10" Forgecraft chef's knife that's been thinned (a ton!), spine/choil rounded, and converted to accept a wa handle. This one is headed out to JKI to get a burnt chestnut handle installed, should come out real good. 
D. Martell Forgecrafting Again
- Thread starter Dave Martell
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For those of you that asked me about this work and I declined I'm reconsidering offering this service. These knives are difficult to thin, very easy to wreck, so as long as you can agree not to hold me responsible for screw ups and losses then I'm game. I'm just not interested in stalking ebay for replacements.
There's a certain appeal to a vintage FC if you ask me similar to a vintage Griswold. Sure you can a modern equivalent, but it's something about the heritage I suppose
I just picked up the two that Dave did for me. It was well worth the effort and risk. These knives are stunning...almost like they were made for conversion. Center shot is a Martell handle, flankers are by Mikey Riggen.
I'm gonna give them a shakedown cruise this weekend.
I'm gonna give them a shakedown cruise this weekend.
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brainsausage
Senior Member
That looks great, thanks Dave! Can't wait to take her for a spin!
I picked this one up about three years ago on the bay, after Mike Henry did a stellar job converting a used one that i'd bought previously from Son (I think mine was one of the first couple he converted). I was just about ready to finally send this one off to Mike, when he up and retired:sad0: I debated selling it, until I saw the excellent work you did on Dave's (ecchef).
I picked this one up about three years ago on the bay, after Mike Henry did a stellar job converting a used one that i'd bought previously from Son (I think mine was one of the first couple he converted). I was just about ready to finally send this one off to Mike, when he up and retired:sad0: I debated selling it, until I saw the excellent work you did on Dave's (ecchef).
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For those of you that asked me about this work and I declined I'm reconsidering offering this service. These knives are difficult to thin, very easy to wreck, so as long as you can agree not to hold me responsible for screw ups and losses then I'm game. I'm just not interested in stalking ebay for replacements.
I love me some risk reward! Someday I'll find that box where I hid away all those rainy day knives
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Dave, that blade looks gorgeous!
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Happy to say I now have two forgecrafts going to Dave's next week. I'm letting him pick the one in best shape to rehandle, the other will go back up on the bay. Pretty excited:doublethumbsup:
JohnnyChance
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What no choil shot?
Glad it's heading to Josh, means I will get to play with it in the future. Burnt chestnut handle sounds perfect.
Glad it's heading to Josh, means I will get to play with it in the future. Burnt chestnut handle sounds perfect.
Josh, did you get this knife back from Jon? I'd love to see a picture of it complete if possible.
DeepCSweede
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Dave,
What stones do you find work well on Forgie's. I almost exclusively use them for butchering deer and can say that they are a total PITA to sharpen. I use a JNS1000 and stop there for butchering. Once the knife is sharp, it maintains pretty easily but taking it from dullish to sharp is a process.
What stones do you find work well on Forgie's. I almost exclusively use them for butchering deer and can say that they are a total PITA to sharpen. I use a JNS1000 and stop there for butchering. Once the knife is sharp, it maintains pretty easily but taking it from dullish to sharp is a process.
brainsausage
Senior Member
Well, unfortunately when I reached out to Jon, it was right in the midst of the burnt chestnut handle shortage in Japan. So I held off. Back track a few months... I bought an old petty of Ian Haburn's off a forum member in the spring. I wasn't really satisfied with it, so I threw it on the BST. Ian sent me a PM saying he'd be happy to reprofile/refinish it for free. Stand up guy for sure. We also talked about re-handling. Months go by, I forget about the petty. More months go by, and Ian reaches out to me again to make sure I didn't hold off just due to re-handling costs. Like I said- stand up guy. So I figured, why not have him re-handle the pristine Forgie that Dave had turned into a shark that I had just sitting around and completely spaced off. So, long story long- I'll post some pics pretty soon
brainsausage
Senior Member
I had no issues getting my old one up to speed on my bester 1200 and rika 5000. Both the stones and the knife are now gone, so I couldn't necessarily check back. The only issue with Forges are the mass produced/time span of production. Some years are better than other regarding heat treat and grind.
Thanks for the update Josh
