Fillet knife grinding

D

DrGrip

Guest
I have NEVER made a fillet knife, not even from a blank.

Well, it looks like I have to make one soon... Dad asked if I could do one for him and use some of the wood from his old boat for the handles!

Back in the 60s dad and his brother made a boat and it lasted until a storm put a BIG oak tree on top of it about 10 years ago. He's had a section of the deck laying in storage since then.

The wood is teak and not an issue for me, but the blade could be!

I don't forge, and my thoughts tell me that a blade of this size and thinness will be tough to grind.

I'm thinking grind and cool, grind and cool, grind and cool........ See a pattern here?

I have some KILLER stainless "scrap" from a project done a few years back and will probably use it. 1/8" x 1" strap.

Oh yeah, any suggestions on HT? Working a knife blade from my younger years with a file as we speak, it is stainless as well and will need HT... But that's another story I may post as a WIP later.

Anyone have a secret or hint to pass along?

Charlie
 
Start with thinner stock, and a flat or convex grind would be best. As to how? I would guess as you said, lots of dippin in the bucket. Heat Treating? Differential heat treat would seem to be the the way to go, with the spine being extra super springy.
 
Hi, Charlie,
You can start with 1/8" stock, but will take quite a bit more grinding. I start with 1/16" for my fillets. The rough stock shows up at about .090. I mark the center of the edge as normal, and grind a 45 bevel to almost the center. I the use a push stick and grind vertical against the contact wheel. I hold the blade with more pressure towards the edge side and grind what will be a flat grind that runs from the edged to the spine. I also do a distal taper for the full length of the grind to get the flex desired. I shoot for a preheat treat thickness of .085 at the guard and .035 at the tip. The final grind is about .080 and .030. It makes fairly flexable tip for about half the blade and then is pretty stiff to the guard.



 

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