Honyaki bunka wip

[Blank Blades.]

I've been polishing this thing about a million different ways, and I think I finally found something that I like. What do you guys think?

Now I can finally get on to working on the handle. I'm thinking it will be make from this oak from a tree that fell in my backyard, then black linen micarta then brass then another piece of black linen micarta for the "ferrule". I'm just worried the brass could throw the balance off.

 

[deltaplex]

I think the polish on it looks great. I personally prefer simpler handles, so I wouldn't make a 3-layer ferrule, but if that's your aesthetic, I'm sure it'll look real nice.

 

[Blank Blades.]

I think the polish on it looks great. I personally prefer simpler handles, so I wouldn't make a 3-layer ferrule, but if that's your aesthetic, I'm sure it'll look real nice.

I might not. But I feel like the solid black and gold will keep it somewhat simple for a multilayer ferrule. I did a bit more colorful one on a petty a while back but i feel like it could stand it because the blade is so plain.

 

[deltaplex]

The overall package on that does look very nice.

 

[Blank Blades.]

About to start the construction of the handle. If it throws off balance or doesn't look right, it's back to the drawing board.

 

[Blank Blades.]

Well made the handle, attached it. Just put the final coat of rub on poly on it. The wood is some kind of oak from a tree that was blown down in my yard last year. I think water oak. Black linen micarta, and brass ferrule. Before I put the handle together I burned in the tang in the wood. This stuff seemed to handle it well.

I'm feeling not great because I didn't wear my respirator while shaping it. I thought I could get away with it because it was outside. I was wrong about that one. I'll be more responsible in the future about wearing my ppe.

Now, for this I'm planning on making my first saya. So I'll be doing that, then do a final polish on the blade, and it should be done.

 

[deltaplex]

It's a white oak though? How did you prep the fallen tree into a usable blank to protect against checking, etc?

 

[Blank Blades.]

It's a white oak though? How did you prep the fallen tree into a usable blank to protect against checking, etc?

Cut it into relatively small pieces right away (at least the ones that were kept) and have just been letting it dry for a while. Then cut it down close to the shape for the handle, and let that sit for the last couple weeks before finally starting to shape it.

I'm just going off of the leaves of the tree. I'm 90% sure its water oak.

 

[Blank Blades.]

So. I went to go start making the saya, or at least get the wood prepared for it. I take a piece that I had kept because it had an interesting look too it, and I thought it could possibly have some figuring to it or maybe some sort of burl like pattern.

Anyway I cut into it, and it looks to me like some kind of spalting.

If only I had known. I would have made sure to keep any piece that I could find that looked remotely similar to this. It is also very figured compared to the rest of the wood I have too. I saw it had some kind of growth on it, so I thought it was going to be useless, and I would just have to cut around it. If only I had known what I was looking at.

I'm wondering if I can do some kind of cactus juice stabilization without a vacuum chamber? I'll look onto it.

 

[Blank Blades.]

Ok I'm getting close. I mean really its pretty much how it's going to be in the end. I decided to change the handle. I had to take the other one off to deal with some scratches I couldn't get to properly with the old one on. So I decided I might as well use some wood to better match to the saya, since the handle is already off. I'll post some more pictures once it's truly done. Like I said though this is effectively the knife.

 

[Blank Blades.]

I would love some feedback if anyone has any. I mean, if you think the knife sucks, and it's the ugliest thing you've ever seen. Let me know. If that's truly how you feel I will appreciate the honesty.

In the future when doing differential hardening I will make the hamon higher on the blade than this one, but I'm still mostly happy with it. I was going for just a random type pattern and that seemed to work. I will play around with more symmetrical patterns and different stuff in the future.


Also on one of the pictures that's just a piece of dust near the tip. (Nope I looked again, that's just a reflection) Although there are some little tiny scratches here and there I mean tiny ones. , and those are the only reason I said it's not completely finished. I'll get those out, and after that it's done.

 

[deltaplex]

It's hard to see the blade details with all the reflections and lighting going on in there.

 

[MSicardCutlery]

FWIW active hamons are a huge PITA to get a good picture of. Video is much easier, out in the sun too if you can.

 

[Blank Blades.]

Yeah. That was really the biggest problem. I mentioned it on another forum, it's not easy getting it to show up in pictures.

