Knives

Forged, ground and handled by hand since 2024, in 1084 and 1095 carbon steel and now AEB-L stainless.

Personal work, 2024 to now

Render of the butcher carving knife on dark cloth
The butcher carving knife, rendered from its SOLIDWORKS assembly.

Seven knives, from 1084 carbon steel to AEB-L stainless, and the tooling to make them.

Role
Design and make
Tools
Forge, belt grinder, lathe, SOLIDWORKS
Steels
1084, 1095, AEB-L
Problem

Learning steel by working it

I started in 2024 to learn what steel actually does: how it moves at the forge, how it grinds, and how it finishes by hand.

A knife puts geometry, heat and handle fit into one small object, and every mistake stays visible in the finished piece.

Design

From eyeballed to modeled

I started by forging traditional shapes in 1084 and 1095: a bunka, a kiritsuke, a long watermelon knife and a nata. My recent knives start on paper and in SOLIDWORKS instead.

The butcher carving knife was modeled as an assembly of blade, bolster, handle and butt cap before any steel was cut.

Build

Forge, grinder, lathe

Blades go from the forge to the grinder, and handles are shaped by hand or turned on the lathe, with brass fittings on the more recent knives.

I make tooling too. The file guide is a matched pair of 90 × 20 × 8 mm bars, located by two 5 mm dowels and clamped with M6 screws, for cutting clean, square shoulders. A grinding jig for bevels is next.

Result

Better steel, better process

The work has moved from carbon steel to AEB-L stainless, and from eyeballing a profile to modeling it first.

It also goes beyond new knives. The restored butcher knife started as a rusted, worn-out blade and came back with a clean grind and a new handle.

Bunka with a wa handle on a mesh table
BunkaForged blade with an octagonal wa handle.
Kiritsuke chef’s knife on a maple cutting board
Kiritsuke chef’s knifeA long, angled tip on a dark rounded handle.
Watermelon knife on a maple cutting board
Watermelon knifeA long, straight blade for clean slicing.
Nata hatchet on a maple cutting board
Nata hatchetA square-nosed chopper with a shaped handle.
Butcher carving knife with brass fittings on a shop bench
Butcher carving knifeDesigned in CAD, with brass bolster and butt cap.
Decorative carving knife with a mirror finish on a yellow cloth
Decorative carving knifeMirror-polished blade with brass fittings.
Restored butcher knife held in an open hand
Restored butcher knifeAn old rusted knife, rebuilt with a new handle.
Dimensioned engineering drawing of the file guide bar
File guideShop tooling for square shoulders on a blade.

From the forge

At the anvil.
Bunka blade straight from the forge, covered in scale
Bunka, as forged
Bunka blade after grinding and polishing, before the handle
Bunka, blade finished
Watermelon knife blank and tongs on an anvil
Watermelon knife, as forged
Old butcher knife before restoration, rust across the blade
Butcher knife, before restoration
Assembly rendered from CAD
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