It's more of a kitchen utility knife that is the size of a paring knife. Its a little too thick to be a precision slicer but it does well in the kitchen doing general cutting chores. Its made of carbon steel so it will patina over time but it will take and hold a damn good edge.

-Specs-
Blade Length: 3"
Blade Material: O1 tool steel
Blade Thickness: 3/32 (2.3 mm)
Handle Length: 4"
Handle Material: Desert Ironwood
Grind Type: Slight hollow
Grind Angle: 18 degrees

First I want to talk about my failures with this knife, number one its a bit too thick. If I were to do this again I would either grind away more of the material or I would use much thinner stock (perhaps 5/64 or 1/16). It still works really well in the kitchen, its just not the greatest slicer. The next failure I would say is the bevel type. I wanted to try something a little different from a full flat grind or convex, but you can't argue with geometry when it comes to food prep. In the future I'll probably go back to a good old flat or ever so slight convex grind. I am still going to toy around with this slight hollow, but perhaps push it from 18 degrees to 15 and use thinner stock.

Next I want to talk about the successes. I feel that the bevel grinds on my knives now are much better than they have been on my past knifes, I am slowly getting better at using the belt sander and grinding discs. Another success was the marriage of handle and tang, I was able to get the two to seamlessly flow into one another. It's something that I now feel I can do with every knife, which is encouraging. Finally the semi-polish finish is something that I am really starting to enjoy. It makes the knife very smooth but it doesn't show scratches or smudges as much as a full polish.

Anyway, enough chatter! Onto the photos!









As you may notice in the bottom corner, I also got a logo for when I feel I am good enough to start selling my work. It's something that has been on my mind but I don't want to rush it. I want to feel completely confident in my knives before I consider asking for money. I am open to feedback on the logo as well!

Well I hope you enjoyed this!

Looks good,  my only thing is that I don't like wood handles in the kitchen.

I like it

When you sell "seconds" you should call them Jack Chuck

Looks good ro me.  I dont kbownanything about making knives but I want to make a german deer handle jaeger knife for my father in law.  Might ask u some questions later when I start.

Edit:
This is like what I want to make.
...

While normally I agree with you, desert ironwood is extremely dense and hard. It doesn't absorb like other woods, especially when polished. Many knife makers specifically use desert ironwood in kitchen and hunting knives because of that.

Please send me your knife for product review.

While I am by no means an expert, I would be more than happy to help!

It's not so much the wood as the rivet holes

Cool!  How did you do a "slight hollow grind"?

Your logo is cool but it may be a little difficult to etch.  I went with something simple for my stuff:

I'd prefer more of a taper point on a paring knife

Nice knife

After I had made the bevels flat like a scandi grind I took it to a 10" grinding stone wheel and hollowed out the bevel. It's pretty subtle but there none the less.

Yeah I am probably going to have to make the "John Charles" a bit bigger than I want for etching. I may cold stamp it though, I haven't decided yet.

+1, I use a light rub of table salt on my wood handles after a hand wash, same with my cutting boards.

Knife looks good and the logo is very appealing

Everything looks good to go to me.

I like it.

As a Chef of 11 years and a bladesmith, I would recommend flat ground bevels. Kitchen knives get sharpened a lot, daily in the kitchens I worked in, and go onto a steel many many times a day. No has the time to maintain a hollow grind.

Also, I would suggest a bolster and not using wooden scales. I personally prefer solid wood handles. If you must use scales, then use a material that won't swell or warp when heat and water come into play.

As for the stock thickness, try forging it out thinner on the back side. Forging too thin while packing the grain on the blade edge will lead to a lot of warping on the quench even if it was annealed well. A lot of think that's the way to thin the blade. I have found that peening from the back toward the blade edge keeps more material at the edge and makes it easier to straighten, if that's even needed.

Edit: Invest in a makers mark, it's way easier then etching.

You wouldn't happen to know where I could get a makers mark made for me would you?

