# Stringer WIP



## stringer (Aug 23, 2018)

This is an old meat cleaver. It's large. 2.5 pounds. Peened brass bolsters. Stabilized spalted maple burl handle. Red and black micarta spacers. More pics on my Instagram
jaysonleek














15350715997333194683890161061370



__ stringer
__ Aug 23, 2018



2.5 Pound Cleaver


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## stringer (Aug 23, 2018)

Forgecraft boning knife with curly Maple


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## stringer (Aug 23, 2018)

Chinese veggie cleaver. Spalted sycamore handle. It had a kurouchi finish. I'm taking it to bare steel


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## stringer (Aug 23, 2018)

Several toys


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## stringer (Aug 24, 2018)

This is an unknown brand 225 mm stainless yanagiba. eBay purchase from a Japanese dealer. I replaced the handle with stabilized spalted maple burl and Buffalo horn with Black and White micarta spacers.


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## merlijny2k (Sep 2, 2018)

Nice work! Keep going like that and you'll run out of stuff to rehandle


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## stringer (Sep 3, 2018)

My wife could only wish. For every one I finish I start two or three more.


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## stringer (Dec 9, 2018)

I finally got around to putting an edge on the giant cleaver. At 2.5 pounds, (more than a kilo) it was rather uncomfortable to sharpen. I wanted to get down to new steel. I didn't get all of the chips out, but it push cuts paper and can dice an onion. It's a gift and will be a wall


hanger for a friend who collects weapons. 


Test Chop


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## merlijny2k (Dec 18, 2018)

Shame that's going to end up on a wall having an edge like that.


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## stringer (Dec 30, 2018)

I put this together today. Olde Forge 10" Chef. Similar to Forgecraft. I think it was made by the same company after the Forgecraft line had been discontinued. The profile is the same as my NOS specimen but the grind was way chunkier. I thinned it on the belt grinder. Sharpened it on stones. Sanded it to a rough kasumi finish. New handle, not sure what kind of wood. eBay bookmatched variety pack.
Peened brass pins. I'll try for a better pic when I have real light.


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## stringer (Dec 31, 2018)




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## stringer (Jan 19, 2019)

I bought one of these old stock never finished sabatier blanks awhile back. It has been a slow process but it's turning into a real cutter. Maybe it's finally time to start to thinking about a handle. I'm going to embed some test cutting footage as it uploads to YouTube.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/153342398446


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## stringer (Jan 20, 2019)

Here are some specs for the Sabatier.

Length of blade 250mm
Height at heel 56.5mm
Original weight before grinding/sharpening/handle 404 gram
Weight (No Handle) 334 gram
Weight (With Handle) 360 gram
Width of spine at heel 6mm
At midpoint 3.4mm
At 10mm from tip 1mm
Width of edge at 2mm behind edge <.1mm
At 5mm behind edge .6mm
At 10mm behind edge 1.1mm
At 15mm behind edge 1.9mm
At 20mm behind edge 2.5mm
Tang tapers from 4mm at bolster to 1mm at butt


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## stringer (Jan 20, 2019)

Rough handle. I had some Baltic Birch plywood lying around.


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## mc2442 (Jan 21, 2019)

Nice work, I think it fits the knife well. I think you need a couple more clamps in the first picture though.


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## merlijny2k (Jan 21, 2019)

Plywood?? Heresy!


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## merlijny2k (Jan 21, 2019)

That is some serious weight you took off! Impressive cutting and foodrelease to show for it too. Should try holding the knife at more of an angle when moving stuff around on the board though you can hear the edge scrape the wood.


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## milkbaby (Jan 21, 2019)

Plywood? Nooooooo... 

If you want to remove those scales and replace with something nicer, I'll send you kiln dried walnut or bocote scales for free!


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## stringer (Jan 21, 2019)

But there's no reason why heresy can't be sexy.


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## stringer (Jan 21, 2019)

The plywood is left over from other projects. It's the nice Baltic Birch stuff. Waterproof glue. Strong and durable but very light. Heavy color contrast between the plies. I got the idea from some of the budget Japanese brands. I sanded it up to 1500 grit. Oiled it with a mixture of citrus, mineral, and Tung oils. Then sealed it with several layers of CA glue and lots more sanding. Then more oil. I was envisioning a western deba style beast for splitting lobsters and chicken sternums. This fits the bill.


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## stringer (Jan 21, 2019)

I'm posting this one to illustrate some mistakes I have made. Maybe help someone else. This is one of the first rehandles I did when I got a belt sander. It's an old Wusthof paring knife in stainless. It had really bad recurve from someone abusing it with a steel leading to a severely hanging bolster. While I was fixing this I managed to cut a 4mm gouge in the edge about 2 cm above the bolster. I fixed it the best I could, but it was too deep to remove completely and have any knife left.

When I first rehandled it I just epoxied it, no brass pins. This worked fine for a few months, but my wife really liked the knife. So it got soaked frequently. Eventually the handle started popping off on one side, and the wood shrunk.
So I put a brass pin in near the bolster. Filled in the gaps with epoxy. 

