Howdy folks!
I've had my butcher a while, and it's not gotten as much use as I'd hoped - basically 'cause I don't have much need for a butchers knife. I therefore decided to modify it into something I'd been lacking - a nice "in between" knife that was neither big nor small...
Firstly, the tools. A dremel with a flexible extention (much easier to hold than the whole unit) with a cutting disc and a shallow skillet filled with water. This was a method I saw used by a fella on British Blades, and I've used it a few times before with good success - you just hold the blade just under the surface of the water to keep it cool and cut away. An angle grinder would be much easier but prepare for redoing the HT... Before doing this I modded some pictures of the knife to come up with a design I liked. I decided to go for a clip point blade.
Works like so:
This is a very messy process, you and your workplace will get covered in water spray and metal filings.
Hairy arms don't help...
It's slow going, but when it gets to about this point the tip can just snap off easy enough.
And there we have the cut blade!
Now to my grinder setup. It's a dump, yes, but... I can't really think of anything redeeming! Lots of junk scattered around from various projects.
Keep some water around for cooling the blade regularly. I started with the bench grinder to do the rough work - a coarse stone will heat the blade less than a fine stone.
Here we go right after the bench grinder. Then the belt grinder is used for flattening the clip, and finally the contact wheel is used for hollowing it out a bit. I wanted the concave to be subtle, mostly at the point, so not much work was required - you want a light touch on the contact wheel, too much pressure and you'll dig in at points and create an uneven surface, just let the abrasive do the work, and remember to cool regularly. No part of the blade should get too hot to hold. Following the clip, I added a slight swedge - this was for aesthetic reasons, so I didn't go overboard, just a few passes.
And this is what I ended up with, with a nice fur background - my cat likes to feel involved
I think this knife will get a bit more use now - I'll do an in-progress of the new sheath when I get some leather and sinew!
Comments welcome
Pete
I've had my butcher a while, and it's not gotten as much use as I'd hoped - basically 'cause I don't have much need for a butchers knife. I therefore decided to modify it into something I'd been lacking - a nice "in between" knife that was neither big nor small...
Firstly, the tools. A dremel with a flexible extention (much easier to hold than the whole unit) with a cutting disc and a shallow skillet filled with water. This was a method I saw used by a fella on British Blades, and I've used it a few times before with good success - you just hold the blade just under the surface of the water to keep it cool and cut away. An angle grinder would be much easier but prepare for redoing the HT... Before doing this I modded some pictures of the knife to come up with a design I liked. I decided to go for a clip point blade.
Works like so:
This is a very messy process, you and your workplace will get covered in water spray and metal filings.
Hairy arms don't help...
It's slow going, but when it gets to about this point the tip can just snap off easy enough.
And there we have the cut blade!
Now to my grinder setup. It's a dump, yes, but... I can't really think of anything redeeming! Lots of junk scattered around from various projects.
Keep some water around for cooling the blade regularly. I started with the bench grinder to do the rough work - a coarse stone will heat the blade less than a fine stone.
Here we go right after the bench grinder. Then the belt grinder is used for flattening the clip, and finally the contact wheel is used for hollowing it out a bit. I wanted the concave to be subtle, mostly at the point, so not much work was required - you want a light touch on the contact wheel, too much pressure and you'll dig in at points and create an uneven surface, just let the abrasive do the work, and remember to cool regularly. No part of the blade should get too hot to hold. Following the clip, I added a slight swedge - this was for aesthetic reasons, so I didn't go overboard, just a few passes.
And this is what I ended up with, with a nice fur background - my cat likes to feel involved
I think this knife will get a bit more use now - I'll do an in-progress of the new sheath when I get some leather and sinew!Comments welcome
Pete
Nah, if I don't flay him when he's clawing at my door at 3am I certainly won't when he's lying quietly on dad's chair 