Thanks!

I made my first 2. just be sure to temper it like a striking tool.

This might point you in the right direction if you want one made. I have also found it handy to give each knife a stamped number and then lable the notes and sketches I made for it. It helps if some one comes back later and needs a repair or a matching set.

This should give you some idea how easy they are to make.

My next one I'll have made. Check out Columbia Marking Tools on facebook.

Neat looking knife.

OP, very nice. As it appears you would like criticisms/ideas, I would offer that for cutting up vegetable and such I prefer a clip point so that I can cut the tops out of peppers and such. That would not stop me from buying this knife.

A suggestion for the logo, Instead of the lines on each side of the Knife and tool, you could do an outline of a knife. I like it though. Looks classy.

Any chance you could do a step by step pictorial on your next blade?

Sure I could do a step by step, it wouldn't be all that unique but I'd be happy to do it! Not sure what my next knife will be, but perhaps I'll try another culinary focused knife.

Most stamps are going to be block letter. What you have will need to be engraved. Look around for an old jewelers pantograph. I traded a knife for the New Hermes I have and have been using it for close to 20 years. Another option is to have someone with a Lasergraver do it for you. I had some special marks put on a masonic knife recently and the lasergraver did a great job.

How much does it usually cost to get a logo laser engraved on a knife? Is it cost prohibitive?

I think your knife turned out well.  I agree with the earlier suggestion of flat grind for kitchen knives.  Another thing that many people prefer is a blade that can be sharpened all the way to the back of the blade near the handle.  Especially for chopping knives, chef's knives and the like, being able to chop and sharpen all the way to the rear edge of the blade helps.

You can save lots of money on basic rivets by using brazing rod from a welding shop and cutting it to the length you want.  Then you can peen them over yourself, and you will find that it doesn't take much of a mushroom shape to hold quite well.

I like wood for it's beauty, and have recently changed to using more of a polyurethane finish to protect the wood longer.  I used to do hand rubbed oil/wax finishes, but it just doesn't last around kitchen use, and over time, the grime obscures the beauty of the wood.

I agree with the simple logo suggestion made earlier.

Over all, I think that knife would look really neat as part of a hunters set with a larger knife, and this knife used as a knife for the finer work when dealing with outdoors duties.

I would be happy to share any hints of things I have learned in about 25 years of making knives.  I'm not a commercial knife maker, rather I make things that please me, and that fulfill my creative desires.  I don't have lots of fancy tools, but really enjoy learning how the old timers used to make things without modern tooling.  It can be done, it just takes a hell of a lot longer.  But I don't mind spending 40-60 hours to make a forged bowie with a differential heat treat as is done on a Samurai Sword.

I dicker and trade with the guy that does it for me. You would have to locate someone in your area and ask them. I'm sure you could bring the cost down by having multiple knives done at the same time. The good thing about the lasergraver is just about anything you can save as a jpg image cane be engraved.

Nice-looking knife. Not to steal your thunder but doesn't all steel have some kind of carbon? What grade of steel?

That knife looks great and I would be glad to own it.  However for use specifically as a paring knife I would prefer a much thinner blade with gradually curving edge resembling this:



ETA:  I think a few blades like the one you made would make an awesome steak knife set.

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!

I use a plastic handled pairing knife to break deer and pigs down. Works great.

Just my $.02: knife looks aresome, but for your website photos, hire a pro, especially one who understands "depth of field".  And this coming from an ardent amature who's spent alot of time looking thru a lens.

Knife looks really good, OP !

I was already to blow you some shit, but that's really, really nice. Well done.

Hahaha I know I know. I don't know much about photography other than lighting matters. I did my best for the tools I had at hand, but you are correct, I need to hire someone who knows what the hell all the numbers on the little screen mean.

reason I ask, is that I have never made any knives, but am curious as to the process. I have access to steel and might find me a new hobby.

I'd like to see a pic or two more focused on the business end if I was considering a purchase.