How do you determine the price of your knives ?

Which materials do you use ?

Are your knives forged ?

Are your knives heat treated, if yes, at which hardness ?

Why do you make many holes in the handle of the knives before
fixing the handle scales ?

Which are the various kinds of finish for the blade ?

Is it possible to order a custom knife made according
to my specifications?

How do you determine the price of your knives ?

In general, the price is determined by the complexity of the knife, materials used and the time necessary to make it. Consult the section "Gallery" to see the knives available for sale.

Which materials do you use ?

There is a multitude of materials that can be used to manufacture knives. To know which materials I use, consult the section "Materials".

Are your knives forged ?

No. There are two methods to make knives. The first method consist of forging; a piece of metal is heated and hammered to give its final form. The second method is called "stock removal" which consists of taking a piece of steel and removing matter until a knife is formed. I use this second method. I begin with a piece of steel which I cut out, file, grind, sand and polish, until I obtain a good looking knife. Consult the section "The making of a knife" to know more.



Are your knives heat treated, if yes, at which hardness ?

Yes, all my knives are heat treated. It is necessary to heat treat knives to increase the hardness of the steel and to make it possible for the blade to keep its edge sharpness. The heat treatment is a crucial step; a knife with a poor "hardening" can break too easily, or on the other hand, can have difficulty keeping its edge.

I heat treat my carbon steel blades with a "selective hardening". Only the edge is hardened while the remainder of the blade and the handle remains more "soft". For stainless steel knives, the process is more complex and requires specialized equipment, in this case, I send my stainless steel blades to a specialized compagny; the blades are heat treated using special hi-temp oven and receive also a cryogenic treatment which makes it possible to draw the best from the steel. In general, the hardness of my knives varies between 58 and 61 Rockwels depending on the needs and the steel.

Why do you make holes in the handle of the knives
before fixing the handle scales ?

These holes have two uses: they are used to improve adherence of the adhesive which fix the handle scales to the blade (besides the rivets); and they also make it possible to reduce and improve the distribution of the weight on the blade.

Which are the various kinds of finish for the blade ?

The majority of my knives have a handmade "satin" finish (hand rubbed). It is also possible to obtain a "mirror" finish, but you should known that this kind of finish scratches and damages very quickly when you use it. Some other finishes can be done on request, like "bead blast" or a matt gray or black finish.

Is it possible to order a custom knife made according
to my specificatrions ?

Yes, various possibilities are offered. First, it is possible to combine various parts of my current knive models to conceive new ones (the handle of a model with the blade of another, for example).

It is also possible to choose one of my knive models by changing the materials or modifing certain components of (longer handle, shorter blade, etc.)

Another possibility consists in making your custom knife starting entirely from your specifications (a drawing for example). In this case, certain conditions apply (I must evaluating the feasibility of your project and making sure that this kind of knife is legal). Communicate with me to know more about custom knife making.

Do not hesitate to send me your questions and comments !

© 2004 Alain Miville-Deschênes, all rights reserved.