steak knife dovetail marker

[Daniel Rode]

I was reading a post online about recycling kitchen knives to make marking knives. Despite having a pair of single edge marking knives, I tend to reach for my double bevel and have grown comfortable using it at an angle.


Reading that article got me thinking about serrated steak knives. These would be the cheap ones with thin serrated blades and a plastic or sometimes wood handle.

Seems to me that I might be able to make a dovetail marking knife with a slightly longer, thinner blade. Maybe useful for small tight dovetails?

It is possible to cut the blade down, reshape it and add a standard bevel edge? If so, can it be resharpened on my diamond and water-stones? I really don't know much about the steel used in these knives. If fact I don't know much about knives or steel in general...

[bridger berdel]

cutlery stainless varies a lot. steak knives tend to be at the cheap/won't hold an edge side of things, but really you have nothing to lose by grinding one. let us know how it works out.

[Jim Matthews]

Alan Little of "AskWoodman" uses basic paring knives for the same purpose.

I see him marking out with such a knife, in lots of his videos.
(6:00 in this video, here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYSFBcwQdqg))
I think the important thing is to mark out the same way, every time, with a knife you like.

I would also recommend Derek Cohen's compendious coverage of a working method that
uses blue painter's tape as a clear aid to remember what parts are waste.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/furniture/HalfblindDovetailsinJarrah.html

[Tony Zaffuto]

Two comments: First, I bought a "better" set of steak knives a few years back, figuring the (much) extra cost would result in a set that would last for at least a decade of use and sharpening. Though the knives (two sets of four) were bought at the same, the was huge variability from knife to knife when sharpening. A few would take and hold a great edge, a few crumbled like cast iron and a few were somewhere in between.

Second, if you like the shape of a steak knife or kitchen paring knife, one of the best bargains is to use one of the Roy Underhill variations of the "Sloyd" knife. Do a search on Amazon and you will come across multiple pages of top notch, dirt cheap knives, some identical to Roy's. I bought two, each at a different time and different maker. Each came sharp and with a few more strokes on a black Arkansas stone and a swipe on a strop gave a razor sharp edge. Amazingly both knives kept their edges (were/are used as shop and marking knives).

[Dave Cullen]

Cheap serrated stainless steak knives are usually some Godforsaken steel that's very difficult to sharpen. Better choices for repurposed knife steels are cut down plane irons or discarded jointer knives.

[Daniel Rode]

My main concern was that I wouldn't be able to sharpen the steel properly. Sounds like it's not worth the effort especially for something I would rarely use.

[Derek Cohen]

I would rather make a marking knife out of a HSS jigsaw blade. This is easier to grind and sharpen.

See my website for directions: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/A%20Knife%20for%20Marking%20Dovetails.html

Regards from Perth

Derek