VICTOR J CREAZZI
Senior Member
@Kippington I think somewhere in this thread you mentioned moving to 52100 because you needed a full hardening steel. Is this because of the asymmetry?
Food Release: Stiction and the Grind
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Kippington
A small green parrot
I needed a deeper hardening steel to stop the blade from warping after heat-treat. Shallow hardening steels have more internal stresses which like to show up after grinding out a valley along one side.
Guirotin
Active Member
Hi ! Ivm new to this forum, and i'm digging up this thread, but this is absolutely an awesome thread ! Congratulations on this idea and how well you managed to make it work !
I'll send you a private message !
I'll send you a private message !
Guirotin
Active Member
Dear all,
after quite some mails to @Kippington , i started doing the hook grind on some of my knives.
i wont show here the failures, but the last one i've done.
It is made of damascus steel (160 layers, 1075/15N20), and forge welded cutting edge in W2.
I forged it myself. It includes a bolster also.
22cm long blade, 248g in total with a balance point on the middle of the bolster.
The handle is made of laburnum and black ebony.
I'm quite happy of this one, as what i wanted was to have the w2 steel that matches the hook line. I almost nailed it (Too low at the tip, too high at the heel)
On the points to improve, the hook line is not straight, there is a shift in the middle of the blade.
here are some photos of it, aswell as a cutting action of it.
As you see in the video, I'd say that the food release is quite good, the bigger slices, the better, but a lot of small stuff stays sticked to the primary surface. I'll have to work on more efficient chevrons. But it's a good start.
Once again, a huuge thumbs up to Kippington for his research on this, and for letting me make this on my blades. Thanks man
after quite some mails to @Kippington , i started doing the hook grind on some of my knives.
i wont show here the failures, but the last one i've done.
It is made of damascus steel (160 layers, 1075/15N20), and forge welded cutting edge in W2.
I forged it myself. It includes a bolster also.
22cm long blade, 248g in total with a balance point on the middle of the bolster.
The handle is made of laburnum and black ebony.
I'm quite happy of this one, as what i wanted was to have the w2 steel that matches the hook line. I almost nailed it (Too low at the tip, too high at the heel)
On the points to improve, the hook line is not straight, there is a shift in the middle of the blade.
here are some photos of it, aswell as a cutting action of it.
As you see in the video, I'd say that the food release is quite good, the bigger slices, the better, but a lot of small stuff stays sticked to the primary surface. I'll have to work on more efficient chevrons. But it's a good start.
Once again, a huuge thumbs up to Kippington for his research on this, and for letting me make this on my blades. Thanks man
Last edited by a moderator:
Guirotin
Active Member
Oh, and i'll have also to thin more the edge, and adding a hollow grind there. So far, it is a flat grind.
I was too scared to destroy this damascus blade, i played it on the safe side...
I was too scared to destroy this damascus blade, i played it on the safe side...
Kippington
A small green parrot
I can hardly blame you man, that is a gorgeous pattern!
Kippington
A small green parrot
I may as well post to this thread how I go about making one of these grinds - There have been a few people asking at the same time, so I've been keeping record of the latest Chevron hook-grind I've made.
A disclaimer that's worth mentioning: I went for a laser with really good release on this one, rather than a flat out food-release grind. There are better knives out there for release - no doubt - but I don't imagine they're as thin as this one behind the edge.
Also, I don't mind if anyone else tries making this for themselves (although a shoutout would be nice). It's a massive pain in the butt to make these, and it won't bother me if nobody asks me for one of these ever again!
I'll start with the rough blank of the knife. At this point, the HT and the taper are done. The profile of the edge needs fixing up, and there is a large overhang of the tip and the heel, which I have marked out for clarity.
A disclaimer that's worth mentioning: I went for a laser with really good release on this one, rather than a flat out food-release grind. There are better knives out there for release - no doubt - but I don't imagine they're as thin as this one behind the edge.
Also, I don't mind if anyone else tries making this for themselves (although a shoutout would be nice). It's a massive pain in the butt to make these, and it won't bother me if nobody asks me for one of these ever again!
I'll start with the rough blank of the knife. At this point, the HT and the taper are done. The profile of the edge needs fixing up, and there is a large overhang of the tip and the heel, which I have marked out for clarity.
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Kippington
A small green parrot
After fixing the edge profile, I'll go ahead and grind a roughly 70% - 30% grind, in a straight line from the heel to the tip of the knife.
