# Hello, I'm Paul, a British Knifemaker



## Beau Nidle

Well I decided to take the jump to hobbyist and so I'd like to start with a little about me and then we'll get straight on to the knives. I work mainly as an artist in the north east of England. I do a lot of work with movie prop replicas for collectors and costumers, very occasionally for small independent movie projects as well. I do also do more traditional artist stuff like oil paintings but I'm finding I have less and less time for that.

I love to drive, I started racing karts when I was 10 and kept going into cars into my early 20s until the reality of paying for racing started to bite a little too hard. I play guitar and violin, I'm married to a vegetarian and so we mainly cook veggie food (I'm the designated food chopper), and I like to relax with a glass of whisky, another little hobby. Less expensive than knives, but barely.

Anyway, on to the sharp things. I've been making knives for about 5 years now, just a few a year until now,. often for friends but also as commissions and sometimes just for fun, and they sell when they sell! I'll stick with showing off the kitchen knives, though I do make various outdoor ones too. 

Do please ask questions, send messages, whatever, obviously I love to talk knives and anything else that I enjoy!

This is an early one, steel from Delbert Ealy, ordered by a friend.




Another one for a friend, this was for her 30th birthday. Apparently I've ruined her for knives, as now she expects them to be sharp.



This was a custom order. The steel is from Devin Thomas, and went to a chef who asked for something similar to his Kramer, but with some changes to the profile. I feel it almost ended up as a cross between a Kramer and a more Japanese profile. He liked it though!



Another one for a friend. He tried one of mine and liked the gyuto shape. Another person converted to actual sharp knives, his wife told me that the first few meals cooked were accompanied by giggling while things were being chopped and diced.



These last two are the most recent this first one was done just because I wanted to use some feather pattern. Turned out quite nice, definitely a favourite pattern.



And this one was kind of a mistake. I ordered some Fireball pattern Damascus from VegasForge for myself. Well, I got it, got it mostly done and went for a test etch...oops, it's raindrop pattern. I have to say the guys at VegasForge were great and sent me some fireball at a great price to make up for the mistake. I finished it up and I'm kind of a convert to the raindrop pattern.


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## Matus

Hello Paul. It is awesome to have another knife maker on KKF. Your work is very nice! Are you on IG or maybe have an FB group? 

You also have a really wide spectrum of interests. 

I am looking forward to see more of your work


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## Caleb Cox

Welcome, and lovely work!


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## Beau Nidle

Thank you both! Matus, you can find me on IG and FB @thorntonblades.


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## Matus

Beau Nidle said:


> Thank you both! Matus, you can find me on IG and FB @thorntonblades.



Following 

BTW - as a Hobbyist Craftsman you can put links yo your social media in your signature should you prefer to do so.


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## DisconnectedAG

Welcome to the forums. Those are really nice blades. Do you have any taper and choil shots you could share? Not for all of them, just as a sample.


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## milkbaby

Nice work! And welcome!


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## Beau Nidle

DisconnectedAG said:


> Welcome to the forums. Those are really nice blades. Do you have any taper and choil shots you could share? Not for all of them, just as a sample.


I only have two of those knives in hand right now, but here’s a couple of those shots. I was using my phone for them so hopefully they look ok on something bigger than a phone screen. These are both workhorse grinds.


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## DisconnectedAG

Nice! Thank you!


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## Gjackson98

Looking good! Welcome to the community Paul


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## DanielC

Welcome Paul of Brittain!


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## thirsty0ne

Hi Paul... will deffo check your IG Feed..
good luck Brexit mate, hope people will put Bojo in the tower


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## Beau Nidle

Thanks thirstyOne, I'd be happy to give him a knife so he can do the honourable thing...

Anyway, I tried a quick vid, this knife is up for sale in the hobbyist sales forum. I can't seem to get it to embed in the post so you'll have to actually click the link, sorry...

https://i.imgur.com/8J25jPu.mp4


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## thirsty0ne

While you’re at it make one for Nigel Farrage as well please...


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## Beau Nidle

Had some new handle material delivered today. Both way too pretty for outdoor knives, I'll have to make some more kitchen knives for them. And I can probably get two handles out of that darker block.


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## ForeverLearning

Hi Paul, where in the North-East?! I am a maker in Newcastle, thought I was the only one!