A few months later it started buckling more. So I put more brass pins in. While I was peening the bottom pin I hit a little too hard and the wood split. You can see the crack in the photo. I filed the pieces until they fit real snug and then epoxied it back together. So far so good. It's ugly but she's grown quite attached to it which I guess means I'm committed to fixing it for the long haul, even if it makes me cringe every time I see it.


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## stringer (Feb 8, 2019)

I bought one of Dave Martell's o1 tool steel petty blanks. It's coming along nicely. I wanted to put brass bolsters on it. But it's already hardened and I can't drill it with the tools I have available. I have some spalted maple for the handle. Here's the first test chop after hitting apex.


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## merlijny2k (Feb 18, 2019)

stringer said:


> View attachment 47243
> 
> 
> I'm posting this one to illustrate some mistakes I have made. Maybe help someone else. This is one of the first rehandles I did when I got a belt sander. It's an old Wusthof paring knife in stainless. It had really bad recurve from someone abusing it with a steel leading to a severely hanging bolster. While I was fixing this I managed to cut a 4mm gouge in the edge about 2 cm above the bolster. I fixed it the best I could, but it was too deep to remove completely and have any knife left.
> ...



Natural woods and the sink are not the best of friends in the long run. Some of the things I have done to ameliorate:

Soak (submerge) the handle in a hardening oil for several days then dry for several more. Raw linseed is cheap, easily available and works well. Comes out much, much more durable than just coated.

Teach your wife not to let them soak. I succeeded with my wife but failed with the rest of the family using knives of mine.

Rehandle with linnen and polyester micarta. Had to resort to this measure twice already.

Good luck!


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## stringer (Mar 17, 2019)

merlijny2k said:


> Teach your wife not to let them soak. I succeeded with my wife but failed with the rest of the family using knives of mine.
> QUOTE]
> 
> I haven't tried this tactic in a few years, but to be on the safe side I'll definitely start outfitting all her knives with Micarta.


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## stringer (Mar 17, 2019)

New video. I thinned the Martell Petty blank out some more. In the first video above I was at 1.6 mm thickness 1 cm behind the edge. In this video it's at 1.2. Still too thick. My goal is .8 or so. I tried some carrots. It's still a wedge monster. Pretty decent edge considering I haven't really sharpened it yet. It's mostly only seen a crystolon coarse and king deluxe 300 so far.


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## merlijny2k (Mar 19, 2019)

Decent middleweight. Looks good. You cut the onion sidewayswith a slice. Have you tried swiping the tip through? That cutting style requires more of the geometry than the slice. Most of my western knives can cut a decent onion with a slice but only my J-knife and heavily modified ones can do a tip swipe.


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## stringer (Mar 19, 2019)

How I cut the onion depends primarily on the size of the onion. I can cut any 
onion with just the tip of any knife, even cheap stainless house knives, because this is what I used exclusively for the first several years in professional kitchens. But in general, smaller get the tip.
Shallots, garlic, cippolini, I'll use just the tip. Medium onions I do like in the video, use the front half to slice. Larger onions I don't do a horizontal cut at all, but instead leave the onion vertical. This is way harder for me to type than show. I'll let make a video.


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## stringer (Mar 19, 2019)

This is the thickest tip knife I own. The first and last ones I did with the tip. The second one the slice method and the third one the vertical method. To be honest, I actually use the vertical method the most. This is because I'm doing huge volume banquets and we are usually working with extra large produce. Jumbo everything. The vertical method provides you with the greatest amount of control. It lets you have more cuts than trying to the same thing horizontal. They are more precise in how deep they go.


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## stringer (Mar 19, 2019)

Here's the method I use with my Watanabe. It's sort of a hybrid between the tip method and the slice method.


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## stringer (Mar 19, 2019)

One more with a meat cleaver. Just to demonstrate that doing horizontal onion cuts is a question of technique, not a function of the thickness of the tip of the knife.


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## stringer (Mar 19, 2019)

I had one more half an onion left. So I did one more to demonstrate how useful the vertical method is for finely mincing (brunoise).


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## stringer (Mar 25, 2019)

Today I did some work on a Forgecraft 10" Chef Knife. I received this knife in what appeared to be pretty much new old stock condition. I have used it for about a year. Just touching up the edge here and there. I decided I needed to really put it through it's paces. I started with King Deluxe 300. Then shapton glass 500. Then glass 2000, 4000, 8000. 
I stropped in between grits on leather, paper, soft wood, cork. Not all every time. Just I tend to remove the burr working gently through lots of media.
There were some low spots from the original grind. I didn't bother smoothing these all the way out. I just gave myself a few mm of cushion between them and the edge. They will work there way out over time. 
I did notice a very crumbly weak shiny wire burr break off when I first went to the glass 2k. It left a visibly jagged edge several inches long. I assumed this was fatigued metal. Went back and did a few more passes on the 500 until I had nice fresh strong steel. I didn't notice anything else funky as I went back to the 2k and up the progression. Anyways. It performs pretty good. I will probably rehandle eventually, but this one is in immaculate condition, so it seems a shame to mess with it. I have a couple more much rougher ones that will get new kicks.

