I Need A Knife Made For My Wife

T Bredehoft

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My wife of 56 years has had rheumatoid arthritis for 53 of them, has had the joints in her hands replaced 35 years ago. We can not find a knife for her to use at table. She thinks she likes serrated knives, but they catch, don't just cut.

We've come to the conclusion that the ideal knife would have 5 inch blade about 1/16 thick and 3/4 wide at the base (is base right?) and a handle a bit smaller in diameter than a broom handle with finger grooves. It could be round or rounded rectangular, not heavy, wood, or something like it. I can keep a knife sharp, if it starts out that way. She's used to stainless knives, but says if it must be steel, staining is acceptable. Basically she needs a paring knife with a big handle.

I'll pay cost, or trade services, i'm a retired Tool & Die maker, there's almost nothing my pride says I can't make but size is limited. My lathe will turn something approaching 6" in diameter and 18 inches long, my mill about the same.

There's no hurry, but a Christmas present would be nice.
Thanks for your consideration.
 
Have you looked at ceramic blades? I got one for my wife at HF a while back, in a paring knife style and size. Seems to be a good knife. They have a couple of different sizes now.

Given the difference in stainless blades and carbon steel, I much prefer carbon steel. In a recent estate sale we had for my uncle, a couldn't believe the people passing up a genuine Old Hickory kitchen knife. Beautiful carbon steel, well darkened with age and use.....and razor sharp. People were snapping up the newer stainless stuff. Not sure if my sister grabbed it or not, but I'm going to get it if it's still around.
 
That seems like it would be an easy job for one of the talented blade smith here. I wish I had more time on my hands and I would give it a try.
 
Having struggled with eating utensils at Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's this week, I feel for your wife.

A few suggestions. Have you looked on line for eating utensils for arthritics? There are some possibles there.

You might have a look at the Cutco outdoor collection. The knife handles have a bit more bulk. I have a hunting knife that I bought some some fifty years ago that has some style although it may be a bit over the top for a dining table. https://www.cutco.com/products/product.jsp?item=hunting-knife#sm.01cmc6ao1eipd2z10s51cl6iqepe1

Check out some of the filet knives. My Rapala fillet knife is close to broom handle cross section. The blade could be shortened if desired. https://www.amazon.com/Rapala-Fishn-Fillet-Knife/dp/B00IXQWTKW
Cabelas is also a good place to look. http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/prod...&type=product&MDK=dynbanP_PO&MDC=cat104320980

Another idea would be to find a suitable blade and fit a custom handle for it. If you got some old fashioned modeling clay, you could make a model that feels right for your wife and then carve it in a nice wood. I would split the blank into two halves and use hot melt to hold them together for the shaping process. When you have the shape right you can pop the handle in the oven for a few minutes to soften the hot melt.
 
Back in the '70s, I made a long knife out of a normalized file. The handle was formed out of wax, with my hand pressed into it. I then covered it with plaster of Paris and melted the wax out. After that, the cavity was filled with polyester resin. This made a custom handle that fit perfectly. An advantage with plastic is that you can put it into the dishwasher. I never subject my wooden-handled knives to that. You might have to warm the wax and then help your wife press her hand into it.

The only flaw was that I didn't extend the tang all the way to the end. A guy threw it into the ground next to a log and broke off about an inch of handle. What can I say? we were just kids.
 
Ceramic = super sharp but chip prone.
Stainless = rust and stain resistant but usually not very good edge retention
Carbon tool steel = outstanding edge and performance at the sacrifice of being rust prone. FrogLube will take care of the rust and it's food grade.
 
I thought about making one. Or more. I've done heat treat and drawing. I think I'd rather be able to say "I didn't make it that way, don't blame me!" than have to make six or eight to get it right. No, that's a cop-out. If the handle were made over-sized I could help fashion it to fit what's left of her hand. I'm not at all sure she could hold any knife the way we all do, I've seen her trying to hold a paring knife like a pencil to cut with. No fun there.
 
My wife of 56 years has had rheumatoid arthritis for 53 of them, has had the joints in her hands replaced 35 years ago. We can not find a knife for her to use at table. She thinks she likes serrated knives, but they catch, don't just cut.

We've come to the conclusion that the ideal knife would have 5 inch blade about 1/16 thick and 3/4 wide at the base (is base right?) and a handle a bit smaller in diameter than a broom handle with finger grooves. It could be round or rounded rectangular, not heavy, wood, or something like it. I can keep a knife sharp, if it starts out that way. She's used to stainless knives, but says if it must be steel, staining is acceptable. Basically she needs a paring knife with a big handle.

I'll pay cost, or trade services, i'm a retired Tool & Die maker, there's almost nothing my pride says I can't make but size is limited. My lathe will turn something approaching 6" in diameter and 18 inches long, my mill about the same.

There's no hurry, but a Christmas present would be nice.
Thanks for your consideration.
I made this knife out of a lathe partoff blade
1" wide x 6" long blade
HSS cobalt
It hardly never has to be sharpened
If you keep it touched up the wood is black
Walnut
I made six or seven of these one year
About 20 years ago . They was all Christmas
Gifts . This one was my mothers
She has passed away . So I got it back .
Stainless steel welding rod rivets

IMG_6135.JPG

IMG_6137.JPG
 
Some of the best knifes I have ever made
A little hard to work with that cobalt
You know how good the steel is
I did use USA part off blades
I think they was Cleveland blades

IMG_6134.JPG

IMG_6138.JPG
 
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Instead of making a whole new knife, how about modifying the handle of an existing one to be more precisely ergonomically appropriate for her hand?

For a bit of inspiration, look over these links for two simple techniques and materials that worked well for me:

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Tools/ErgoHandle/ergohandle1.html

http://www.frets.com/HomeShopTech/ShopTips/300.html

I've made any number of molded handles for tools that hurt my arthritis damaged joints:

300.jpg
 
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