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## Beau Nidle

ForeverLearning said:


> Hi Paul, where in the North-East?! I am a maker in Newcastle, thought I was the only one!



Just across the river mate, got a workshop in Gateshead. Small world!


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## Beau Nidle

Couple more in the works. I have some petty's and a nakiri profiled out as well, just haven't done any grinding on them yet!


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## Beau Nidle

I know this isn't a kitchen knife but I thought I'd share it anyway. 9.5" bowie (15.5" overall). 400 layer san mai damascus with fitting of more damascus and silver.


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## Caleb Cox

Gorgeous knife and sheath as well! What's the handle material?


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## Beau Nidle

Thanks man! The handle is stabilised poplar burl, dyed green.

Also made this leather sheath over the weekend. I know most folks probably prefer wood, but this might be a cheaper option for people needing knife protection. Would there be any interest in this?


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## Caleb Cox

I definitely think so, I'm dangerously close to buying some leather crafting tools myself. What weight did you use, 6-7?


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## captaincaed

I know I speak only for myself when I say absolutely everyone here wants to see that thing cut and onion and a potato.


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## Beau Nidle

This is what I wanted when I ordered the damascus from vegasforge last time. This one is staying with me! Maple burl, african blackwood, with silver and carbonfibre spacers.


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## Caleb Cox

Another lovely knife! If you don't mind sharing, has the maple burl been stabilized, and what did you finish it with?


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## Beau Nidle

Caleb Cox said:


> Another lovely knife! If you don't mind sharing, has the maple burl been stabilized, and what did you finish it with?


Thank you! Yes, it's stabilised. There are very few non-stabilised woods that I'd consider using for a kitchen knife. I simply polished it on my buffing wheel with a couple of different wheels and compounds.


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## Beau Nidle

Here are two that I posted a while back without handles. I'll get some better shots and they'll be up for sale. And if anyone has suggestions for taking choil shots then I'm all ears.


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## Caleb Cox

Beau Nidle said:


> I know this isn't a kitchen knife but I thought I'd share it anyway. 9.5" bowie (15.5" overall). 400 layer san mai damascus with fitting of more damascus and silver.
> 
> View attachment 63690


This beauty was on a recent "viewer knives" video on Walter Sorrells' YouTube channel. Congrats on the recognition!


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## Matus

It is really cool of Walter to do this.


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## Beau Nidle

Caleb Cox said:


> This beauty was on a recent "viewer knives" video on Walter Sorrells' YouTube channel. Congrats on the recognition!



Thanks Caleb! We email back and forth sometimes about knives and I sent him this pic a while back. Really pleased that he remembered it and featured it!


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## Beau Nidle

Had some fun making my own damascus recently, I'll soon be selling knives using it, or billets if anyone wants to make their own. This is some random pattern and some ladder pattern, both 720 layers. I think more experimentation might be needed with ladder, but I'm pretty happy with the random!


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## Beau Nidle

Making a chef knife from my damascus. Slight miscalculation has meant 864 layers on this one. HT tomorrow, it's only at 60 grit right now so the pattern isn't popping out, but it looks quite nice.


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## Nagakin

Beau Nidle said:


> Making a chef knife from my damascus. Slight miscalculation has meant 864 layers on this one. HT tomorrow, it's only at 60 grit right now so the pattern isn't popping out, but it looks quite nice.
> 
> View attachment 71211
> 
> 
> View attachment 71212


 You're really making me want to say dibs.


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## Caleb Cox

Lovely! Were you shooting for a thousand plus? Two steels in the Damascus or more?


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## Beau Nidle

Caleb Cox said:


> Lovely! Were you shooting for a thousand plus? Two steels in the Damascus or more?



I was shooting for 720. Unfortunately my 144 times table is a little rusty. 1080 and 15N20 in it. I got it heat treated today, doing some more grinding on it tomorrow to hopefully get a good look at the pattern.


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## Beau Nidle

Yeah. That'll do.


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## Beau Nidle

And now for some mosaic...just because.


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## spyken

beautiful work sir.


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## Badgertooth

Beau Nidle said:


> Yeah. That'll do.
> 
> View attachment 71346



Indeed. Had a very organic flux. And this is from someone who can take or leave Damascus generally.


