Turning a $1 Knife Into a $300 High End Chef's Knife - CHEF'S KNIFE RESTORATION
Chef's knife restoration.
It might be surprising just how well a cheap chef knife can be if its restored properly. Geometry is everything in a chef knife. This knife was sharpened using these amzn.to/31epIVk
About⬇️
Hi, Im Alex, im a knife maker and KZheadr, based out of southern Pennsylvania and my youtube channel is Outdoors55. This channel started as an outdoor backpacking channel, but quickly grew into a knife/ knife making channel. Everything I do on my channel is family friendly. I primarily focus on knife / knife making videos but occasionally throw in something different. Thank you for watching!😀
#knifemaking #knife #knifemaker #outdoors55
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I loved the whole video up until I saw you sharpening with a belt grinder. At that point I considered unsubbing but hey, no video is perfect.
Almost everyone that I know that does knife work uses a belt grinder! At least for the initial edge and to set the angle. Then move to stone work!
@@mrkeggjr maybe for initial bevel setting, but you still need to grind passed the decarburised and over tempered edge material which is why I've never bothered to use a belt for that purpose.
To each his own!
Have you ever considered making custom grips for Colt M1911-A1 Pistols? You should give it a try. You would maybe find yourself in a major Buissness to last you the rest of your life, living in comfort.
you know someone is rich when they start throwing sandpaper around the room
He made it rain 😂👍🏼
Sandpaper isn't expensive...
Sandpaper isn't expensive...
Sandpaper isn't expensive...
@@munirohm2420 Can you say that one more time? Didn't catch you the third time.
You cut that tomato any thinner it would only have one side.
Impossible
@@ravennation5035 Don't you know a joke when you see one?
Any thinner then you would be able to see through it is better
There's always some anti-joke chicken
My joke was better
"I put 299$ of labor on a 1$ knife"
artificially inflated....
Lololol
Fr
So true though he paid the price in time and labor
@@t-bone8333 a lot of times the difference between high end and low end products is the blood, sweat, tears, and skill that goes into the product. :)
The editing and filming of this is brilliant. A lot of the time you get amazing craft and alright video but we got it all here.
8:07 When you ask for extra tomatoes at _SUBWAY_ Thanks for the love 😂 I'll be here all week
Its still the same blade you didn.t change anything other than the grip and sharpen
Saul Urena So funny! I laughed out loud twice. I can visualize the sandwich maker reaching for the sharpest knife, when someone asks for more tomato slices! 😂😂😂😂😂
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Say no more...
@@angelaprater2679 I agree 💯
I see you have constructed your own knife. Your skills are complete. Indeed you are a Jedi. Seriously you are so skilled and you are teaching many people such a useful set of skills. A really big thank you.
Better shot and edited than many movies and series i watch.. Somebody get this man a movie to direct
I'm a beginner at every aspect of knife making. But this video is an inspiration to all people like me. Thanks!
This video editing is brilliant, awesome. I'm amazed!
Being stupid took this channel to new level
I agree. Too bad youtube placed ads where they did.
Can't change the steel type though. I find Wusthof and Henkels at thrift shop here and there. Broken tip maybe. Quick reshaping and back to New 1 dollar and 30 - 45 min and back to a decent $150 knife
Wow they really sell them for 1 dolar?!
Boz 2011 at thrift stores. Most are $1. You have to go through a bunch to find quality knives but I spot them pretty fast by the handle or blade thickness then look closer. Some toss them if a tiny tip broke off and I can fix it in 15 minutes. I don’t go that often but it’s fun sometimes. I also live in an affluent town where you find expensive stuff more often. Prob helps a little
Yeah I got a great Chicago Cutlery high-carbon carver knife that way. Then I broke it in half. Then I reground into the world's best bagel knife.
Mark Finewood good idea. Thx. I think I will. I just got another set of water stones. Now I’ve got diamond plates, water stones, oil stones, work sharp field sharpeners and Ken Onion work Sharp pro. Maybe do some videos using diff systems too... thx for the idea!
Mark Finewood I will. I don’t have a background in editing etc and only my phone but I’ll do a few with that. Planning on getting a camera. Been buying more sharpening systems. Doing more as a side business. I’ve just done several repairs and for fun, I used an oil stone, new whet stones, work sharp pro, and diamond plates. I thought a video using all the main sharpening methods would be fun as well. I’ve got some free time next week so I’ll be putting some stuff up then. Basic vids re quality but for fun so not going to worry about it.
Dude where do you even get this music, it's amazing. This is exactly like I would make youtube videos, some deadpan humor, kickass music and lots of effort spent in projects that don't justify it.
Average person looking at rusty knife: "What a piece of junk!" Knife nerd looking at rusty knife: "Hmmmm... Maybe it's carbon steel!" Keep up the good work!
Peter Joseph exactly 😆
I walk in to a thrift store and look for the rusty knives and good brand leather shoes.
