After some silent period I have managed an article on a knife that was finished and delivered by the end of August.
So - the
Project #19 - a 210 Niolox gyuto with a western style handle.
This particular project was a bit special for me. I was thinking of it since I started making knives, but now I was able to actually make it happen. But let me explain.
There is a small Italian restaurant in the (small) city where we live called Buon Giorno. It is a family run business. The offer just handful of starters and main courses (plus a very respectable selection of vine and whiskey). We have eaten there shortly before our first daughter was born and have been their regullar guests in the past 4 years - having a lunch there at least every other Saturday, their food is really delicious and they are very nice people. So I decided that I would make a knife for the chef as a symbolic expression of our appreciation.
I have delivered the knife a few weeks ago and it felt great to see the chef surprised and deligted. He took it home as he was worried his stuff would 'use it for everythinig' and toss it around. I have also offered him sharpening service for it.
The knife is 210 mm on edge, 160g, handle made from buffalo horn, micarta spacer and dyed maple burl. Center of mass is about 1cm in front of the heel.The flat spot is not quite as long as the first photo would suggest. There is a touch more belly towards the tip than I would tend to make, but since the chef is using a 'normal' western kitchen knives, I wanted to make a blade that he would feel comfortable with.
From the making point of view this project went rather well (apart from the necessaity to re-finish one side of the blade what brought the total handsanding time to nearly 6 hours). The leather sheath is my first and I definitely need to improve there, but it works.
Here are a few photos of the said knife: