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A few handles are going out today for the test knives.
 
I bought them off ebay. I called around to a few vendors and the consistent answer was that they're hard to come by. So, ebay it was. The handles are on the small side; hopefully everyone can cope. :biggrin:
 
It's not final but I'm heavily considering going - is there anyone driving down that will pass by Seattle? My flight will be arriving there on the 7th, and either I take Amtrak or Sound Transit, or possibly join one of you guys if things line up :)
 
Don Nguyen said:
It's not final but I'm heavily considering going - is there anyone driving down that will pass by Seattle? My flight will be arriving there on the 7th, and either I take Amtrak or Sound Transit, or possibly join one of you guys if things line up :)
Click to expand...

If you show up at the Centennial Amtrak Station in Lacey on the 9th I'll make sure you have a ride to Mareko's.
Buy that ticket, Don!
 
Updated List:

1. Maumasi Fire Arts
2. Haburn Knives
3. Dalman
4. Bryan Raquin
5. Harner?
 
Very cool get together! I'm surprised to not see more makers get in on the challenge. I suppose having to do your own heat treat narrows down the list to "real" bladesmiths...
I think you guys should reach out to Mert Tansu!
 
Don Nguyen said:
It's not final but I'm heavily considering going - is there anyone driving down that will pass by Seattle? My flight will be arriving there on the 7th, and either I take Amtrak or Sound Transit, or possibly join one of you guys if things line up :)
Click to expand...

Shoot Don, I'd be happy to swoop you up from the airport no problem!
 
Don Nguyen said:
It's not final but I'm heavily considering going - is there anyone driving down that will pass by Seattle? My flight will be arriving there on the 7th, and either I take Amtrak or Sound Transit, or possibly join one of you guys if things line up :)
Click to expand...

marc4pt0 said:
Very cool get together! I'm surprised to not see more makers get in on the challenge. I suppose having to do your own heat treat narrows down the list to "real" bladesmiths...
I think you guys should reach out to Mert Tansu!
Click to expand...

I did reach out to our esteemed Aussie friend, but unfortunately he wont be able to partake in our friendly competition.
 
Is it too late for me to submit a competition knife?
October 9 is my birthday. Seems fitting?
 
Yeah but without stipulations on the type of mono-steel they could all use 1084. But i guess the backyard stuff i do doesn't embody a great deal of HT refinment.

marc4pt0 said:
Very cool get together! I'm surprised to not see more makers get in on the challenge. I suppose having to do your own heat treat narrows down the list to "real" bladesmiths...
I think you guys should reach out to Mert Tansu!
Click to expand...
 
Dan P. said:
Is it too late for me to submit a competition knife?
October 9 is my birthday. Seems fitting?
Click to expand...

Not too late! Send me your address and phone number and I'll get a handle shipped out.
 
jessf said:
Yeah but without stipulations on the type of mono-steel they could all use 1084. But i guess the backyard stuff i do doesn't embody a great deal of HT refinment.
Click to expand...

The reason we decided not to specify any specific steel is that most makers have a preferred steel they like to work with, which also means they have a specific method and technique they've gotten down pat for heat-treating that steel as well as a specific medium (quenching oil, which can run an average of $150USD/5gal) in which they are quenching their steel to achieve optimal HT. In the spirit of friendly competition we want makers to bring their A-game, which means they get to work with the steel they're most comfortable working with.

Now I may be reading your statement about 1084 in the wrong tone, but I have to say the 1084 is a great steel. If properly HT'd it can perform like a mother! I've made over 700 chopping blows into 2x4 lumber with a freshly sharpened chef's knife, and that abuse it still had a keen enough edge to very easily shave hair. If that isn't edge retention, I don't know what is.
 
I hear ya. My comment was directed at 1084 being more forgiving in the heat treat process, not at the quality of the alloy. Im heat treating without any measuring devices, only a MAP torch and magnet. Im sure with better tools the heat treat could be much better.


MaumasiFireArts said:
The reason we decided not to specify any specific steel is that most makers have a preferred steel they like to work with, which also means they have a specific method and technique they've gotten down pat for heat-treating that steel as well as a specific medium (quenching oil, which can run an average of $150USD/5gal) in which they are quenching their steel to achieve optimal HT. In the spirit of friendly competition we want makers to bring their A-game, which means they get to work with the steel they're most comfortable working with.

Now I may be reading your statement about 1084 in the wrong tone, but I have to say the 1084 is a great steel. If properly HT'd it can perform like a mother! I've made over 700 chopping blows into 2x4 lumber with a freshly sharpened chef's knife, and that abuse it still had a keen enough edge to very easily shave hair. If that isn't edge retention, I don't know what is.
Click to expand...
 
