Ears On Art interview June 8th 2011 on KCBX public Radio SLO

An interview I did recently for Ears On art that aired on KCBX public radio. Hosted Steven Deluque and Crissa Hewitt, we had a great time talking about knifemaking in my studio.
I hope you all enjoy listening to it.
In the images above: A shot of me in my studio and a picture of my mentor Tai Goo and I in 2011.

The programs are stored in MP3 format, so they can be played on your computer using programs like Quicktime, RealPlayer or Microsoft Media Player; or they can be loaded into an iPod or similar MP3 player. A half-hour program typically downloads in about two minutes over a broadband connection. 

Thanks and Enjoy:)

Direct archive link to the interview:

http://kcbx.org/mp3archive/eoa110608.mp3 

Link to the KCBX Archives page:

http://kcbx.org/Pages/Programming/archives.html#EarsOnArt

Camp Knife Under Way :)

My tag-line reads "Hand made knives for kitchen and camping". After focusing on chef knives for the past few weeks I was compelled to make a camp knife.

There have been many visitors to my booth at shows and ask: What IS a Camp Knife For?
It is a great questions, and there as many different uses and styles of so-called camp-knives as there are campers and styles of camping. Anything from a Swiss Army folding knife to a big chopper can be a camp knife:)

To me, traditionally a camp knife is a large knife that is able do a variety of camping chores, such as: chop and split wood, cut rope, prepare food, and even defend the camper if need be. Then we go into variations on these above basics as the knife can become a useful tool for creating an emergency shelter, cleaning game, clearing a path etc...... and I'm sure there is more, all it takes is your adventuresome spirit and imagination.

So this is a new style camp knife for me. I call it a Camp-Kuri. The original intention was to forge a leaf-shaped blade, with the knives of traditional cultures such as Nepal and Thailand in mind. Whether it be the Kukri/ Khukuri knives of Nepal or the E-nep knives of Thailand there is just an attraction to the beauty of these knives that have been created for centuries, these "cultural knives" being powerful protectors and efficient workers at the same time.

My version is forged to shape from 1065 carbon steel. It features a 9" blade and is 15.5" OAL. I hope you enjoy some of the images.
This first image is of the Camp-Kuri freshly forged and posed with a small chef knife that was eventually paired with a sweet little utility/paring knife, created as a set for the young chef or college student.

Next is a shot after the stock reduction via draw-filing and hand sanding was completed. The knife is ready for heat treatment along with a Happy Fish Camp Knife.

 

Here the knife has been hand sanded to a satin finish and is ready for the handle material to be cur out then fit to the tang. I have some cool plans for the handle on this one that will involve some exhibition grade desert ironwood and ebony inlay with some carving to boot!

Next are some of the detail shots of the process and parts for inlay that will be going into the handle on this camper. So far so good!

There are still some final touches to do but for the most part the knife is done. I will be making an enclosed wooden scabbard for this one, but for now I will enjoy a job well done. I think this is my most favorite knife made to date. I hope you enjoy the images:)

Shallot Knives designed for Chef Robert Robb

This design is a result of a conversation with my life long friend and fellow chef Robert Robb. He inspired me to forge a 10" chef knife sometime back and I was hoping to send him that knife but it sold before I could get the chance to let him "test-drive" it.

We have been speaking about different types of culinary knives and it seems that we as trained chefs not only appreciate quality knives, but also like the unique. Robb mentioned that he had the chance to test out one of the Ken Onion knives and liked the style of them & remarked that he would love to have a small shallot knife. I finally got down to business and designed the knife a few days ago and forged two of them today.

I am not only grateful for Chef Robert Robb as a friend that I have had all my life, but also that he will be able to provide me with valuable feedback on my knives since he is a full time working chef.

This is the design I came up with and I think it is a good one. I was not sure about the bump that is close to the handle transition to the blade, but as I suspected, it is in jut the right place for transitional hand holds, detail cuts & dicing. I think these will be remarkable little cutters when they are done. Stay tuned for more process images to come.

Below are the blades freshly forged with the profile cleaned up and resting on the original sketch/concept.

 Next is a shot after the first round of stock reduction via draw filing.

Here is a shot of the blades getting ready for heat treatment. The bottom one is finally hand sanded and the top one is waiting to have the final sanding.

 

Just after the heat treatment and the tempering cycles. Both blades that have now become knives, I say that they are knives now because the heat treatment process is done, which is in my opinion what makes a knife a knife, that it will now hold and edge and function as a tool.

And after more sanding to expose the fresh metal and take off some slight de-carb.>(this is where some carbon can migrate to the surface while heating up for the final quench) then the knives were carefully etched to show the wonderful quench-lines. I think they both came out stunning!

Now for the handles. It took me some time to choose the right materials and to fit them correctly to the tangs on these knives. I ended up choosing some very sweet desert ironwood for Robb and some kingwood for the other one.

And now the shaping and carving of the handle:

Next peening the pins. The pins I use are silicon bronze. I glue them in with just the ends sticking out, file them down but leave enough room for them to then be hand domed using a ball peen hammer backed-up by another hammer face held in a vice. These pins were particularly difficult to peen due to the shaped handle and the fact that I had to file the pis at an angle to permit proper geometry for peening. It took about 2X as long as normal but was totally worth it!

  Then some carving:

AND FINALLY The finished product!
Certainly a labor of Love. These were both forged to shape from .125"-thick 1095 high carbon tool steel. The overall lengths are 10.75" on the top knife in Kingwood and 10.50" on the bottom one in exhibition grade Desert Ironwood. The blades are 5&5/8" and 5.75" respectively. The one in desert ironwood is going to Chef Robert Robb.  