Next I will make the first concave grind for the right-hand side. This knife is for a right hander, as we will see later.
Next I will make the first concave grind for the right-hand side. This knife is for a right hander, as we will see later.
Kippington
A small green parrot
With the first concave part done on the right hand side, I move to the left hand side of the blade (the right side in the picture).
Once again, I'll make a concave grind... but this time I'll use a softer curve to get a super thin area behind the edge.
Then, on the same face, I'll go ahead and smooth out the "shinogi" where the softer radius meets the flat:
Once again, I'll make a concave grind... but this time I'll use a softer curve to get a super thin area behind the edge.
Then, on the same face, I'll go ahead and smooth out the "shinogi" where the softer radius meets the flat:
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Kippington
A small green parrot
At this point, I'll polish all the areas I've been grinding so far, then I'll go ahead and grind out the hook. I don't have anything saved from the hook making process, but if anyone asks I'd be happy to share. It's pretty straight forward to be honest. You can probably work it out.
This is what I'm left with, with some dots added along the edge showing me where I need to add the chevrons.
And this is how the chevrons go in - It's essentially a swinging door that swings into a grinder wheel.
Which leaves me with...
This is what I'm left with, with some dots added along the edge showing me where I need to add the chevrons.
And this is how the chevrons go in - It's essentially a swinging door that swings into a grinder wheel.
Which leaves me with...
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Kippington
A small green parrot
With the grind finished, I'll remove all the excess steel off the tip and heel, polishing as I go. It leaves me with this:
Kippington
A small green parrot
Finally I'll make a handle for it.
This is what I've got in the end, super thin behind the edge like a laser, but with better release than a normal laser:
This is what I've got in the end, super thin behind the edge like a laser, but with better release than a normal laser:
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Kippington
A small green parrot
Happy to answer any questions. This has been a pretty simplified version, but I think some people will get a kick outta trying to fill in the gaps!
Now I gotta pack this one for shipping and send it on it's way!
Now I gotta pack this one for shipping and send it on it's way!
Guirotin
Active Member
This is amazing dude !
Double concave grind ! You must have hard time not overheating the edge...
Double concave grind ! You must have hard time not overheating the edge...
OG hook grind still going strong and still has that 60 belt finish on the bevel because… 
OG hook grind still going strong and still has that 60 belt finish on the bevel because…
View attachment 223970
Did a quick video, but I’m technology deficient so it takes 20 minutes to get it to YouTube…
@Brian Weekley - need the original hook grind to come light the opening ceremonies torch at your next slapdown?
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Massdrop when?
Only if they're honyaki
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I'm down
@Kippington are there any honyaki hook grinds out there?
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Are Kipp
honyakis harder than Kipp monos?
honyakis harder than Kipp monos?
I thought that most of Kippington's low alloy knives were differentially hardened, as it makes them easier to straighten.
From memory, 52100 is a good steel for hook grinds because it is a little more hardenable than simpler steels like 1095. 52100 doesn’t show a hamon very well.
If I'm correct in my memory about this, then yes, they are available in differentially hardened. But no, not with a hamon.
From memory, 52100 is a good steel for hook grinds because it is a little more hardenable than simpler steels like 1095. 52100 doesn’t show a hamon very well.
If I'm correct in my memory about this, then yes, they are available in differentially hardened. But no, not with a hamon.
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Kippington
A small green parrot
Had some people enquire, so here's how the hook part gets done on the grinder. It's really simple lol
First, a diagram which hopefully makes the method clear, then some pictures of the setup in my shop.
(The knife blank in the picture was an extra blank I had on hand... it wouldn't look like that at the proper stage, but it should illustrate the point)
First, a diagram which hopefully makes the method clear, then some pictures of the setup in my shop.
(The knife blank in the picture was an extra blank I had on hand... it wouldn't look like that at the proper stage, but it should illustrate the point)
Kippington
A small green parrot
Um... not that I'm aware of? Maybe the prototype I made (@Homechef's one above) has a differential HT, but I can't really remember...
Kippington
A small green parrot
Thanks!
Overheating is easy to do on thin grinds, but I use a jig which makes helps me to move the blade back-and-forth along the grinder, quick enough that heat doesn't build up in one spot. I use a water spray too.
[insert jig haters here]
I remember a vid of yours showing that... I was kinda blown away, given how slowly I move when at the grinder. Heel to tip in like half a second or something?
