CSmithKnives: Forged 52100 Funayuki style chef knife

This is the third eastern style chef knife I have made, it was a fun style to make and the steel is tough. I'll insert some video's of toughness and hardness of a blade heat treated in the same way. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do.

Toughness test:
https://instagram.com/p/31TQYDkASh/?taken-by=csmithknives

Standard Nicholson file test:
https://instagram.com/p/31UcibkAU3/?taken-by=csmithknives

Blade details:
Funayuki style
195mm forged 52100 blade, 320mm OAL
~61HRC, 42mm from spine to edge at heel
Wood/nickle/G10 handle.
Sharp.
Balance point 5mm in front of heel curve.

Cheers guys!

 

Hard to see your choil shot, but the bevel pic makes the knife look positively beastly. Are you doing a Takeda compound geometry sort of thing?

 

Considering I had to look at what Takeda knives were before I could answer I'd just have to say no I am afraid. It is thicker than my usual knives that is certain. This is my 3rd Eastern style blade so plenty of room for improvement. It was .3mm edge before I put the bevel onto it, normally I grind to zero then sharpen, but I lost about 8mm from the edge because of some wobbling due to overzealous grinding prior to quench. Live and learn. No such thing as a bad knife, just a smaller one

Until I did the bending test on my other knife I had no idea of the strength this steel had, I don't usually make a habit of breaking blades I just decided I wanted to check the grain and found it a lot harder than I realised to get it to snap. I'll be taking my future knives thinner than this then testing edge strength on that.

Any other points I can improve on? I've been told the point should be brought up a bit as well so the blade is less flat along the edge.

 

Nice looking knife! Why not thin it now so it performs as intended? No reason to leave the bevel thick if you don't want it that way .

A few things I notice off hand...

That heel...is a killer lol. I've seen other guys do that reverse point on the heel...and knowing how sharp these things can get, the first thing I'd do if I bought it was get rid of it.

Looks cool though!

Also, you mentioned the edge profile being too flat? For me it actually almost looks positively round.

This is the only picture I have to go off of though. If it were mine, I'd carry the flat further for such a low tip. I personally LIKE low tips...so unless my customer specifically requests a spear point, a low tip is what they get. It's just semi useless with the belly starting halfway down the blade . I'd suggest 2/3 flat, with a smooth belly from there with that tip height.

Again though...it's pretty, and the handle work looks great .

 

My old man said the same thing about the heel, I quite like the look of the re-curve but considering how sharp "sharp" is when you know what sharp actually is, this blade is sure to cut someone (or me) rather soon. I didn't thin the blade down any more, as 0.3mm behind the edge is almost no edge, however it is the thickness of the spine that brings up the "wedge" factor.

I just measured edge bevel which is 0.5mm thick behind the bevel (Which is 1.5mm high) and 1mm thick 8mm behind the edge, it is 2.5mm at the heel. I compared it to an AEB-L laser i made which is 1.8mm at the heel and 0.5mm 8mm behind the edge. I know this blade falls through food with zero resistance but food release is horrid. With the slightly thicker bevel edge I will use it to cut around bones and other more abrasive foods to see how it fares. I will compare the cutting capabilities of the knife between these two to see how big the slicing difference is when I'm dealing with those measurement difference. I know they aren't much, but when you're making your own knives, may as well make them right. I will end up keeping this knife for myself as well so I have more knives to compare in the future. Next knife will be convex grinding I think.

Thanks for the advice chris

 

Personally I prefer the "flatter" edge of a traditional funayuki grind, so I would not move the point up. The swept back heel, from a practical usage point & a comfort level, is a sound profile. However, from a safety stand point sucks..... can't count the times I have bloodied myself, with this type of profile. I will probably always have one of this style profile in my box...... using it for job specific duties then putting it away! Just my two cents.

BTW...... beautiful knife.

 

The Masakage I have has a similar heal. when you say you'd get rid of it, what do you mean exactly. I have considered dulling the point, but would feel like I was doing something wrong if I changed it wholesale.

 

I like it quite a bit.
How much?
Just joking, i know you will keep it for yourself.