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## Beau Nidle

Thanks guys. I put the two together to make a knife that's going to a local shop. I really like the mosaic ferrule, I'll definitely do more of those.
















I know y'all love a choil shot


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## Caleb Cox

That is an intense level of detail, from tip to butt. It's busy, but so are many great works of art. Bravo.


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## Beau Nidle

Thanks Caleb. As I was laying it out I wondered if it was too much, but pressed on anyway. I’m glad I did. You’re right, there’s a lot going on, but I don’t feel like any one part detracts from another. Others may feel differently of course. I have more of this steel and will probably try for a simpler look on the next one.


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## Johnny.B.Good

I'm not big into damascus or colorful handles, but this is pretty impressive work!


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## Horsemover

Just found this thread. Very impressive work. That last one has a ton going on but at the same time when you step back and look at the whole nothing is in your face. I really like it. Keep up the great work!


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## Horsemover

Beau Nidle said:


> Couple more in the works. I have some petty's and a nakiri profiled out as well, just haven't done any grinding on them yet!
> 
> View attachment 62792



Paul, would love to hear more about that Nakiri you have in the works.


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## Beau Nidle

At the minute the nakiri is just a blank, but I should definitely work on it next. In the meantime, here's two petties that are awaiting handles. Both 720 layers, I like the organic feel that it gives the ladder pattern, not sure it adds much for raindrop.


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## Horsemover

I agree on the ladder. Both are really nice but the ladder just has the look.


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## Geigs

Those are great, the ladder especially


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## Caleb Cox

One vote for the raindrop! I find myself much more interested in it visually, with the high contrast areas interspersed throughout.


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## milkbaby

I really like the high layer on both patterns. It makes them both look more trippy. Very nice!


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## Tristan

Beau Nidle said:


> Thanks Caleb. As I was laying it out I wondered if it was too much, but pressed on anyway. I’m glad I did. You’re right, there’s a lot going on, but I don’t feel like any one part detracts from another. Others may feel differently of course. I have more of this steel and will probably try for a simpler look on the next one.



I think it’s actually a nice touch. There are enough and more plain pieces out there. I don’t think it’s too far OTT, and different means it resonates stronger with some people aesthetically really liking the mosaic ferrule.


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## Beau Nidle

Here's the two petty's with handles, next to the gyuto for some scale. Handles are buckeye burl with dyed black sycamore.


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## Beau Nidle

I got a new toy for the shop, courtesy of the british govt. and their very helpful grants for small businesses during the pandemic.






And also tried some lower layer ladder, just 222 layers in this one. I like it, but not as much as the high layer one.


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## Geigs

thank you british govt! those ladder blades look great, digging them a lot!


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## Beau Nidle

I put a handle on the ladder pattern knife and also tried a hamon on some blue #2. I got the wood for the handles from a member here, @ForeverLearning look him up if you want some nice blanks. The poplar on the ladder gyuto is particularly spectacular. The ladder gyuto is my first attempt at a western style handle, definitely more of a challenge than a wa handle.


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## Beau Nidle

Latest knife finished up for a customer. Always fun to work with damasteel, it just polishes so nicely.


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## Caleb Cox

Very nice! What are the handle materials and blade dimensions? The angle of the first pic makes it look a mile long.


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## Beau Nidle

Caleb Cox said:


> Very nice! What are the handle materials and blade dimensions? The angle of the first pic makes it look a mile long.



Haha, it does look ridiculously long. It's actually not outrageous (by our standards). It's 50mm tall and 258mm long. Handle is walnut, nickel silver, red dyed maple, and buckeye burl. The guy is making noises about a set of steak knives to match, same handles and damasteel blades.


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## Caleb Cox

That would be a challenge but would be an awesome bit of kit.


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## juice

In general, I'm not a fan of Damascus, but man, you might convert me with those ladders. I do love a good "look at me" handle, so you've got that well-covered also 

It's great looking at older threads and seeing the changes over time, it's a good reminder.


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## Guss2

That is a gorgeous knife.


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## Beau Nidle

Thanks guys!

