Do you make kitchen knives?

M

mikew

Well-Known Member
I often get asked whether I make kitchen knives when I tell people I make knives. I decided it was about time I stopped saying no :)

I consider myself a complete beginner at this as in my opinion making a knife the works well in the kitchen is a totally different thing from making a knife for 'the outdoors'.

This is my version of a paring knife.....

paring%2520knife%25201%2520copy.jpg


paring%2520knife%25202%2520copy.jpg


The blade is 90x25x2.4mm though in reality the only part of the blade that is 2.4mm thick in the ricasso area. The handle is Indian rosewood with a silver steel pin (more for decoration than strength).

I'm planning on making a larger version with a similar shape but with a much wider blade in relation to the handle to allow plenty on knuckle clearance when chopping.

Please let me know what you think, Good, bad or otherwise :)
 
I have no experience with kitchen knoves but this looks really nice!!

People i think can help you a lot are Laurence (rhinoknives), Josh Dabney, and of course Randy Haas (HHH Knives)
 
Looks like a good general use paring knife to me. Personally, I prefer about 1.6mm or less for steel thickness for parers.

The question of a wider blade for knuckle clearance gets in to the question of what people use paring knives for:

Professional chefs use them for paring. Generally held by the fingers with the edge pointing toward the thumb, the
blade is pulled back to pare controlled slices off of a vegetable for peeling or shaping. This works best with a fairly
square handle. See how it feels in your hand held that way. Fairly short blade with a fairly straight edge.

Everyone uses them for cutting in small areas where a larger or wider knife would be clumsy. Say cutting around the
stem of a pepper. Again, a short, pointy, narrow blade but this time probably held in a more conventional grip.

Too many people use them for chopping where a larger knife would actually work better. There's a market there for
sure, but knives designed for that market don't work as well for other paring knife uses. More like short, possibly
pointy santokus.
 
Thanks fellas.

When I say larger I mean an 8" blade or so as a general purpose knife :) This knife is really only intended for off the board work as you describe Dan.
 
If you like to cook or know someone that does? Analyze your favorite knife in the drawer and see if you can improve on the design by making one!
That's how I started making Culinary knives.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives
 
good looking knife mike. i would browse some cooking knife sites (http://www.epicedge.com/) and zknives (http://zknives.com/index.shtml) for some ideas. one thing i have noticed with far east makers is that the tang is usually about 1/3 the width(on the knife you made that would be 8 to 10 mm) of the blade. the second is the edge rises toward center point so when edge is flush, handle is up. an example:
View attachment 38296
IMHO, I like a thicker(2.5 to 3.5mm)blade on my paring knife so it will not flex.
keep up the good work,
scott
 
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