Jon Vellinga 😂😂😂
How long it holds the edge depends a lot on the person using it! I have seen idiot cooks ruin amazing knives and I've seen professional Great Cooks make good cheap knife go a long way. It's not all about the knife, it's not all about the cook. You have to respect the skill and quality
All Steel has Carbon. The issue would be base material, heat treatment and annealing procedures.
Great job! Great video! Nice sander! Beautiful tomato! Oh right.. nice knife too!
Nice job, it would be interesting to see how long it holds an edge.
And that’s the true difference between $10 for a knife and $300. I have a beautiful hunting knife in s35v holds a edge even after gutting skinning and butchering two deer it still slices through paper. Stays corrosion free Got a scandi bushknife in 01 tool and my god is that a pain in the arse to keep on top of. Any knife can be sharpened to this is not hard a 15 degree per side bevel or less and you’ve got a razor knife. Won’t last long and most chefs would be having to hone it more often than use it
@Tom Wood lmao zackedly
Yeah diligent job, great video, and beautiful result, but it’s $1 for a reason. You can’t put a shine on shit🙈
@@stuartpayne6473 It's probably still a 1$ knife with a 299$ handle. Time and use will tell.
@Tony Orellana He should have annealed it first, reshaped it, tempered it and then sanded and polished it before sharpening it.
So good! Love the extra injection of comedy 😂 captured those moments and feelings perfectly hahaha
Imagine him younger in school when his classmate would have asked him to sharpen his pencil.
"Sure" proceeds to pull the highest grit sandpaper out anyone has ever seen "$5
LMAOOOOOIO
At the 1:40 Mark was the same face you had backpacking with Restless Outdoors. 😂🤣😂😂. Cool video bro
That was amazing Alex... great job on the knife and the vid! Cheers
Crazy cool, and spot on cinematics, much love to you and yours and to all the great fans who support this awesome channel.
Break given my dude! You are indeed a knife maker and what you have done with this knife deserves, nay! demands recognition!
Love your videos mate. Most of the ones I’ve seen are older ones that I’ve been binge watching recently so maybe your editing style has changed slowly but this is the first I’ve seen in this style and it had me chuckling quite a bit. Very good job mate!
This, was the video that turned me from a viewer into a subscriber. Bravo sir!
Loved the short film brilliantly acted and edited, the knife was good as well.
Wow... that g10 turned out really nice 👍
Next video - real life test vs. an actual $300 knife.
After 25 uses paper test
Prices are highly variable in this industry. There is no straight definition to what an "actual $300 knife" is someone can take a $5 bar of high carbon steel and make a $800 knife out of it. Or a factory could take that very same piece of steel and make a $50 knife out of it. 😃Pricing is highly subjective
Omg hahaha, this was freaking amazing. Loved the cinematography! And I know what you mean about the sandpaper. It's a pain polishing the face of a knife. Really makes me wish I could get a satin finish on the knives I work on.
Alex, I am a Beginner and watch as many videos as possible, trying to learn quality information along the way! You make each video entertaining and that is HUGE for me! I get disinterested really easily with most videos, but not at all with yours!! THANK YOU for putting out great quality videos! A HUGE fan, MONGO from Central Florida!
love the dust collection when you grind the handles. youre a clever one!
I really like this video I stumbled upon. In the beginning, I was like no way he's gonna turn a 1$ knife into such a sleek looking knife. For that sir, you've earned a subscriber and a like.
Cool video. I really like the outcome of the knife 👍👌
I sincerely don’t know how I ended up here but I’m glad , get audio and video editing , subscribed .
I love how you show dedication onto making the knife and putting humor in it all at the same time
Don't even like knives but I really like his type of humor
You are a knife maker, an excellent one at that, you also are an excellent video maker and comedian and chooser of perfect background music. Keep up the great work man!! 👍
Chooses good music but does not cite the music so that the artists can get the exposure they deserve. Unfortunately
Hi, can you please tell me the music name?
@@zahidhossain6031 song music track is: 0:16 Ain't No Thing But To Swing - Jules Gaia 4:04 The Fix - Aldous Young 7:34 Space Club 2001 - Aldous Young
That turned out awesome! Great addition to anyones knife collection
Fascinating ! Thanks for giving it new life, a new and improved handle as well, and thanks for sharing this with us. And, all it took to do that.
1:33 Every time you hand sand a knife you lose a part of your soul.
I believe you ate correct 😂👊
Not just a knife. Anything. It’s brain-deadening lol. But the end result is always worth it!
LOL i was going to say the same thing! Man thats the worst part of knifemaking! Also very nice handle contouring, thats pretty much the exact way I like to shape all mine as well
That face says : I've been sanding for years >:'v
@@TheIdeasGuy personally I think it's therapeutic and relaxing.
Great video! One minor criticism given it's a chef knife you may have wanted to round the handle near the beginning of the blade for comfort since most chefs use a pinch grip.
Thats how the end user wanted it, so thats how i left 🙂
@@OUTDOORS55 well then cheers. You gotta please the person that will be using it.
the entertainment kept me hooked. the curiosity brought me here. Well done.