Don't hate me for this one...I made my own Kramer. Why? I honestly couldn't tell you. It seemed like a fun project. Not sure what to do with it now though as it's obviously WAY too big for my needs. Maybe it will suffer the fate of a real Kramer and sit there looking pretty


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## danemonji

Beau Nidle said:


> Thanks guys!
> 
> Don't hate me for this one...I made my own Kramer. Why? I honestly couldn't tell you. It seemed like a fun project. Not sure what to do with it now though as it's obviously WAY too big for my needs. Maybe it will suffer the fate of a real Kramer and sit there looking pretty
> 
> View attachment 89396


I like the profile and the damascus looks great. Congrats! Give us some details on the steel and HT. It would be nice to learn more


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## Beau Nidle

danemonji said:


> I like the profile and the damascus looks great. Congrats! Give us some details on the steel and HT. It would be nice to learn more



Thanks! It's actually the last piece of carbon damascus that I bought before I started making my own. If I remember rightly it was around 300 layers, steel is definitely 1095/15n20. I heat to 1500°f and hold for 10 minutes for 1095, and this seems to work fine for the 15n20 as well. As tempered it should be 60-61hrc. It's taken a pretty nice edge too.

Quick edit: brought it home and used it to make a sorta-ramen dish for dinner. Waaaaay too big for me. That said the profile is actually pretty nice. Some belly near the tip of you want to rock, flatter section for push cutting (I’m actually a puller, but same idea). I’ll try it on some root veg sometime and see how it works with those. It’s a heavy knife (280g!) but that was probably inevitable with this much steel. If I remember rightly that’s roughly what Kramer’s knives come in at in this size.


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## juice

That's so flat its playing tricks with my eyes/mind. I think it's the shadow falling across it that's causing my problems #PretendRecurve


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## Beau Nidle

Big change of style, here's the nakiri that I asked for advice on in the shop talk forum. Current weight is 116g but I'd like to take some out of the tang. It's on the shorter side at just under 150mm, 50mm tall.


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## Beau Nidle

I picked up some old farriers rasps on ebay to play with. Cost me about $5 for 3, so if it doesn't work out I don't really mind. Reading up on the subject I guess I'll be treating it like 1095 in the heat treat, and spark testing suggests that it is high carbon all the way through rather than just case hardened, so first bullet dodged. Of course it's impossible to ignore certain...fashionable knife brands in this area, and reading some websites made me want to hurl, so I thought of a potential ad campaign courtesy of the show Parks & Recreation.


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## Beau Nidle

Had a quick foray into some very low layer damascus. Kept the whole knife very simple. 37 layers 1095/15n20, charred tulipwood handle with oak ferrule. 170mm, weighed in at just over 140g.


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## Caleb Cox

Beautiful pattern!


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## juice

Nice handle, that.


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## Geigs

Great choil shot too


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## Beau Nidle

Choil shots are my nemesis.


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## Beau Nidle

Couple of sujis that are ready for handles. Stainless clad super blue and a damascus one. Also I made some damasteel rings.


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## AFKitchenknivesguy

It's amazing how many old members are now in the business. I really love your work.

Jason


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## Beau Nidle

AFKitchenknivesguy said:


> It's amazing how many old members are now in the business. I really love your work.
> 
> Jason



Thanks man! I guess if you spend enough time salivating over things you can't afford, you decide on a different tack. Or to quote Jeff Goldblum "Life, uh, finds a way..."

For anyone interested I'm running a giveaway over on my instagram page. Check out the @thorntonblades handle for this knife. It was my first attempt at san mai with wrought iron, and a few cosmetic issues have made it a freebie rather than something I'd sell.


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## juice

I do love how that looks, TBH. (And the size, as well. Screw 240s!)


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## AFKitchenknivesguy

I'd love to enter your giveaway, but I don't use Instagram regularly so I don't know anyone there. Way to go!


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## juice

AFKitchenknivesguy said:


> I'd love to enter your giveaway, but I don't use Instagram regularly so I don't know anyone there. Way to go!



Just tag me, if you like  @juice_journo

I wouldn't bother FOLLOWING me, but feel free to tag me. I tagged the #BeigeLion, so I suspect this is going to be a pretty incestuous little tagging go around


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## Beau Nidle

And older knife came back for a clean up and sharpening, and I realised I never got any pictures of it. Did the best I could with my phone. The damascus is nigh on 900 layers.