First, from when I bought it.






A group picture




Today after sharpening and polishing the bevels. You can see the low spots.



















And the patina after some test cutting. The first onion turned black in like 3 seconds.


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## stringer (Mar 25, 2019)




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## stringer (Apr 22, 2019)

I put a handle on the Martell Petty blank. I am pretty happy with it. Bocote and peened brass pins. Sorry that the photos are crap. I still need to finish the blade. I did a vinegar and mustard etch and then sharpened to 2000 grit. I plan on taking it to 8000 and then polishing the blade road with sand paper. It will give a nice contrast with the dark part. At least for a little bit until the patina turns everything gun metal gray.










Test Chop Onion


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## milkbaby (Apr 22, 2019)

Nice job, I actually like it as is rough and rustic blade. Bocote is one of my favorite woods, so two thumbs up!


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## stringer (Apr 22, 2019)

Some carrots


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## stringer (May 2, 2019)

Started working on my next project today. My first knife starting from annealed steel. I'm using 1095 that is .14" / 3.5mm thick. The blade profile will be similar to Watanabe or Masashi. Tall, 270mm santoku basically. With a Sabatier style Western handle. Brass bolsters.


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## stringer (Jan 29, 2020)

My neighbor asked me to sharpen his cleaver. I didn't really know what to expect. He was a garbage collector in Boston for a lot of years. One day this fell out of a garbage bag and he kept it. Foster Bros 1180.
She's a beautiful beast of burden. I cleaned it up, but not too much. Didn't want to ruin the character.
First I got most of the chips out and established a new convex bevel with the slack belt. Apexed it and deburred by honing in hand with a Debado 200. Further deburr with split leather paddle loaded with CrOx and then clean split leather paddle. She's sharp.

Before Pic





After

















I did a once over with the belt sander on the handle. I also polished up the faces a little. Knocked off the rust.

Here's the sharpness Test


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## inferno (Feb 1, 2020)

stringer said:


> Started working on my next project today. My first knife starting from annealed steel. I'm using 1095 that is .14" / 3.5mm thick. The blade profile will be similar to Watanabe or Masashi. Tall, 270mm santoku basically. With a Sabatier style Western handle. Brass bolsters.
> 
> View attachment 52617



did you finish this one?


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## stringer (Feb 1, 2020)

inferno said:


> did you finish this one?



Not yet. I gave up on trying to grind it in my apartment, lol. I'm working on alternative metal working arrangements.


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## inferno (Feb 1, 2020)

heheh i understand. i bought a small corded beltgrinder (for wood) that i can use outside my house for grinding steel. it beats sandpaper/stones/files at least.


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## stringer (Feb 1, 2020)

I might try something else to get it done. In the thread where the dude converts the Shig from a santoku to funayuki he uses a little orbital detail sander clamped upside down. I have a regular Bosch orbital sander I think I can use the same way. Beats the hell out of trying to do it with the Crystolon and my steel files. And less noise and mess than using the belt sander with the platen.


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## Luftmensch (Feb 1, 2020)

stringer said:


> One day this fell out of a garbage bag



.... an.... an evidence bag!? 



stringer said:


> Here's the sharpness Test



Good job! Love the cheeky grin. Lucky neighbour!




stringer said:


> Beats the hell out of trying to do it with the Crystolon and my steel files



What stage are you up to? Sound like you have finished the profile and moved on to the grind? Im not so sure an orbital sander is quieter than a belt sander by a large enough margin to justify the reduced efficacy. Smaller pads. Less useful motion.... The belt sander is definitely the fastest/easiest option.... I would suffer the clean up for that. I empathise with the noise point. If noise concerns prevent you from spending a few hours grinding, files probably are your best option ?


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## stringer (Oct 22, 2020)

My wife has got a new job. We are moving to Northern Virginia in December. We will be able to afford a house where I can have a real workshop. But I am still going to miss my little spare bedroom setup. Cluttered, but everything in arm's reach. We have to get the room painted and cleaned up so I started packing today. I took a few photos for memories' sake. 





My straight razor collection has got a little out of hand. I tell my wife it's all about perspective. I still only have one brush and one mug and some guys really go crazy.


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## stringer (Oct 22, 2020)

Here's my whetstones.


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## M1k3 (Oct 22, 2020)

Woohoo! Happy to see you around and getting a workshop I'm sure you've been dying to have.


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## birdsfan (Oct 23, 2020)

Congratulations on the move! You will miss your old set-up, but only until you score some cool new tools! Drill press....band saw.... 2x72 belt sander......2 burner propane forge! We will follow this thread with interest...


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## ian (Oct 23, 2020)

stringer said:


> My wife has got a new job. We are moving to Northern Virginia in December. We will be able to afford a house where I can have a real workshop. But I am still going to miss my little spare bedroom setup. Cluttered, but everything in arm's reach. We have to get the room painted and cleaned up so I started packing today. I took a few photos for memories' sake.
> 
> View attachment 99860
> 
> ...



Too bad! I was gonna ask you about a get together after covid. 

That’s awesome about the move, though. I’m jealous of your forthcoming workshop space. Congrats, man.


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