Updated List:

1. Maumasi Fire Arts
2. Haburn Knives
3. Dalman
4. Bryan Raquin
5. Dan Prendergast
 
jessf said:
I hear ya. My comment was directed at 1084 being more forgiving in the heat treat process, not at the quality of the alloy. Im heat treating without any measuring devices, only a MAP torch and magnet. Im sure with better tools the heat treat could be much better.
Click to expand...

I may be alone in this but I always found the lower alloy carbon steels harder to HT lo-tec. Easier to overheat and have poor grain, I should say.
 
Dan P. said:
I may be alone in this but I always found the lower alloy carbon steels harder to HT lo-tec. Easier to overheat and have poor grain, I should say.
Click to expand...

It certainly can be tricky Dan. I use my forge for a lot of mono steels and get really great results! Not much there in ways of measuring devices accept my eyes, my experience , and to quote Mr. Murray Carter, "my heart."

Bill Burke, unless looking for the aesthetic of a fully hardened blade, still uses his oxy-acetylene torch to HT his mono-steel blades. Nothing wrong with simple technique, more about execution.
 
Updated List:

1. Maumasi Fire Arts
2. Haburn Knives
3. Dalman
4. Bryan Raquin
5. Dan Prendergast
6. Don Nguyen
 
Looks like there's some damn stiff competition. I can't wait to see how the different blades stack up. I have been putting my feelers out and have a couple talented chefs in line for judging the different knives.

To help us get a head count, how many of you are, or are thinking, you'll be able to make it to the gathering?

Interested in hearing what folks are thinkin will make some good cut testing tasks. Also, curious what attributes you might think are the most important to test for? Food release? Ease of cutting? Wedging? Edge retention? Ease of sharpening?

These are designed for general use so obviously it's hard to get to specific about tasks, but I really look forward to seeing everyone's thoughts!:hungry:

Thank you all! I'll be posting this over in the KK4a too!

Cheers!
 
I'm in Portland, hoping to come up for the day. Sounds like a great time!
 
Event Update!

Food:
Ian and I will be providing some grub in the way of some finger foods. We would love for this to be a potlatch food situation, so please don't hesitate to bring a dish, some of your favorite cured meats, cheeses, etc to share! I will be providing some of the standard veggies for chopping, i.e. carrots, potatos, cucumbers, tomatos, onions, pepers, mushrooms, etc. If others would like to help contribute there as well, it would be wonderful. I'm gonna get a hold of some pizza dough, mozz, and tom-sauce, so that ultimately we can throw together some pizzas and salads for us all to enjoy along with general munching.

If there's anything specific that you would like to have available to do some cut testing with, please be sure to bring it with you. However, there is a 'farm stand' literally 5 min down the road from where the event will be held, so if you forget anything or run out of anything, they'll take care of you.

Event Location:
Originally the plan was to have the gathering at my shop, but as the group has grown and as I have no running water, therefore no available lavatory, I've decided that it makes more sense to move the gathering to a locale that can accommodate all attending. The gathering will be located at The Albee's Gardens. It is a great event space set on 5 beautifully manicured and maintained acres. They have plenty of room, facilities, tables, that we might want or need. Once we're all wrapped up at the Albee's I will be offering a brief shop tour (my shop is tiny), before finally bringing the gathering to a close.

Chef's Knife Cutting Competition:
We have two judges lined up so far, but ideally we would have a third. Here's our current line up: Chef Derek Bugge (pronounced boogie) Executive Chef at '99 Park' in the heart of Bellevue, WA. Next up is Taro Kobayashi, aka mametaro here in KKF. Taro is an immensely talented chef that will be driving all the way up with his crew, from Eugene, OR. If you're ever in or passing by Eugene make a point to make a reservation (he's always packed to the gills) and get some of Taro's awesome food into your belly.

Event Activities:
1. The gathering will begin at noon at The Albee's Gardens. Great time for hand shakes and introductions.
2. At around 1pm I'm going to fire up my forge and offer a blade forging demonstration where I'll walk you through my process for forging a kitchen knife.
3. At around 2 (or whenever the forging demo is finished) we will begin the Cutting Comp. At the same time I would encourage for folks to begin laying out their knives and swaping stories, cuttin stuff up, and generally knife knerd out.
4. As folks start working their way through veggies I'm gonna start slangin' pizzas, so cut some awesomeness up and bring it over to me so I can throw it on a pizza for you.

Any and all questions or comments are welcome, so please don't hesitate to chime it! That's what this is about, community!

Kindest regards,
Mareko
 
Sorry I will miss the gathering. I will be looking forward to many pictures being posted for those of us who do not have the privilege of attending.
 
Damn you! I just moved to the bay area from Seattle! I can't wait to see pics of this. Sounds great.
 
A couple of comp knives showed up!
I still haven't received Ken Onion's entry yet - although he assures me it's on the way.

kPL0ICyh.jpg
 
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