a few for the cooks

[Dave Budd]

I haven't shown any of my work here recently and i figured that since I'm off to River Cottage this afternoon (one of a couple of shows there where I demonstrate), it was only fitting that I show some kitchen cutlery I've been working on


As an idea of scale, the large clever has an 8 1/2" blade on it. The clevers are 5mm thick CS80CrV2 and the knives are 2mm O1. I don't normally forge O1 but I found a pile of old steel rusting away in a corner from years back (before I learnt to forge and i was still grinding blades habitually ) The biggest (and ugliest?) knife was a pleasing shape akin to the Ironwood one in the picture, but as I sharpened it I found a crack at the edge and so I had to chop a couple of inches off that'll teach me to try straightening blades with a hammer straight from quench

Let's hope I come back with money instead of the knives

 

[Chris the Cat]

Blimmin' beautiful mate!
C da C.

 

[John Fenna]

Very nice - I love the Ironwood one!

 

[Whittler Kev]

I don't normally forge O1 but I found a pile of old steel rusting away in a corner from years back (before I learnt to forge and i was still grinding blades habitually )

What are you using then? Old files? Car springs? What else?

 

[slammer187]

Very nice Dave, where do you get those interesting steels from, What springs can you find CS80CrV2 in?

 

[Hedgehog]

Very nice indeed!

I particularly like the cleavers & the two small spear points.

 

[Dave Budd]

Glad folk like these knives, I really must make more kitchen cutters! I had sold all but the large clever and the walnut sheepsfoot paring knife by 11am on saturday morning: half an hour after doors opened! Granted they were all bought by the same person, and she works there, but even so...

As for steels I use. When I startd making knives fulltime, I carried on from how I did it as a hobby: O1 flat bars ground into blades (though always fullflat or sabre ground, only a couple of scandi ground knives early on). Then I learnt how to forge and never looked back. So the pile of O1 that I had built up over a period of designing knives and not getting to them has been sitting there getting gradually more rusty Some of the more popular 'bushy' sized bits I've sold on but now I'm down to odd sizes and very rusty bars. Rather than waste the steel I may as well forge some blades from it

I don't use recycled steel any more (unless it's for the character of the thing) becuase there is no quality control. Springs break due to fatigue, every piece of old steel potentially has a different metallurgy so the heat treating can't be garunteed, etc. When I started forging that's all I used (springs and files mostly) because they are free, but now I can't afford to take the chance. I buy virgin steel of a known chemistry from steel merchants. CS80CrV2 is described as a high carbon spring steel with 0.8% C, Chromium and vanadium as the major alloying elements; it's really tough even at pretty high hardnesses. Not sure what it is normally used in, but you can onnly buy it as hot rolled sheets upto 9mm thick so I guess large springs and plating?