A minor tragedy and first relationship bump.

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Newbflat

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2015
Messages
290
Reaction score
95
So I’m combining my household with a lovely woman. She smartly has deferred to me for all things sharp.
We went threw all her knives and she pulled out one and said... “I don’t care about the others but this one was my grandmother’s and I would like to keep it.” .... “maybe you can put new handle on it someday”.....Awww.. of corse I said and smiled.

She handed it to me and I looked at it. A funky old Chicago Cutlery paring knife that and been threw several 100 dishwashing cycles and a lot of sink soaking. It really showed it’s age and the rivets stuck way out would nearly cut you. On closer inspection it had a subtle bend in it so I pulled the tip to the side just to see if it would flex a little......SNAP!

I was stunned and mortified. I just killed her beloved grandmothers knife in seconds right in front of her moments after lovingly handed it to me for good care and rehabilitation. It almost looked like I just grabbed it from her and snapped it on purpose.

I suspect I will hear about this for the rest of my life.

1CE3169F-8710-4BC7-ABA4-95336A0B4CC8.jpeg
 
So I’m combining my household with a lovely woman. She smartly has deferred to me for all things sharp.
We went threw all her knives and she pulled out one and said... “I don’t care about the others but this one was my grandmother’s and I would like to keep it.” .... “maybe you can put new handle on it someday”.....Awww.. of corse I said and smiled.

She handed it to me and I looked at it. A funky old Chicago Cutlery paring knife that and been threw several 100 dishwashing cycles and a lot of sink soaking. It really showed it’s age and the rivets stuck way out would nearly cut you. On closer inspection it had a subtle bend in it so I pulled the tip to the side just to see if it would flex a little......SNAP!

I was stunned and mortified. I just killed her beloved grandmothers knife in seconds right in front of her moments after lovingly handed it to me for good care and rehabilitation. It almost looked like I just grabbed it from her and snapped it on purpose.

I suspect I will hear about this for the rest of my life.

View attachment 74133

I assume the blood on the cutting board is from her retaliation?
 
No big deal. Just get her a replacement. In 18k :D
 
weld on a new tang and you can preserve what is left... still possible to salvage something. Just be careful with heat migration during welding.
 
weld on a new tang and you can preserve what is left... still possible to salvage something. Just be careful with heat migration during welding.
Lol.... good idea.

I showed her this thread and then she said that she will only accept it re smelted and forged anew. At the moment I have nothing but home time so...
 
That’s unfortunate. What is a good way to re-align a knife with minimal chance of breaking a part of the blade, tip or otherwise? My best attempt has been a makeshift vice but I still lost a millimeter or two when fixing a co-workers knife.
 
There is an easy fix. Instead of giving her that diamond engagement ring, just give her a decent knife with a diamond in place of one of the studs.

"Here my dear. Would you please marry me? Oh, BTW, I thought a knife is so much more practical than a ring, I'm hoping you'll be able to see that."
 
I think if you work with what's left over you could surprise her on her birthday with a nice box cutter...
 
What's that saying about your grandfather's axe? "He replaced the handle twice, and I replaced the head, but it's still my grandfather's axe..."

Chicago Cutlery really isn't worth this kind of time, but it sounds like the person is. I agree with NO ChoP! ... Find a 'donor' blade on the 'bay if you can find one that has been sharpened no more or less, put some work into it (Sand and polish to make it look like it's had some love put into it, sharpen it.), and rehandle it...

Better solution would be to send the bits to a knife maker who's amenable to taking on an oddball project, and ask if they could replicate the blade shape and grind in whatever nicer stainless they're working with. Finding an amenable knife maker would be challenging, though, as most like to stick with their own patterns they've perfected... Which is understandable.

The nice thing about having a new blade made for the knife, or getting an old blade, is that the scales could possibly be sanded and re-shaped a bit, refinished or even resin-stabilized, and then used again... So a piece of her grandmother's knife would still live on. Even if it's not the exact blade...

More than likely, it's the size/shape, or the way the handle felt that is what meant most to her grandmother... Not the steel.

Hope this helps.

- Steampunk
 
Screw it -- put it in a deep picture frame with a glass cover and hang it on the wall in thew kitchen. Tell the missus it will always be there, making sure she is safe and happy. Commission a replacement from HHH and incorporate some of her 'likes' into the knife (lots to work with -- handle color, spacer material, spine carving, damascus pattern, etc.). And make sure it is a size/ shape that you will use so, well, you can use it to. Win-win-win.
 
Screw it -- put it in a deep picture frame with a glass cover and hang it on the wall in thew kitchen. Tell the missus it will always be there, making sure she is safe and happy. Commission a replacement from HHH and incorporate some of her 'likes' into the knife (lots to work with -- handle color, spacer material, spine carving, damascus pattern, etc.). And make sure it is a size/ shape that you will use so, well, you can use it to. Win-win-win.

That’s an awesome idea.
 
Is it stainless or high carbon steel? If carbon, somebody could smoosh it in a canister damascus and make a new blade with part of the steel being from this one. I don't know enough about forging stainless to say about that, but hopefully somebody else can chime in.

The old scales could be stabilized and then cast in clear resin to make a new handle out of them. Would be a cool project.
 
JB Weld that thing together and get it mounted in a shadow box for her. Then get her a nice replacement.
 
Back
Top