Forgecraft project: Asymmetric convex

[soigne_west]

Let me tell you, thinning this knife has not been fun, but after hours upon hours I think I’m finally getting somewhere. I’ll post a few photos but really I should have been better about documentation along the way. Fist a few pics.

Before:

More current pics:

A little Video: pre final sharpening. And yes I know it doesn’t drop through carrots with the best of them but the goal here was food release. Still have a ways to go.

 

[Carl Kotte]

Now this is my kind of thread! Great job!

 

[Carl Kotte]

And dope t-shirt.

 

[soigne_west]

Thanks Carl. I was hoping you came around. I actually have something for you when all this stuff does down and shipping gets back to normal. I think next time I’ll try to recruit the help of someone with a grinder, if they happen to be Swedish that would be a plus I’ve dealt with thinning some pretty tough mono’s but this steel is no joke.

And the shirt actually came from a foie gras company believe it or not.

 

[Carl Kotte]

Thanks Carl. I was hoping you came around. I actually have something for you when all this stuff does down and shipping gets back to normal. I think next time I’ll try to recruit the help of someone with a grinder, if they happen to be Swedish that would be a plus I’ve dealt with thinning some pretty tough mono’s but this steel is no joke.

And the shirt actually came from a foie gras company believe it or not.

A Swede with a grinder? If only that were me I’m one of the few without a grinder.
I can imagine it was a lot of work. If it would be helpful I can post a potato video and the specs on my beast. Only if you would be interested though.

 

[soigne_west]

I’d love to see it.

 

[soigne_west]

Potato cut test thread?

 

[Carl Kotte]

Ok, tater come later! Now some specs:
Background info:
Weight: 343 grams
Heel height: 57 mm
Lenght: around 245 iirc

The real info:
Meassured behind the small visible edge bevel: 0,4 mm thick (pic 2)
At approx 5 mm: 0,9 mm (pic 3)
At approx 10 mm: 1,6 mm (pic 4)

These figures were taken from (say!) the middle of the blade. The blade tapers a lot, so it’s to be expected that things are somewhat thicker at the fingerguard and somewhat thinner at the tip.

 

[Carl Kotte]

Now, it would have been cool to offer a choil shot, but sadly not even Superman would be able to see through the luxurious extra piece of steel.

 

[Carl Kotte]

Not sure what to make of this video. I’ll leave it here anyway. I must say that the release on the Sab doesn’t look at all impressive. But it feels great in use. The cleaver with all its convexity releases better but wedges a lot more (as expected). The Munetoshi Ku (which is thin) wedges less than the Sab and its release is acceptable.
Enjoy!

 

[Kippington]

That's damn sexy...

 

[Carl Kotte]

That's damn sexy...

You and I apparently have similar ideas about what’s sexy

 

[soigne_west]

Thanks guys!

 

[Carl Kotte]

Thanks guys!

I tried to draw a picture of the choil (or rather cross sectional geometry) I was aiming for, but the result was do bad I decided not to include it. One thing that cannot be seen that well on my pictures is that there’s an uneven handsanded concavity (I thank @ian) hiding under all the patina. It’s so uneven I think I’ll call it a Snake grind.

 

[soigne_west]

It looks like a bunch of fun

 

[soigne_west]

I still need to thin closer to the edge area and put an actual edge on the forgecraft. This is the second one I've done, and I'm nearly through a shapton glass 220. Needed a break, as well as some motivation!

 

[Carl Kotte]

It looks like a bunch of fun

It’s surprisingly fun to use. Very unlike other knives I have, in a good way.

 

[soigne_west]

Couple more photos. Tried to capture the geometry better.

 

[M1k3]

Question regarding Forgecraft handles. The pins/rivets. What suggested method, if any, would be advised to remove scales without damaging them?

 

[soigne_west]

I ended up getting all up in there with a butter knife to separate any glue that was holding the scales together. Then slowly and gently working on loosening the rivets till they were exposed enough to pull out with pliers. One of the scales on the first one I did broke. But the other two knives were fine.

 

[M1k3]

I ended up getting all up in there with a butter knife to separate any glue that was holding the scales together. Then slowly and gently working on loosening the rivets till they were exposed enough to pull out with pliers. One of the scales on the first one I did broke. But the other two knives were fine.

Ok. I read the rivets are press fit. Sounds like they are. Thanks for letting me know.

 

[banzai_burrito]

Good looking work! Iirc, someone posted that the hrc on these were ~60 - 61

 

[stringer]

Ok. I read the rivets are press fit. Sounds like they are. Thanks for letting me know.

Definitely press fit. Not screws or anything.

 

[ian]

Not sure what to make of this video. I’ll leave it here anyway. I must say that the release on the Sab doesn’t look at all impressive. But it feels great in use. The cleaver with all its convexity releases better but wedges a lot more (as expected). The Munetoshi Ku (which is thin) wedges less than the Sab and its release is acceptable.
Enjoy!

Just wanted to say that I love when you fling the potatoes off the knives. **** you, potatoes.

 

[ian]

Couple more photos. Tried to capture the geometry better.

View attachment 80239View attachment 80240View attachment 80241View attachment 80242

What method did you employ to create the convexity in the blade road? Did you do a hamaguri method, or the method from that Carter video, or....? Also, it looks like the left side is flat(ish) till close to the edge, then heavily convexed. Is that correct, and is that what you were going for?

 

[soigne_west]

The left was very flat to start. I just wanted to add a little convexity towards the edge to assist in food separation. I know in the video it might appear that the knife steers a lot. That comes more from my cutting style I think, i cut at an angle and especially so on very short knives. The knife steers very little. The method i used was to cut bevel in, then round, mainly working towards the edge but periodically working up the blade to round the shoulders I had created.

 

[soigne_west]

I did use the hamaguri method to initially raise the shinogi. This method proved to be far more time consuming with this particular steel.

 

[ian]

The left was very flat to start. I just wanted to add a little convexity towards the edge to assist in food separation. I know in the video it might appear that the knife steers a lot. That comes more from my cutting style I think, i cut at an angle and especially so on very short knives. The knife steers very little. The method i used was to cut bevel in, then round, mainly working towards the edge but periodically working up the blade to round the shoulders I had created.

Did you find that the convexity actually helped with food separation? My initial thought would be that it would just make it thicker behind the edge, so food separation would be negatively affected. A very subtle curve to the whole backside bevel is nice to prevent stiction. I feel like I don't really know for sure about any of this, though.

 

[soigne_west]

Agreed. Honestly I just didn't want it dead flat and this was the path of least resistance for that. I think it did help, sticktion was reduced for sure. As you could see it struggled with carrots. Other than that i don't really know what I'm doing either. The knife has since been gifted, and i think done working on Forgecrafts for a while

 

[M1k3]

Did you find that the convexity actually helped with food separation? My initial thought would be that it would just make it thicker behind the edge, so food separation would be negatively affected. A very subtle curve to the whole backside bevel is nice to prevent stiction. I feel like I don't really know for sure about any of this, though.

Really, any break in angle helps. Just the farther up the blade face and more constant is closer to ideal. Basically, flat face+curved face=