Daughter's Chef Set

Well, my oldest daughter graduates high school in a couple of weeks.  I promised her a small set of kitchen knives as a reward for some of the accomplishments that she has achieved in her young life.  I figure it's time to make good on my promise.  I know I won't finish up the project before graduation, but maybe it will work as a post graduation gift.  At least she'll have it before she moves out on her own.

The set will include four knifes: a chef knife, boning knife, small utility knife, and a paring knife.  Here are a few photos to show the progress so far.

The four blanks cut out of 440C steel and profile ground.  440C is a classic steel and it works great for kitchen knives since it is very stain resistant and holds a great edge.  As you all know, I'm a folder guy.  I've made a few full tang knives in the past, and I look forward to the challenge of finishing these knives out.

Here are the knives after all the pin holes have been drilled to accept 3/32" pins.  I have also drilled multiple holes through the tangs to reduce the weight and balance out the finished knives.

To further reduce the weight of the tangs and to give them that look of custom made knives, I taper each tang.  Each gets ground down to a taper of about 1/3 the overall width at the end of the tang.

Before I knocked off for the weekend I was able to get the initial grinds done on the paring and boning knives.  The paring knife went fine, but the boning knife took a little more attention as it's long and has a pronounced curve to the cutting edge.  Now, two more knives to grind and polish out a little bit and then it will be time to heat treat.

I really do like making full tang knives.  They come together so much faster than a folder.  It's really a breath of fresh air not having to worry so much about precise dimensions and fitting pivot systems.  I hope my daughter will like her chef set.  I plan on making a suitable base for these knives as well to show them off right.

Thanks for following along with me on this new adventure.

-  Brandant Robinson