Thinking of doing a group buy

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The Edge

The Edge

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Thinking of doing a run of 10 knives, all with the same profile, steel, and handle style. Looking to get opinions on materials and profiles, as I would like to have buyers before I get started. I would ask for a small deposit up front, with full payment on completion.

By doing a larger batch, I'm hoping I can keep time and costs down, and offer the knives at half my normal price, so a 240mm would end up being $475 (so let's say $50 as a deposit, with $425 due upon completion). I'm thinking about 2 months for completion once I get the materials, and I'll keep everyone posted on progress as I go along.

Let me know your thoughts. I would like to offer these all in S-grind. All heat treating will be done by me, and everything will be hand finished. For steel I was thinking between AEB-L or some type of carbon. Just need everyone to agree, as I'd like to keep everything the same. Though open to doing different handle materials.

Thanks in advance for your response.
 
Seems like a great opportunity for a rookie (like myself) to get hands on a custom knife!

Would love to try a S-grind with western handle. As for steel, I would be more than happy with either AEB-L or any other SS/carbon in a comparable range :)

If there are any spots left, I would be very down to join this!
 
I'd be interested too. Like others said, very curious about what general idea you have in mind in terms of profile, dimensions and handle.
 
LostHighway said:
I might be interested depending on the details: dimensions, profile, alloy, handle and target HT.
Speaking strictly in terms of my own partisan interests I'd prefer wa-handle, 225mm, significant distal taper, CruForge V or 52100 (if carbon) or AEB-L (if stainless)
Click to expand...

I'll get one like that too.
 
I'll try to get a couple profiles up by tomorrow. Working on a new flier for sharpening at the moment. I can do either western or wa, though the western would be hidden tang.

As far as S-grind. I can do either preference towards one side, or I can do symmetric depending on what everyone is interested in.
 
I would prefer a wa handle myself, but can go both ways if that is generally preferred by the group I am left handed though so for me 50/50 on all grinds is preferred
 
Heel heights of around 51-52mm seem to be sweet spot for me across all knife types and lengths I've tried. Taller than 55mm and unfortunately they don't fit in my drawer. I thought I only liked wa, but after experiencing a few nice westerns, I'll trust the makers to do whatever they're good at.
 
Got about 6" of snow, and got a later start than I wanted. But finally have some things to report.

IMG_1937.jpg


With that being said, I'll open this up to both 240mm and 225mm chef's. I've got a few profiles listed below. Please pick one of these, or send me your own drawing, and we can go from there. Unfortunately, I don't have a quench tank set up for 52100 or cru forge v, and I'm a stickler for trying to get the best out of a steel, so I won't be offering those at this time. Maybe after this group buy is done, I'll set up to do those steels. As for now, you can pick 1 of 4 steels. For stainless, you can pick either AEB-L or s35vn. As for carbon, you can pick either 1095 or 26c3. For aeb-l I'm aiming to get the hardness around 63, this includes cryo treatment. For s35vn I'm looking at between 61-62 with cryo. For 1095, I'm looking at around 63 hardness, and with 26c3 I'm looking for around 65. I will put a hamon on the carbon steel knives if you like, though I will only be polishing any of these knives to 400 grit.

So things I'm looking for from those interested:
1 - pick a profile
2 - pick a length (the 225mm will be $450 total, with the same $50 due up front, but only $400 due on completion)
3 - pick a height
4 - preferred thickness at spine
4 - pick a steel
5 - choose between wa and western handle with a list of preferred handle materials (the western will come with a bolster of either stainless, brass, or copper)
6 - preferred handle size (if choosing western, I can help with this)
7 - All knives will be ground with my "S" grind, but let me know if you'd like it biased towards one hand, or if you'd like it done on both sides.

I think that's all I need. I can set payment up through my website if needed, or you can send payment through paypal (do not send friends and family, as it does not offer you the same protections, and I want you to feel safe with the purchase, I'll eat the fees).

profiles2021-01.jpg


That's all I can think of for the moment. If you think I've forgotten anything else, please let me know. I'm going with not everyone needing to agree on the same aspects, as knives are personal. Thanks for your time :)
 
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Questions came up privately that I thought I should answer here as well.

