Chef's knives

I picked up a couple of knife blades from Woodcraft on sale.  I recently joined a cooking club in our retirement community and wanted a nice knife.   I got some scales on eBay;  one masur birch and the other maple, both stabilized.  

I decided not to use the supplied SS rivets, as they must be countersunk to prevent sanding through the heads, leaving a recess where food, etc. can collect.  Instead, I drilled out the holes on the blank to 3/16" and used brass rod - it looks much better to me.  The sides contacting the handle were sanded perfectly flat with paper secured to the granite tile I use for sharpening.  They were adhered with epoxy.

After shaping on the 1" belt sander and smoothing with a 1000 grit belt, I went to the buffing wheel on the lathe, first green medium, then jeweler's rouge. I still wanted a bit more sheen.  The solution was thin CA. 

I held the knife with blade up and let the CA run down the handle and drip off.  Smoothed a couple of places with gloved finger.  Ended up with a couple of bumps that I knocked down with 600, 1000 grit.  Then went over it all with 1500 grit.  Then to the buffing wheel with green, then jeweler's rouge.  Had to get some CA off the bolster (or whatever the thing that separates the blade from the handle is called).  

It polished up very nicely, and the CA will withstand a lot of use and a reasonable amount of water.  

Holy crap !  These things are incredibly sharp - almost as sharp as my plane blades !  

Woodcraft had a closeout on this blade for $24; I went back and grabbed 2 more.  These will make nice gifts.  


Just added photos of the protective cases; these both ended up as gifts, now to make one for myself.