Hammer forged knife blanks

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Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

I have no idea if this would be a good idea but do you think we could offer some inexpensive hammer forged knife blanks for aspiring knife makers?

Many blades I see by US garage makers are stamped and this would allow them to get some Japanese san mai blades at a low cost to start working.
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by Bensbites »

I could be game!

I would also be curious if you could just get bars of R2 or white clad in stainless. I am happy to put my own profile on them.
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by taz575 »

I would go for some!! Some places sell san mai steel, but it often isn't in sizes kitchen knife makers would be using.
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by Altadan »

Mark, I've a feeling that once word got around knife makers' circles, you'd be struggling to stock. Just my haunch
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by stevem627 »

I agree with Altadan. You’d get a lot of orders once people see you have them. You just need to get the word out in the right circles and you’ll have probably more orders than you think.
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by Nochop! »

I'm in.
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by Wjhunt »

Forgive me if this is a dumb question. Would the blanks need further heat treatment?
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by taz575 »

I am assuming they would need heat treating still, but maybe they harden after blanking and grind the hardened steel? I do this with knife blanks, that way the thin edges don't curl/warp during heat treating.
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by Bensbites »

Wjhunt wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 4:05 pm Forgive me if this is a dumb question. Would the blanks need further heat treatment?
It’s not a dumb question. In the US you can send out blades for heat treatment for $10-20 per blade plus shipping. That and a file jig can get you set up cheap.
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by Tostadas »

I'm down for this totally!
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

Ok, I’ll see if I can get one of our guys to do a dozen or two. It could be tough but once in a while there are young guys that are just starting out that will take jobs like this. This blacksmith is new and worked with Nishida san for several years so I’ll ask him first. https://www.chefknivestogo.com/hinokuni.html
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by Kalaeb »

I think a caveat to this should be a thread where all you guys post pics of your finished work.
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by XexoX »

Kalaeb wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 3:31 pm I think a caveat to this should be a thread where all you guys post pics of your finished work.
With another caveat that it is a picture of the finished work that used the forged knife blank! Mr. Suburban would publish a picture of some chicken thighs he grilled. :lol:
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

Kalaeb wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 3:31 pm I think a caveat to this should be a thread where all you guys post pics of your finished work.
I love that idea. Maybe we can keep it a forum thing and do a group project and make them more or less at the same time so we can discuss methods.
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by atang »

Wow! That would be a great way to start crafting with little investment in forge/HT equipment. I would try one or two. Ginsanko would be a great option to work with, even white #1 would be awesome or anything hitachi for that matter.
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by taz575 »

I will post a bunch of pics and WIP if Mark is OK with that! I just started grinding on a S30V kitchen knife last night. I made the knife back in like 2002-2004 or so IIRC and it was 1/8" thick S30V, 61 Rockwell and the edge was very fat. I am taking it and regrinding the entire blade to get some convex and thin that piggy out. S30V hardened is a bear to grind!! I forgot to take a before picture of the choil, but lets just say it was chunky at the top of the edge bevel, which was around 1/8" wide! Guestimating it was around .06" or so at the top of the bevel?
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

Sure feel free to post some picstures.
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by taz575 »

PHOTO_20210426_192327.jpg
Getting used to the new belt sander and felt platen on some 1/8" thick 61 HRC CPM S30V! Looking forward to these Mark!
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

I’ve got good news on this idea. Mr Yusuda from Yoshimitsu said he would provide us with rough hammered blades pre heat treatment and not ground.

I haven’t gotten prices yet but I’ll update when I know them and show you a picture of what we’re going to get.
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Re: Hammer forged knife blanks

Post by Bensbites »

ChefKnivesToGo wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 7:27 am I’ve got good news on this idea. Mr Yusuda from Yoshimitsu said he would provide us with rough hammered blades pre heat treatment and not ground.

I haven’t gotten prices yet but I’ll update when I know them and show you a picture of what we’re going to get.
This is awesome! Any idea on steel type? I know I am set up for water or plate quenching, but I am in the minority
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