1. What's the difference in balance points with each grind?

This is a tricky question, as handle material is going to have different weights, which is going to have an effect on the balance point. If you have a preference on where the balance point should be, please let me know, and I can do my best to balance it there. Typically, I try to keep the balance point around the heel, or slightly forward of it, though not more than 3/4" forward of the heel. I'm not doing full tangs here, so it's going to be easier to keep the balance from drifting too much towards the handle.

2. What's the edge retention between aeb-l and s35vn?

I find that s35vn last about twice as long as aeb-l, maybe a little less. The drawback is that it takes a bit longer to put an edge on, though any stone will work. But to give reasons for each of the steels listed, this may help some of you make a decision.

1095 - This will be the easiest to sharpen out of the 4. Takes a great edge, though also has the worst edge retention of the lot. For those that really enjoy sharpening, this is really enjoyable on the stones.

26c3 - A little bit harder to sharpen than 1095, but for those wanting to push the limits of what an edge can be, this would be my go to option.

aeb-l - For a stainless steel, even at ~63hrc, this is going to be fairly easy to sharpen. This steel is tough, and for someone wanting a knife that they don't have to baby, I can't think of a better steel.

s35vn - For someone that wants an edge to last a long time, this is my go to at the moment. I know there are more abrasive resistant steels, but I think this has a great balance between longevity and sharpen-ability. I also find this steel more corrosion resistant than aeb-l, so for those that live in a damp environment, this will resist rust easier than aeb-l.

Hope these answers help.

Busy morning already, as we had another 9" of snow, and daycare was cancelled for my little one.
 
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Unless I have an ongoing conversation with you, this pre-buy is closed. I'll be in touch with each of you when material gets here to double check all the specs, and then I'll be posting updates as we go along.

Just want to say thank you for the support.

Best,
Taylor
 
All the steel has been ordered. More than I need for just this, but it's always nice to have more on hand. I'll let you all know when it gets here, and I'll work on finalizing profiles and dimensions for each of you to double check. Hoping to have the profiles sent to everyone individually by Monday. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me.
 
All of the steel should be here by next Wednesday, and I've ordered a crap-ton of wood. If you send me a link to what you were thinking, I ordered it, with even more. I'll have even better mock-ups next week, so everyone is confident in the direction we're going. I'm hoping to start on these by next Thursday-Friday.
 
Looks like the bad weather moved from Reno to everywhere. The steel still hasn't arrived, and was last seen leaving PA on the 11th of this month. The wood I ordered last week was last seen leaving Tuscon on the 13th. I'm hoping the drivers are ok, and the only thing I can do now is be patient. I'm still working on the last bit of the profiles, as things haven't been going to plan this week, but will have everything together by the time the material gets here, so I can jump in and get to work. I appreciate everyone bearing with me.
 
And finally back on track. All the material is here, and I'll be finishing up profiles to send to everyone tonight, or in the morning, depending on my wife's schedule. I hope to get all the profiles shaped and the knives heat treated this week. I appreciate everyone's patience. Going to be some long days ahead of me, but looking forward to getting this project started.
 
Got some boxes made up today to keep everything organized, and was able to rough shape everything. Tomorrow, I hope to get all the detail work done, take a couple pics, and start on the heat treating. If all goes well, I can have everything heat treated by the end of the week :).
 
Crazy week so far. Lots of communication being sent back and forth, trying to get finalized dimensions. I appreciate everyone's quick responses, and patience. Today is all about detail work, and getting all the T's crossed, and I's dotted, so I can start heat treatment. Heat treatment probably won't happen till tomorrow, and I expect I won't be finished with it until Tuesday, as there's only so much room in my Dewar for cryo. But I should be able to start grinding geometry by Monday on some of the knives. I'll also start building some of the handles next week as well.

Yesterday was basically grinding and emailing. As the picture shows, it feels like I was left with nothing but dust, but not to worry, we're making good pace, and I'm still feeling that we're on schedule.

Other exciting news. We're getting a new addition for our family, coming September 25th. Some of my time has been reserved for the doctors visits associated with that this week. Just glad I was allowed in the exam room to see the little one for the first time. Approximately 3cm long with a good little heartbeat.

Maybe I'll actually remember to take more than just pictures of wood today ;)
 

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