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## Beau Nidle

Last ones of the year. 650 layer ladder pattern. Handles are ebony, spacers are nickel silver and more ebony, and mammoth tusk ivory ferrules. There's a 225mm gyuto, 150mm petty, and 90mm parer.


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## Beau Nidle

Finally got a webshop up and running, but I needed to finish some knives first. These are some of the first to go up there. Really had a lot of fun making these.


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## Caleb Cox

Lovely steel and handles! From a visual perspective, the end of the nakiri is a bit overly rounded to me. Fabulous overall though!


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## Barry's Knives

Did I see on your website that you do some honyaki forging?


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## Beau Nidle

Caleb Cox said:


> Lovely steel and handles! From a visual perspective, the end of the nakiri is a bit overly rounded to me. Fabulous overall though!



Thanks! Could well be, it's only my second nakiri. I spent some time on the phone with Jon at JKI to get an idea of what goes into a good nakiri and I may have gotten more fixated on geometry than overall shape.



Barry's Knives said:


> Did I see on your website that you do some honyaki forging?



I've done a few. I find them fascinating as well as a real challenge to do well.


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## LostHighway

Beau Nidle said:


> Thanks! Could well be, it's only my second nakiri. I spent some time on the phone with Jon at JKI to get an idea of what goes into a good nakiri and I may have gotten more fixated on geometry than overall shape..



Watanabe, Toyama, and Catcheside are often cited as among the benchmarks for geometry/grind but they are all fairly different. They all do tend to run tall which is my personal preference. With regard to profile I tend to see more that are very close to a rectangle (heel and tip height nearly identical) or that are actually slightly taller at the tip than those that are more than a few mm shorter at the tip (we'll leave @RDalman 's personal broken off gyuto out of the conversation). I think there is enough variation both in geometry and profile that there is no orthodox template. 
All your knives are very aesthetically pleasing.


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## Beau Nidle

I took a few bits of video of forging out a big 'ole chefs knife at the weekend. And yes, I used a big 'ole hammer to do it.


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## KnightKnightForever

Do your prices online include VAT?


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## Beau Nidle

KnightKnightForever said:


> Do your prices online include VAT?



I'm not registered for VAT as my turnover isn't high enough to require it, so the price listed is what you pay.


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## Beau Nidle

Here's the knife I was forging out. I don't know why the video has disappeared, here's the direct link to it 

It's a good sized one, 255mm long and 57mm tall at the moment.


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## Rotivator

Very nice work


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## Knivperson

Beau Nidle said:


> 255mm long and 57mm tall



That's some very nice measurements. Actually what I ordered for my last custom, just about.


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## Beau Nidle

Two sets of steak knives. The first set were ordered by a customer, the second pair I did from the leftovers for myself just for the hell of it. The blades aren't glued in yet on the last two.


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## Geigs

Think I like your 2 better, the handle is great


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## jeremysell

Those look great! Is that snakewood on your 2?


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## Beau Nidle

Geigs said:


> Think I like your 2 better, the handle is great



Thanks! The handles on the other set are to match with everything else he has from me.



jeremysell said:


> Those look great! Is that snakewood on your 2?



Sure is! I broke one drill bit and blunted two more drilling the tang holes on one of them. Must have hit a knot.


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## Beau Nidle

Custom order finished up. Feels nice in the hand. 870 layers, 255mm, 55mm tall, 240 grams weight. 3.2mm thick at the handle, 2.9mm above the heel, 2.2mm midway, 0.75mm at 1cm from the tip.


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## Grayswandir

That's a nice looking piece of steel. Did you fold the steel yourself, or do you just find a billet that's already been folded? Sankewood is so beautiful, but man is it expensive! Lovely knife my friend.


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## Beau Nidle

Grayswandir said:


> That's a nice looking piece of steel. Did you fold the steel yourself, or do you just find a billet that's already been folded? Sankewood is so beautiful, but man is it expensive! Lovely knife my friend.


Thank you! On the knife in the latest pic I made the damascus myself. I haven't seen anyone selling damascus in layer counts above 400 so there's really no other option. The previous pieces are stainless damascus from Damasteel in Sweden. I make all my own carbon damascus, but not stainless.


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