I was trying to get the details, but the angle that would show the it the best had the worst flares. So I chose to just get different shots that show different parts that you can't see because of the glare.

I think softer lighting might help with glare. I'll see what I can do in the future. I'm about to take the handle off again, because I there was a couple little spots I want want to get to, and it's just going to drive me crazy if I didn't. The soft steel ln the top is honestly so much more delicate and picks up stray scratches if you look at it wrong. I'm used to working with cpm 10v, and stuff that you have to put your body weight into it to get 3m cubitron sandpaper to properly bite into it.

 

[Blank Blades.]

FWIW active hamons are a huge PITA to get a good picture of. Video is much easier, out in the sun too if you can.

I'll do a video after I take the handle off and polish it again. I hoped I wouldn't have to do ANOTHER polish. But at least it should be quick and easy this time, since I know exactly what I'm going to do to get the look.i want.

 

[ian]

Personally, I think it’s gorgeous. The polish looks great, as does all the woodwork. Super nice. I’m not sure I’d buy a knife with that low-height super flat bunka shape, since I’m not sure what I’d want to use it for, but the work all looks excellent.

 

[Blank Blades.]

Personally, I think it’s gorgeous. The polish looks great, as does all the woodwork. Super nice. I’m not sure I’d buy a knife with that low-height super flat bunka shape, since I’m not sure what I’d want to use it for, but the work all looks excellent.

Yeah height is one thing I would definitely do differently in the future. I think I would need to start with a thicker piece of steel to forge the height I want.

What do you mean when you say flat?

Edit: ooooh. Ok. Yeah good point hmm. Maybe I can make a modification or two since I want to take off the handle and republish for the the billionth time anyway. I'm thinking how much curve I should add though? I think too much would just be kinda wierd with the bunka shape. It does have more curve than the pictures show, but yeah that's a good point.

 

[Blank Blades.]

I honestly think with the dimensions that this ended up being it's more a kind or tall petty.

 

[ian]

I'm thinking how much curve I should add though? I think too much would just be kinda wierd with the bunka shape. It does have more curve than the pictures show, but yeah that's a good point.

Curve might be fine. I like things pretty flat, usually, but idk if I’d like something super flat that was functionally like a petty, because when there’s not much heel height and not much curve it’ll be hard to keep your knuckles off the board. But part of me thinks this looks more like a traditional japanese knife in shape, so maybe it’d be appropriate for different techniques than I use, and different grips. Also hard for me to judge profiles in pics sometimes

 

[Blank Blades.]

Wait. No. Nvm I already have the saya made. Theres no way I'm reprofiling. Idk. I'll post a side shot, and also add a choil shot for fun.

Let me know what you think of the profile when stood up.

 

[Pie]

Man. This thing is beautiful.

 

[Blank Blades.]

The choil shot. I had to zoom in a good bit to get the picture so I decided to show the measurement as well. It's mostly around .010 until it gets near the heel, then goes up to around .014ish to allow for a bit more strength there.

Edit: I feel like I should add, the choils a little smudged up from handling and polishing, I'll probably do an actual final picture to show it nice and clean.

 

[Blank Blades.]

Also here's the side profile shot. You can kind of see here... I've started the polish over again. I haven't had time to get the handle off yet, so I didnt really go all the way with it. I'll do that some time today, or tomorrow. Maybe get the handle off today, and polish, then put it back on and let it set up. Idk.

Anyway back to the profile. So it looks straight. But really what it is, is a very slight curve. I tend to use a push cut style when I cook. So that's a profile that seems to work for me. Because as I'm going forward my the knife will kind of follow that slight curve instead of actually staying completely flat.

I actually would like some feedback here. @ian I certainly agree, in the future. Taller would be better. But in regards to profile. What do you think people will find the most useful? Because if I'm not getting outside input, I'm just going to make what I find works for me, but that might not be what most people want. So anything will really be appreciated.

 

[deltaplex]

Profile preference is pretty variable from person to person, ime. There are a thousand different ways to cut, and then on top of that you have people who adjust their technique to suit the knife in hand and those that seek out specific profiles to suit their honed in technique. So I think it's good that you're starting with what suits you, since it helps identify what adjustments are beneficial/detrimental to certain performance aspects and can be carried forward into other designs. I think if you're looking for what other people may find attractive: look at the different techniques (e.g. tip on board/push/pull/straight up and down/etc.) and see what profiles you can produce to benefit one or more of those.

