# Knifemaking Workshop



## cotedupy (Dec 9, 2020)

[I hope this falls within forum guidleines, though if not please move or delete.]

Last weekend I did something that seems very popular here in Oz which was a tutored knife-making workshop. These tend to be either one day for a simple carbon knife made from a sheet of steel, or two day if you're doing damascus. I did the former, because damascus is naff  and I think usually for two people at a time, so I brought a mate with me.

I did this with Phil at Astley Wright Knives, a great knife-maker, lovely guy, and very good teacher. He had a great can-do attitude as well... happy for us to try pretty much any size or style, and let me bring my own handle as well as an old Sab to re-handle because I wouldn't be making one with him.

My knife was from a sheet of 1084, and my friend who was making a cleaver from an old saw mill blade which was L6. Before this I'd never used an angle grinder on metal, or this kind of belt grinder, so it was a great way to get to grips some of the basics with someone who actually knows what they're doing.

Cutting:







Phil explaining the grinders. I believe the near one was a variable speed 2x72 going up to 3,500 ft/min, and the farther one a fixed speed running at about 7,000 ft/min:






HT:






Mine after tempering, next to the handle I brought:






Mine started as a 210mm Kiritsuke, but after a couple of feck ups when doing the grind, ended up about 185mm. My handle had a super heavy fill with blue epoxy, which proved a nightmare to drill, it broke several times and in the end I had to take the finished blade home along with the snapped handle, and do the install later.

The grind came out pretty good and thin, and with quite a nice even distal taper. (I have done a little bit of thinning work on stones since this picture):











And the finished item, after I rather improbably managed to fix and install the handle later that evening. Cuts brilliantly, and balance is right on a pinch grip:


----------



## billyO (Dec 9, 2020)

Nicely done! That looks like a keeper for sure.


----------



## cotedupy (Dec 10, 2020)

Unfortunately I took so long with the grind / stock removal, and then trying to get my handle to work, that I only had time to cut the scales for the Sab re-handling. Tho at some point while I wasn't looking Phil grabbed them, put them on, and did all the initial shaping . All I had to do was some final hand sanding to shape and oiling back at home. Looks absolutely stunning imo!
















And a couple of shots, with it's sister carving knife, of what it looked like when I found them, and then after a bit of touching up of the original handles:


----------

