Anyone else got orders for one of these?

Chris Railey

Well-Known Member
Its a Serbian chef knife. I forged it out this weekend to fill an order from a repeat customer. It was a lot of hammering but the profile is decent. The customer wants it left rough as possible with scale and hammer marks.
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I thought about making one for me just to see if I like it, I think I have a hunk of leaf spring that would work for it, just needs some hammering, lots of hammering
 
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After holding the one I forged I think I will forge me a thinner one maybe down to 3/16 at the spine. I can see a benefit like a Nakiri you cut then scoop into the bowl.
 
To each his own but I wouldn't want to see my name on one of those.

Doug
I do not disagree but my name goes on a project based on the quality of the results. If it turns out within my standards it will get my mark if it does not it will not leave my shop. I have a bit of a local reputation for being able to make almost anything. You need a draw knife. call Chris. You need a miner's candlestick call Chris. S-hooks? No problem...Old school tent stakes, got it...Weird over fat cleaver knife thingy...call Chris. I look upon it as a challenge, believe me drawing out that width with a hammer only was a challenge. As you said, to each his own.
 
It’s actually a sound design for the kitchen. Look no further than the Chinese chef knife, which can easily be confused for a butcher’s meat cleaver, but is typically very thin and light weight. Of course knives vary, but the idea is not to hack quarters of meat but instead to process piles of chicken, pork, and vegetables into chunks for stir fry and soups.

An extremely tall blade is a godsend for large vegetables like cabbage and bundles of wild onion, etc. If you want to be blown away, look up old Martin Yan videos (Remember the PBS show “Yan Can Cook”?) I used to love watching Martin Yan break down a chicken in 6 seconds with a chinese cleaver.

As far as the Serbian knife fad, the ultra rustic look is part of the allure. You can always make a fancy one, but there are lots of people who want a knife that looks, shall we say, “most definitely hand made”.
 
It’s actually a sound design for the kitchen. Look no further than the Chinese chef knife, which can easily be confused for a butcher’s meat cleaver, but is typically very thin and light weight. Of course knives vary, but the idea is not to hack quarters of meat but instead to process piles of chicken, pork, and vegetables into chunks for stir fry and soups.

An extremely tall blade is a godsend for large vegetables like cabbage and bundles of wild onion, etc. If you want to be blown away, look up old Martin Yan videos (Remember the PBS show “Yan Can Cook”?) I used to love watching Martin Yan break down a chicken in 6 seconds with a chinese cleaver.

As far as the Serbian knife fad, the ultra rustic look is part of the allure. You can always make a fancy one, but there are lots of people who want a knife that looks, shall we say, “most definitely hand made”.

Martin Yan had unbelievable knife skills!! A joy to watch!!
 
That was part of the request. He even wants the hammer marks left in it. I had to turn my peen a little to make the noticeable hammer marks on purpose. Like Doug said, to each his own.

Working on three knives right now with exactly that request. Customer wants noticeable hammer marks. I did the same- I layed the hammer over and pounded the life out of them just in case I had to grind more than I expected. Hey- the things we do for friends.
 
Working on three knives right now with exactly that request. Customer wants noticeable hammer marks. I did the same- I layed the hammer over and pounded the life out of them just in case I had to grind more than I expected. Hey- the things we do for friends.
Yeah, I spent like two years working on hammer technic so I could leave very few hammer marks only to have people ask me to put them back. In old school blacksmith work hammer marks were considered sloppy work and many apprentices spent a lot of time on the rear end of a file removing them. Funny how things change.
 
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