after using it, wife says make her knifes with bigger handles. So, just because the ladies have small hands, don't get carried away with small handle.
 
Thanks guys. I really struggle with the design side of knife making. I am modifying the above design using all the tips I have received. I will post it as soon as I get it right. Probably tomorrow. Lol. It takes me a while to draw something up.
 
Kitchen knife handles are a great place to start. If you have "that knife" at home that's your constant go-to and feels so right then copying that handle is a great template to begin with. If you don't have "that knife" at home, then go to a local Target or Walmart and look at the knife sets. Believe it or not, el cheapo brands make some fantastic ergonomic knife designs. Where they fall short is in materials and workmanship because they are preeminently concerned withe hitting a price point.

OXO is a good example. They make kitchen stuff that feels right. They have a line of kitchen knives called "good grips" that are honestly pretty amazing for the price.

So, to get to the point- find a knife you love to hold and copy the snot out of it. Make one and use it every day. Then tweak it. Use it. Tweak it some more. You will notice that your knifemaking instincts are a lot better than you probably think and all you really need to develop is a good idea of proportion without all the trial and error. In handles especially, there is most definitely a sweet spot and I think it's at 4-3/4 inches long. They can be fatter, slimmer, straighter or curvier- but almost never is the length of 4-3/4" not just about right. Opinions vary, but that's mine.
 
opaul said:
Now you got me to thinking about kitchen knives. I sketched this one out. What do you guys think about this one?

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I always like a hint of a belly on any kitchen knife....Less on a paring than a chef's. most of your movement is "rotary" when slicing and benefits from a slight curve. Also, the tip could drop a bit and flatten out the curve a bit.(for detail work) I also like enough drop from handle to bottom of the blade so my knuckles do not touch the cutting board if my hold is around the whole handle (which it rarely is...especially on a paring knife)

Just my personal likes. Hope this helps.
 
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If you take the beautiful curve you have at the handle/choil and continue that line along it's natural path, you get a very graceful flowing line which becomes the heel.

Then, a similar flowing graceful curve from the tip of the heel to the tip of the blade. You have a simply gorgeous paring knife / petty with blade geometry that is right for the task. Ted's description is really good in my opinion.

This same knife with a 7 inch blade would be a wonderful slicer. For a slicer or any larger knife I would extend the handle to 4-3/4 inches.

Use 2" stock for the blade and you have a chef knife. The handle need never change, and that way you have a cohesive series with your own style stamp on it.


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Needs some cleaning up around the curves and still need to get rid of the 50 grit scratches but here it is. Handle seems a little long but I'm going to get a handle on it and use it ( if I don't mess up the Bevals.) then see what I think.IMG_1265.JPG
 
this is all designs shown. no bolsters please, will get in the way one day when sharpening. sweeping curves are nice on young ladies but not needed on a paring knife. i like handles that are straight top and bottom, don't force where my fingers go. go look at casexx or old hickory and see classic paring knife design that still works.
a different approach is make a 1/2 scale chef's knife or look at all the different shapes small Japanese knives have.
 
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