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Hi all, So I'm opening this topic up for debate... I'm starting to make kitchen knives (chefs knives) and was told 1060 was a great steel to make them. I'm also thinking of making them Damascus so I was thinking 1060/15n20. What are your thoughts on this steel for forging chefs knives and what other type do you think is better and why! We need to keep in mind availability, price and difficulty in forging tempering etc.

It has been a while since i have been active in here ;), had a lot on my plate, had to almost completely give up making charcoal this summer made a single batch with my new retort :b just got to glue the insulation to it and find a shell to protect it from rain and water :P. But My body has completely broken down.. i have constant pains and aches and cannot work at the forge because i am too heavily medicated (opioids and cannabis is the only thing keeping me sane a long side muscle relaxers...) So i have moved to stock removal by hand, i cannot trust myself around power tools and fire anymore.. at the ripe old age of 28 my body is as far gone as a person in their mid 70s -.-.. Now the main thing : I have started to live a life with a lot of seafood in the form of sushi i make myself with safe fish(mainly tuna and salmon but planning on maqurel soon if i can find some safe stock), and now i find myself in need of some other type of sharpening aids, i have a set of synthetic stones 500 grit 3000,6000 and 5000/8000 and a natural very hard mystery stone i think is way past 8k since the finish take forever to develop but is mirror like. But now i just ordered a yanagiba 270mm and a 180 mm deba for cutting fish ^^ but i kind of want to switch to a more "traditional" way and i like the way the few japanese stones i worked on was. But where do you buy a good set or single japanese natural stones for sharpening kitchen knives ? softness around level 2 to 3 not as hard as my stone for honing razors. I know they are costly and that is why i do not want to buy a fake one I know there are perfectly good synthetic stones on the market, but i am not interested - just dont like the look of them to be honest :b

So I gave this a try: San Mai of 1095 core and 410SS jacket. Starting pieces are 3/16" thick and either 5-1/2" or 6" long by 1-1/2" wide I then used the TIG welder to fuse all the edges closed. And welded the billet to a handle. After forge-welding in the press, I ground the edges clean (or sort of clean) Intermediate forging pic of tapering the end to a point. I didn't get many photos during the forging process, but eventually, I went to grinding and HT. Here are three blades at 320 grit finish. The secret lies hidden.

If anyone is interested in coming to Tucson for a good demo, The Arizona Artist Blacksmith's Association is holding this one in Tucson on Jan. 20, 2017 Details at: http://azblacksmiths.org/calendar/ EVENT DETAILS Demonstrator: Rich Greenwood Rich was on the series premier of History Channel’s “Forged in Fire”. He was also on the most recent season’s episode for fan favorites. Rich will be demonstrating a “San Mai” style kitchen knife. San Mai is taking two, or sometimes more pieces, of steel and forge welding them together. Usually a harder steel is used as an inner core with a soft outer jacket to make a knife blade. Rich will explain the whole process and reasons for doing this, and then he will demonstrate it. You won’t want to miss this! • Registration begins at 8 AM, the demonstration starts at 9 AM. • Registration fee: $15 for members $20 for non-members, Free for first timers (Non-members who haven’t attended an AABA event before or who have attended only AABA open forges). • Potluck lunch at noon on Saturday. • Tailgating is encouraged. Tailgaters, please consider donating to Iron in the Hat. • Free horseshoes, RR spikes, cable, etc. from Ira’s scrapyard. Ira will have other stuff for sale. • Smiths can forge after the demo on Saturday and on Sunday. Bring hand tools. • Ira will have a BBQ and campfire Friday and Saturday nights. Bring meat and potluck dishes in a cooler. • Camping and lodging will be available all weekend at Ira’s. Camp out, sleep on the floor, sleep in the treehouse. Call him at 520-780-9076 to make arrangements. • Bring things for Iron-In-the-Hat and Show-and-Tell. Don’t forget to put your name on anything you bring for Show-and-Tell. TIMEAll Day (Saturday) LOCATIONIra Wiesenfeld's Shop 1801 W Overton Tucson AZ 85737

Here are a few recently finished kitchen knives. All 440c 8.5" Chef Knife and 6" Fillet Knife with Chechen Wood handles View showing Chef's blade taper Another 8.5" Chef Knife with Chechen Wood handle 8.5" Chef View of Distal Taper Pair of "Cuchillos de Asador" (knives for the barbecue) 7" blades, handles of Granadillo and Chechen woods Thanks for looking J JDWARE KNIVES