Kitchen Knife Steel Advice Please

LlamaHerder

LlamaHerder

Well-Known Member
Hello Dogs - asking for some advice his evening.

I've had requests for two kitchen knives. Sweet! Not sure I can pull it off...

Everything I've made so far has used 1084. I harden my blades in a paint can forge, and its worked well from all the feedback I've received. But I can only find 1084/1080 in minimum .125" thickness, which seems thick for a kitchen blade. Sanding that down on a granite tile to something slimmer seems like no fun at all.

Can I successfully harden a steel such as 15n20, which is easily found in .095" thickness, in my cute little homemade forge? Does someone sell 1084 or 1080 in a smaller thickness and I can't find it? Or should I put off the kitchen knife requests while I badger the boss lady into approving a heat treat oven purchase? (Obviously the best option, but you know how management can be.)

That is in advance for setting me straight.
 
I'm playing with one in 15N20 now. I tested a piece with my home method of HT, forge and kitchen oven, and it seemed to work just fine. I'm also working on one out of 440c as recommended by Laurence which I will sent out for HT.
 
Thanks George! That's great to know. Did you treat the 15n20 as you would 1080/1084?

I've thought about trying stainless and sending out for heat treating. I'm not getting enough per knife quite yet... Could give the option for kitchen knives and explain the added cost, I suppose.
 
15n10 makes a great kitchen knife for sure. And it comes in the right thickness for kitchen knives, too. The heat treat for 15n20 is very similar to 1080/1084. If you can hold the blade at 1500 for 5 minutes, that would be better than going to the quench immediately, but if you can't in your paint can forge...no worries. Treat it just like your 1084.
 
Can't tell you anything about 15n10 except it's in some of the Damascus bars I buy when someone commissions a carbon steel blade.

If you do want to go stainless, now or at a later date, I feel 440C is much more practical for the average home cook and is excellent choice for culinary , field and high end collectors knives, since it can be finished to a mirror, has excellent corrosion resistance along with great edge holding and is fairly cheap to buy and send out for HT since any service that does Air hardening blade steels can do 440C.

I use Paul Bos at Buck knives and yes they will do single blades.
 
You don't have the ability to forge the 1084 thinner? When I make my Damascus, I use 1084, 1095 and 15N20 - The 15n20 is a great steel with more nickle in it. Hardening should be as advised above.
 
I'm not sure, Steve. I've not tried to heat steel to that degree in my little get-up. While forging interests me, my list of to-get items is already out of control. Maybe in another year or so I'll try hammering.
 
hi,
believe it or dont, but 1/8" material will make a good kitchen blade. i use a grind that is like a cross between scandi and flat-ground, with a final grind on a slack belt to give a concave final edge. what you end up with is a very sharp blade that will not flex. it will peel potatoes and apples. you can slice onions, peppers, cabbage, winter squash, hunks of beef or pork as thick or thin as you want all with the same blade. i temper at 350F and end up with Rc62-64 hardness. just remind your customers, no bones, no glass cutting boards, no chopping wood. i did find some 3/32" 1080+ from AlphaKnife, i guess we need to ask for more or just wait for them to post it. i have also used some of Aldo's 15N20 in 3/32" and it made a good paring knife.
My favorite cleaver is Aldo's 1084 in 2 1/2" x 6" x 1/8", edge with a combined angle between 15 and 20 degrees, Rc62-63 an inch down from spine. will slice tomatoes paper thin.
i would start watching eBay for used front load pottery kilns. I found a used Paragon E-9 that is big enough to heat treat an 11" blade for less than $300 delivered. Max temp is 1700F, so it works well for all high carbon steels. it also uses 120vac so you can plug it into the wall. If I pick up one of these or one similar, I will post it in the classified section.
JMH Observations
 
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