Smooth Steel Knife Hone

[baumgrenze]

I learned on a chef's forum that a smooth steel knife hone is better for knife edges than a ridged one.

I purchased a 3-foot length of generic annealed, water-hardening 7/16" diameter tool steel drill rod at my local metal yard, cut an 8" length, cleaned up the ends on the disk sander and chucked it in the drill press and smoothed the rod face using up to 2000 grit wet-or-dry paper and then metal polish. This gave a mirror finish that aligns the edges of my kitchen knives beautifully. I mounted it in a hardwood handle. Since it has not been hardened, it is scratching more and more with each use. It seems to be becoming more like a store-bought ridged steel hone with each use.

I would like advice on how best to harden it and whether or not it really needs or would benefit from any subsequent tempering.

I've had some success working with very small diameter drill rod. I made some bark grafting knives that I use to flatten the round face of an accepting branch so that it matches the flat face of the scion. They are simple j-shapes made by bending broken 1/8" long drill shanks back on themselves after flattening and shaping a chisel cutting edge at the end. These I made by annealing the rod, shaping it, quenching the red hot rod in old motor oil, polishing it, and then carefully drawing the temper by chasing the peacock colors from the shank end towards the cutting edge and then quenching.

I'm concerned that I have more to learn before I work with something as heavy as 7/16" rod.

thanks,

baumgrenze

 

[Bob Korves]

Hard is nice for a knife steel, but not really necessary. All the steel does is straighten the fine edge, and the round, well supported steel will always win that battle. If you do want to harden it, you will need to to heat it 1500-1650 degrees F and then quench it, the details depend on the exact steel you are using. It would probably be good to temper it a bit as well so it will be less likely to break if you drop it. Having used knife steels professionally for 10 years and at home for more than 40 years, my suggestion is that you taper the steel almost to a point so it is easier to use efficiently and without dinging the knife edge on the blunt end.

 

[chips&more]

Hi neighbor, I have found that using a round Carbide blank works assume! It will never take a scratch! I use the Carbide blank to burnish my scrapers used on wood finish work. Carbide blanks are not that expensive as they were and easily found nowadays. Just don’t drop it! It can easily break like glass!…Dave

 

[mikey]

A short 8" piece would be simple to harden and temper if you have a MAPP gas torch, a magnet and a toaster oven with a glass see-through door. I would personally use O-1 for this because it is less likely to warp. You will also need a vessel to hold some oil that is deep enough to fully quench the rod; a piece of 2-3" pvc pipe, capped on the end, would do it. A good hobby guy project!