What I Have Been Up To Lately

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thank you, Marko!:)
Marko Tsourkan said:
Uniform heating. When you heat treat in convection oven, the temperature inside will vary somewhat (don't listen to people who can say that temperature inside is +/- 5F the probe temperature, in an Evenheat type oven), so to get to optimum hardness you have to do a lot of testing before you get a good HT recipe. Salts, on the other hand (provided you don't have any frozen spots at the bottom), will show temperature more accurately and heat steel more uniformly and faster. Devin told me that advantage going salts is about 10% improvement. The process includes tempering in salts as well.
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PierreRodrigue said:
Salts... absolutely no moisture on the blade, one drop of water equals molten salt everywhere from the steam release/explosion. lay your blades on top of the salt pot to preheat, and drive out moisture.
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That's what I have been hearing from people who ht in salts. I was to bake the blades fora short time in 300F oven before submerging in salts, heating on top of hte tube might be a faster and more efficient way. Thanks for the tip, Pierre -

M
 
A quick update on where things stand.

To improve efficiency, I have decided to send out steel to be cut into blanks with a waterjet, though all the other processes will be done in-house, by me. Also, I finally succeeded in making polishing a bit more efficient, and that came after my latest cut to my thumb! Sometimes pain can be a great motivator.

I have a number of custom orders I took money for. These are my first priority and they are not many. I am finishing several knives at the moment and hopefully will get them out in the next couple of days. I still have some custom work orders (handles mostly) that I need to complete, before dedicating my time entirely to custom knife work (and some accessories).

Currently in discussing with a machine shop about ordering saltpods. Hopefully it won't be too long before I switch my HT to molten salts.

The DMT plates and bases are in works, most bases are done, some I already started on a finishing process. I will ship them out as I complete them, the earliest should go out this week. Pics shortly.

I apologize for the long time some of you have waited for a knife from me. The ride wasn't as smooth as I hoped, but I finally reached a good point where I can balance the quality of my work and the my involvement (labor and time).

Thanks,

M
 
Thanks for the update. Good things are worth waiting for! :)
 
Great to hear things are moving along for you. Every time you post a picture of a finished knife I get more and more excited about receiving my knives! Hope the thumb isn't giving you too much trouble
 
I think my new polishing approach will result in a finish that very close to mirror-polish. Water jet cutting is a must at this point, as my shop is in the basement and bringing in a professional metal cutting bands saw would be very difficult. Salt pods is also a stet in a right direction - faster, more uniform results.

If now I could only hire somebody to make accessories for me under my supervision ...
 
Thanks for the heads up on the DMT's Marko - you had mentioned a bunch were back ordered.
 
Hey Folks,
been a while since I posted an update here.

There has been a lot of going on lately, so I will try to do a summary, but the list is long.

Current Projects
Gyoto Types
I have decided to offer three types of gyuto - laser, workhorse and heavy workhorse. Laser will have plenty stiffness at the spine, but above the edge will be pretty thin. Workhorse will be a thicker version of the laser and a heavy workhorse will be a gyuto in a different geometry all together.

225mm Ready-Made Gyutos
This project is in progress, finishing up two first knives. I was a little unsure whether to give them laser or workhorse geometry, (for a while I have been aiming for similar geometry as thinnest Shigefusa), so I settled on a geometry that is in between the two. If folks find them too thin above the edge for their liking, I will replace them with a thicker version

135-150mm Honesuki
Finally getting to this project. Cut and profiled blanks, will start heat-treating them shortly.

190mm ready-made gyuto
This project is on hold at the moment, but I will start on it when I free up some time (as of November I will get some help)

Custom Orders
Slowly getting them out, though most are overdue. Trying to make amends for the overdue work with discounts, and upgrades. Now that I closed the custom order list, it's a little more manageable. Still have a couple of really old orders but will clear them in the coming weeks.

Magnetic Strips
Producing limited quantities of these, mostly from maple and walnut. I aim to make them exclusively in domestic figured woods for sustainability reasons.

Cutting Boards
Once I get some help in the shop, these will become stock items. Walnut and cherry are current choices. Will add maple and smoked white oak as new items.

Strops and DMT Plates Bases
Same applies to these. It takes a lot of my time to produce these, so right now I only make them periodically and in batches 7+, but aim to have them as stock items

Custom Handles and Sayas
A limited number of these will be offered starting November 1st.


New Projects
12" Scimitar and 8" butchering knife
Studying these knives and corresponding with folks who use them on a regular basis, to get a better understanding and to make a prototype and start from there - test the prototype, make corrections, make another prototype, etc. Over time, I would like to offer them separately or as a matching set. Other knives might be included in the set as well.