 

[ian]

Also here's the side profile shot. You can kind of see here... I've started the polish over again. I haven't had time to get the handle off yet, so I didnt really go all the way with it. I'll do that some time today, or tomorrow. Maybe get the handle off today, and polish, then put it back on and let it set up. Idk.

Anyway back to the profile. So it looks straight. But really what it is, is a very slight curve. I tend to use a push cut style when I cook. So that's a profile that seems to work for me. Because as I'm going forward my the knife will kind of follow that slight curve instead of actually staying completely flat.

View attachment 195162

I actually would like some feedback here. @ian I certainly agree, in the future. Taller would be better. But in regards to profile. What do you think people will find the most useful? Because if I'm not getting outside input, I'm just going to make what I find works for me, but that might not be what most people want. So anything will really be appreciated.

That looks like a good example of a sort of slight continuous curve, which probably would work for my cutting style. Looking at the pic, my ideal might be very slightly flatter toward the heel and very slightly more curved toward the tip, but it’s also just hard for me to tell from pics no matter what.

 

[Blank Blades.]

Its pretty much curved the whole way. There is a small flat spot at the heel. Maybe an inch, inch and a half? But mostly a slight curve.

 

[superworrier]

Handles looks very good, even though the 3 layer ferrule didn't sound good to me originally. Overall, a very beautiful blade.

 

[Pie]

I’d say profile preferences heavily depend on user’s cutting style. I tend to push and pull quite a bit and don’t draw too often with big knives, so For 240 and over I would prefer a mazaki profile, dead flat for a solid 50-60% and then transition to a medium height tip. I love super tall knives too.

For something small I don’t mind the consistent curve, but would like a lower tip than for longer knives.

What’s the coolest thing to me about your operation is the whole thing is 100% custom. Steel. Handle. Friggin hamon style. HRC. Everything. The positive to low volume production.

 

[Blank Blades.]

Man I've had a hard time today. I got done cooking for work, and decided to go ahead and take the handle off, and maybe change the temper a bit while I was at it. Man, I really stuck this thing on this time. I heated it a few times, and when I couldn't pull it off, I did the whole, hold the blade and use something solid against the ferrule to hammer the handle off thing. That didnt work either.

So I think I'll try again tomorrow, I'll put it in at a slightly lower heat, so I wont need to really worry about the handle getting ruined, and hold it there for a while. 250 f maybe?

Anyway I did a 2x4 chop test with a couple blades, this one, and a cpm 10v fixed blade I made. The person wasn't really suggesting testing a kitchen knife with this test, but i was curious. It didn't fair well, so I think I will temper a bit higher after I get the handle off tomorrow (I only brought it up to 325 original to leave it very hard, so maybe trying this test at all was dumb, especially at .010 with freaking 1095).

The cpm 10v is about .012 right behind the edge .011 in some spots. It actually did super well, and with the protocol I followed, I'm hoping its actually pretty hard (I wanted 65ish, but being realistic because I used a dry ice slurry rather than ln2 its probably 63, but idk for sure just being conservative but it definitely doesn't seem soft). I chopped a 2x4 70 times, stopping and shaving every 10 chops, I stopped at 70 because I figured I was going to shave my whole arm before I see anything change.



Edit: oh yeah, I messed up when cold stamping the cpm 10v lettering on the blade but decided to finish it anyway. I don't thing I'm going to end up selling it anyway, but it was still very disappointing.

 

[Blank Blades.]

Still trying to get the handle off...

I'm trying my best to not burn the micarta up in the process, but its looking more, and more like that's not going to be possible. I have more to replace it, if necessary, but that's such a waste.

Anyway. Since I'm doing all this, I think I'm going to go ahead and just normalize and change the hamon. I really want it higher up the blade, this is the perfect opportunity to do it. So I might as well, since after testing I did end up changing the profile to remove the damage. I think I'll be happier with the end result, and doing that gets rid of the extreme thinness that would likely have given me problems if I tried this before.

So idk i guess I'll just get the knife progressively hotter until this handle comes off, and after I get it on this time, I'll make sure I'm not going to have to take it off again lol.