New knife build - seeking feedback

[Shawn Pixley]

Neck is fine. It will have a wooden handle (probably inlayed cocobolo with fittings). It will be used solely for cutting fish. I haven't decided what to inlay on the blade. I still may work on the shape a little.

[george wilson]

So far so good. I am not into making Japanese knives,but I see little need for hollowing the back side,which is the operation which will give you the most trouble. I'm sure they have a reason for doing that,but I'm sure a simple knife will cut just fine without hollowing the back. You might consult Japanese knife afficionados about that,though. Other knives,including my LV Japanese kitchen knife,cut just fine without hollowing.

As for etching damascus,I have found Clorox quite effective. Some use lemon juice. I would avoid muriatic acid because it is VERY difficult to kill the blasted stuff!! Clorox will etch the pattern just fine,and TOO deeply if you aren't careful. Muriatic will etch it very deeply also. Lemon juice might be the safest stuff to use. If you use Clorox,just don't leave the knife in it more than a few minutes. Actually,Clorox uses the same chemical as muriatic acid to do the etching-chlorine.

I have found that keeping even a sealed plastic bottle of muriatic acid in the shop will sooner or later cause tools on the other side of the room to start rusting! No kidding,I had that happen years ago. I had to throw away the acid to make it stop rusting PLATED wrenches.

[Brian Holcombe]

I'll venture a guess that the hallow is something specific to sushi. Even a good german or French knife will drag through meat if you use it the same way a sushi chef uses their knife, So I'd bet the hallow helps to break the tension when slicing.

where are you guys buying Shigefusa? I want one

[george wilson]

i agree with you,Brian. I was just suggesting leaving the hollow out rather than attempting to grind it and messing the knife up,or causing interminable hours trying to get it right. I could grind it,but it takes a lot of practice,and a steady hand.

I made a special attachment for my Square Wheel grinder: A block of steel with a large radius convex curve on it. This is clamped on the platen UNDER the belt(which works just fine). It gives the effect of a hollow grind done on a much larger diameter wheel,like they used in the old days.

The Bowie and the amputation knife below were ground on the attachment. With the 8" wheel,it would not have been possible to get such a wide hollow grind. The curved hollow grind of the amputation knife was the trickiest freehand grind I ever did. I had wished the belt had a rounded face,as I'm sure the original wheel would have had,to fit into that curved shape. But,somehow I pulled it off with a flat faced belt. I had steadier hands in those days,though it wasn't really that long ago. My journeyman Jon made the handle. It looks upside down,but is not. The blade of the amputation knife is so thin on the cutting edge,it approaches a straight razor. The back of the blade is 3/16" thick. A very easy blade to burn while grinding,though I avoided that.

The amputation knife resides in the Apothecary Shop in the museum,where I must say,the ladies do an excellent job of keeping the surgical tools we made for them from rusting. I wish everyone else was so meticulous.

[Brian Holcombe]

Not sure how I missed this reply, those knives are gorgeous George. I have a couple blades I made out of d2 when I was a kid, I'll have to take some pictures.