270 Miroshi Deba
This is one knife I wanted to make for a long time. Also, corresponding with a heavy user of this lengh knife to get a better understanding, and will spend some time studying this knife up close before making my own version in 52100.

Heavy Workhorse Gyuto
I am currently experimenting with 2 geometries for this type of knife. Same approach as above, corresponding with heavy users of these types, studying comparable knives, producing prototypes and sending it out for testing and feedback. Prototype #2 will incorporate feedback and suggestion and hopefully no prototype #3 will be necessary. In any event, there is some time before a knife will get in a production.

Install-It-Yourself Handles
These will be semi-custom handles made with international customers in mind. As the name implies, these will be made to measurements provided by the customer, but will be installed by the customer. For now, I am going to do a test trial, to see if this concept works well. If everything goes as intended, this will become a product.

Leather Sayas
This is a new product I became interested in lately. I plan producing these in the upcoming months, as I need some time to setup a new workspace and to purchase equipment.

Leather Rolls
I need to spend some time on design of these (hopefully I can get some good input from you guys, please email me if you have some suggestions), but hope that withing months I should bring them as a product. The aim to make them more affordable than comparable products on the market and to design them to accommodate most popular types of knives. The design will feature pockets with sayas (leather or wood), and the knives will be stored with the blades in the pockets vs handles as on most rolls on the market. Separate rolls will be made for accessories and DMT plates.

Custom 11.5x2.5" 4000 DMT Plate
This grit would complement 1200 plate and 8000 plate and will become a stock item. Bases and felt strops will be available for this size.

That's all. Whew!

Thanks,

Marko

PS: All of these products are made in house by me. When I get some help, woodworking products will be made by my close supervision, but knives, handles, leather products will be still made by me. I intend to subcontract nothing.
 
Haven't posted an update recently, it is about time.

Made a fairly smooth transition into western handled knives. Still fine-tuning the details, but can say that I am fairly comfortable with the outcome.

At this time I am offering primarily S grind geometry, but also dabbled into an asymmetric grind, though I need more feedback on the performance before making it available to the public.

There are a few new types of knives that I intend to bring to the market soon: scimitar, 8" breaking knife, Miroshi deba and others.

On fulfillment of the custom work, need improvement. Find it a bit difficult to manage time efficiently combining new/experimental work and old custom work. I made a priority to get the knives out that had a deposit or were paid in full, and until these are out, all custom work is on hold. I will, however, fulfill the custom orders placed through the web site or email, but it will take some time. The bright side - I am willing to accommodate people and will offer some incentives to make up for a long wait, besides being locked into the old price. Also, I will be offering work that wasn't available at the time they placement an order and it will be an option. The custom order list is closed for the next 1-2 years.

In my professional development, the next step would be to get into forging and damascus making. I intend to bring some integrals down the road and to make my own mokume and damascus. This is a mid-term plan, but I have to start making some moves toward that end in the next 3-6 months.

Accessories production is on hold because of a lack of time and I haven't been successful finding help.

Thanks,

Marko
 
Marko that's awesome to hear you will be working in forging and Damascus.

Can't wait to see the results!
 
jgraeff said:
Marko that's awesome to hear you will be working in forging and Damascus.

Can't wait to see the results!
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Thanks. I have to take a pilgrimage trip to Panaka first. For now I have been researching equipment needed. Forging is likely to have by far a steepest learning curve than anything I have attempted.

M
 
I also wonder what brand it is on that salt bath heater of your's, and lastly... how is the forging coming along?

:knife:
 
Nearly two years passed since I posted an update, so one is long overdue.

These past two yeas, I have been thinking about knives, making knives, trying new grinds, profiles, methods, learning new things, often by trial and error. I used to have a quote by Niels Bohr in my signature, "An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field" and I guess, the description is quite accurate, though I am by no means an expert. Any new approach, typically results in a failure in the beginning, before things start improving.

The learning process never ends, so more trial and error ahead of me, but I think I am now a more confident knife maker that I was. I have tried numerous geometries, and came to understand nuances of each. Learning new geometries also made me think of new approaches of producing them, using tools I have.

I have done some minor tweaks to my heat treatment, and have been thinking of new ideas for heat treatment, in terms of equipment and a process. Heat treatment has never ceased to fascinate me.

So, my next step is forging. My workshop is in a basement and my landlord doesn't allow open fire, so for the next couple of years, I plan on visiting places around where I can forge, but at first, I will spend some time learning how to forge with a reputable forger. My goal is to start with simple forging - integrals, san mai and gradually move to damascus and forging other types of blades and swords.