Upcoming Shows and Available Knives

Art After Dark on Friday May 6th 2011 from 6-9pm in 
San Luis Obispo, California @

Maxter Moreman Jewelers

This will be a showing of custom hand made knives by Central Coast Knifemakers.  This is a great chance to meet and greet local makers and check out different styles of cutlery. Knives will be for sale and on display that night and on Saturday the 7th.

I look forward to seeing you there:)

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Exploration in Gyuto Land

 I have been enjoying experimenting with classic chef knife styles this year. This time around I was inspired by a knife called a Gyuto, which ultimately is a Japanese/American hybrid.
Gyuto is a name that usually refers to a western style chef knife made my a Japanese maker. Well I am not Japanese but I do certainly love Japanese style knives so these are built with the classic shape often the hallmark of the Gyuto, along with a fairly simple western style full tang which have been tapered for balance. Often you see the Gyuto style knives created with a stick tang that is enclosed in the handle material. Both tang commonly seen these days.

My adaptation of this all purpose chef knife is explored here in two sizes. Though quite different, each will perform as a main working knife. The longer one I think will be a great slicing knife but also serve as a primary piece in the kitchen, the wider and shorter will be very versatile and be a wicked veggie-prep knife. I did these little drawings a few days ago after I sketched out the Happy Fish Camp Knife and even though I have lots going on in the studio currently, I just could not stop myself from forging these two today.

Each is forged to shape out of .125"-thick 1095 High Carbon Tool Steel. I took extra care in establishing a nice distal taper on each of them, forging them thin to the edge. The Image at the top is of the blades forged-to-shape right off the anvil. The second image is my concept drawings. The third image is after refining the profile of each knife and having cleaned up the choil area. These will be thin and light knives that can do lots of work.  Most likely I will do a clay heat treatment on each of them as well.
Forging is FUN!!! Now the serious work begins. Removing the scale and draw filing in the final edge geometry,  several low temp. thermal cycles for each knife, then on to lots of sanding and finishing before they get clay applied and go through the heat treatment process. Then testing, and handle creation.
Please stay tuned for more on these as they progress.
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I am very happy with how these are coming along. Here are three images of the knives; above they are in the final stages of sub-critical heat treatments, and below, ready for the final heat treatment, which I did today.
And then finally an image after the heat treatment, tempering cycles, clean up, testing then the etch to show the temper-lines. Just take a look a the beautiful multiple quench-lines and banding that resulted.  I decided not to go with the clay treatment, and am happy I did not, as I think these look wonderful! Next comes the handles:)

 

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Here are the knives all finished up. I am very happy with both of them. The smaller has Kingwood scales and the larger has Desert Ironwood scales. All with peened bronze pins and detail carving.

Born on a New Moon in Pisces> Two Happy Fish Camp Knives <:) <:)

I have been planning on a series of fish knives ever since I made the first one over two years ago.
Today was the day........I had planned to only make one,  but some celestial influences drew me to forging another. I had this vision of two fishes in my mind the whole time I was forging the first one...almost to the point of distraction, which is not really beneficial to the forging process; so it had to be done.

Focusing back in and flowing with the good Mojo, I finished forging the first one and immediately started and eventually finished forging the second one. I did my best to make them similar.
All my knives being one-of-a-kind, there will always be subtle variations just as in nature. It was a great adventure that started years ago and continued with a little sketch I did two days ago after looking at a large size production model of a Bob Lum Chinese folder. I thought that the Chinese blade style in the fish format was a natural. Camp knife/knives needed manifesting. Two of them Born on a New Moon that just happens to be in Pisces today. Which was something I found out later at my afternoon tea when my sweetie looked at a astrological calendar and said, hey did you know that.....................
Mojo Mojo Buba Gumta' FISH! FUN:)

I hope you Enjoy the images. I posted one of the original Happy Fish Knife just below these newly-born Pisces Pair. Please keep tuned as I will be updating this post with process pics galore as I continue on with these. Blessings to All:)

Below I have dome some selective de-scaling, and next will begin to draw file in the edge geometry and will begin sub-critical thermal cycles. Several of these will be done as I go along. Also the tang will be de-scaled and the forged-in taper will be refined and prepared to accept the handle material.

Next the tangs of each knife get some stock reduction. This is the first of three sessions to refine them as I am careful not to disturb the forged in fish scale texture. This texure will butt right up to the handle material. You can see above on the first Happy Fish knife where some of that forged in detail got removed as I mad the tapered tang flat in prep for the handle. I'll do my best to avoid that this time:) :)

 

Next the Fish get Happy Faces <:)  <:)

The Spines have been polished and radiused about 1/3rd of the way from the tip back and now they are both all Cleaned up with final sanding done and ready for Heat Treatment on the Next Full Moon one week from today:)

Both knives were heat treated on the largest Full Moon in centuries.... & they came out great!               I sharpened them and did some testing and WOW! I think these are among the sharpest knives I have ever made! Now to choose some handle material and decide how I will carve the wood.

Here are a few more shots of the knives in process. I decided to make 3-sets of 3. 

The Happy Camp, Utility and Guppy.

It was A LOT of WORK!

Here is a shot of the conceptual sketches.

  The Happy Fish Utility. I decided to forge the Utility out of 3/16" thick 1095 so it would be more robust. A great knife for the food-prep & other smaller tasks at home or camp.

And the Happy Fish Guppies. Here in the process of getting their faces and smiles put on:)

And as I get closer...the 3-rd and final Camp Fish was created and Heat Treated. Followed by a shot of the whole School of Fish Families:)

AND I am proud to present the first completed set....all except for the final sharpening. This first set got some Ebony that was detail carved. 

I think they came out great!!! :)

All of the Happy Fish Knives have rounded and polished spines and hand polished bevels.