I plan to continue producing ready-made knives alongside customs. There is a chance that some of my ready-made knives will be offered through a third party/s. Some knives will also be offered through my web site, but these will be mostly knives I like to make. I plan to open my custom order list once my retooling is complete, and I start forging.

I have been working on retooling my shop for a while now. I do all the processes in-house, and I am a one-man shop, so time management and efficiency is the only way to stay competitive. I am adding several new pieces of equipment and grinders to the shop to improve efficiency, so I don't have to waste time on changing tooling. Also, I am finally adding a dust extraction to the shop, as the dust has always been an issue, so I can work without a respirator.

I also plan to continue woodworking - sayas, strops, mag strip and cutting boards. Woodworking adds a different level of satisfaction for me.

I also plan on giving leather working another shot. My butcher knives could use sheaths and I think leather sheaths are a better match for curved blade profiles. Currently I am researching and educating myself on leather patterning and shaping.

Some of you have seen my grinder project. I think we have a great product, but there are hurdles to overcome - cost (mainly shipping to the US) and production. These are essentially hand-build grinders, and like custom knives, building one takes a long time, often longer than originally thought. We are trying to make changes to address these issues, and I think we are on a right track, but there is still much to do.

I am finally starting acting on knife ideas that I have been thinking about for years - butcher knives, neck knives, hunting knives and a folding knife in a near future.

I also partnered with a couple of friends to bring a great wood selection for my customer. We source woods from different parts of the world and make it available for sale to the public. I hope this will give my customer an option to find what they are looking for. Besides wood, there will be other exotic materials available such as mammoth tooth and ivory. I reiterate that I will not offer elephant or walrus ivory, nor will work one if a customer supplies, per-ban or not. I draw a line on this, but I don't mind working mammoth ivory or mammoth tooth. All of the wood and ivory for sale will be stabilized by K&G. I am shipping about 200 blocks for stabilizing next week and many more will follow. Koa, redwood, thuya, bog oak, and many more...

So these are some things I have been doing these two years among ups and downs in my life.

Thanks for reading.
 
Marko, thanks for taking the time to write this update. It's good to know where you hope to head with this profession, as it shows you intend to keep building on the foundation that earned your knives a great reputation as very good cutters with well thought-out grinds.
 
It's been a while since I posted an update here. Long overdue.

Life has been good, stressful at times, but overall, no complains. I have been learning a lot and doing new things ))

The most important thing that happened lately, is that I took first steps into forging. Right now I am building and procuring forging equipment, and hope to be up and running within a couple of months. The game plan to make san mai with steels I am found of (and some new ones) as well as basic damascus. I am currently working with 3 new steels and I think I will be adding them to my stock steels, but in san mai construction.

I still have several knives to finish, but I am considering opening a custom order list after these are done.

I am in talks with a couple of knife dealers to supply them with my knives. Once that is finalized, I will make an announcement. These will be supplied in small quantities, so I also have time to work on custom orders.

Our grinders project is alive and well and it's starting to bear fruits. I am using ST-72U grinder and jt's an amazing machine. Functionality and power of this grinder will blow your mind away. There are two grinders that are to be delivered to forum members within the next few weeks,and I hope folks will chime in. We are currently working on a 20" contact wheel grinder. Most of the grinders on the market come with 8-10" wheels. You get the picture)) We are considering starting making them in the US as of fall 2017.

I have built some really cool equipment for controlled cooling of the blades after the quench. It reduces stresses in the steel and minimizes warping when rapidly cooled in liquid nitrogen.

Also, right now I am working on (actually wrapping up the work) on a new method of heat treatment that will result in a faster soak time, more accurate temperature and overall more efficiency than heat treating in a convection furnace. Combined with controlled cooling this will even further improve already excellent heat treatment.

I am still doing some woodworking, though on a much smaller scale - boards, mag strips, knife holders. Thinking of making custom boxes for my higher-end knives. I have always enjoyed it, and plan on doing it.

That's all I have to announce at the moment.

Thanks,

Marko
 
him (labor says his marko is his favorite knife which says A LOT) and jon (says heat treat of ginrei would really surprise me) together convinced me otherwise
to be honest i'm still nervous i might not like the steel, lol
 
My Billipp in 52100 is excellent. And seeing how Marko is an encyclopedia of heat treats, grinds, and profiles I’m sure this will be nothing short of fecking awesome!
 
panda said:
he is working on a honyaki 52100 for me at the moment :)
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It'll be good, make sure to get a fancy Hamon lol. Marko has some stunningly attractive blades. Should of got him to do a western ho and horn handle lol, that would of been funny.
 
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