Pretty knife. Sharp too.
you just ruined knives for me!!! You're over there making something from nothing and i'm over here dulling sharp knives with my strop..FML.. great video
I hope you're joking, but if you are dulling blades with a strop, you aren't stropping, you are trying to sharpen with a strop, big difference... I use to do it too...strops are only to remove the burr & refine the edge...
@UCN7L2X70Un0fVO6VW4wVImA I'm not joking. I've taking brand new kitchen knives out of the box, sharp enough to cut paper, put them on my strop and turned them into butter knives. I have about 5 knives like that. I can't figure out how to bring them back to life.
So many video on youtube about proper knife sharpening. With that said, practice makes perfect
Lmao! Story of my life
robert reyes 1. You need to lower the angle of your knife bevel when stropping. 2. DO NOT push your knife when stropping. Just let the knife's weight deal with the pressure.
Best channel on KZhead. Love it! Thanks for the content, I know it’s a lot of work to do and we, your loving fans, appreciate it!
The sand paper has me cracking up🤣❤
Beautiful work it’s really truly an art not many have or willing to use
Man love the restore. Beyond awesome!!! I know you have been asked this a thousand time already but what is that beat at 4:03. It is so damn fitting to your style. Keep up the damn good work... Looking forward to watching more videos...
I was absolutely transfixed on your translucent tomatoe :-) Thank you so much for taking the time to share your amazing skill & talent* Sending well wishes from Scotaland
I just love the crafts of knife making -> so amzingly beautiful.... Thanks for sharing!
Sanding is the best part it just means the project is almost over Beautiful work xo
I normally dont like music with these kinds of videos, but this was awesome. Is this all you? Not only the knife work, but the story, staging, videoing, and editing? If so or not this was excellent.
Tiredof Allthis I don’t know for sure but I have a feeling it would be all him. I do know it’s entirely possible to do everything yourself because I do it all on my videos. Most of my videos these days take me 30-40 hours to film and edit, and I do a video every week (with the exception of last week). Ok, time to stop chatting and go back to making the knife I’m half way through doing. 👍🏻
Thanks! Its all me. Only thing i dont do is the music. I use epidemic sound for music. Thanks again 👊
@@OUTDOORS55 Epidemic Sound is a music distribution platform. What songs and artists did you use? They worked hard on those tunes and deserve the exposure!
@@RaspyOB174 song music track is: 0:16 Ain't No Thing But To Swing - Jules Gaia 4:04 The Fix - Aldous Young 7:34 Space Club 2001 - Aldous Young
@@kirillvorozheykin1204 You're awesome man. A year later and there's someone out there that cares about artist exposure. I believe I had tried Shazam on these epidemicsounds songs and nothing came up before. Not sure if its updated but Either way Thanks. The music gods will be more in your favor for sure. All content creators should give these lists.
imagine people looking at his arm hair asking why he has so many patches? OUTDOORS55: I work a lot with metal.
that was the most beautiful cutlery work i've ever seen!
Fantastic video. The humor made it worthwhile as much as the great work on that knife.
Fantastic job! Would you be so kind as to explain how you etched the symbol & tell us the ingredients/materials & process needed to do the same thing on our own knives? Thank-you in advance for any response & info offered. Cheers from Canada!
I think I saw the same type of etching machine used by another KZhead channel knife maker. He went through the seemingly arduous task of building the machine. Did you build yours?
@@dr.mecham8314 Was your reply meant for me? I have never done any precision etching. Just free hand with acid & wax resist. That's why I was asking for details & info. Cheers.
@@Imightberiding sorry. Learning how to use KZhead. In case you were still interested, another knife maker - RedBeard - has a channel and has a video of how to build one. Looks Tedious, but cheaper than the $300 version commercially.
@@dr.mecham8314 Thanks.. I recognized the name of the channel "RedBeard". I'll check it out.
"Hell's bells, that feller just polished a turd."
Awesome transformation
A super imposed close up of the knifes edge before and after would have been a nice touch. Great video.
I did body work since I was in 9th grade I'm 25 now I understand hand sanding
4:04 sounds like the bubble dance scene from valerian
On KZhead looking for diy knife sharpening but this is on another level. Well made video n very funny too 😂🤣😂👏🏼👏🏼
Beautiful job Alex ! Keep up the great work my friend
The rust could be due to the knife being put in the dishwasher with some iron utensils.
or being placed next to another tool with carbon in the blade... I didn't see any sparks so I don't think there was much carbon if at all.
@@kcchand9386 I think there were no sparks because he used his backstand on very low speed, no to burn the knife. The belts also weren't the extra coarse he would have used if he made the blade himself, and the lower the grit, the less sparks it makes.
I used some mistery steel for last knife and on even slower belt speed probably half than his it sparks after quench
@@Boz1211111 yes and as you say, it is mystery steel... I can grind an old file, which has a lot of carbon in it, with my backstand without sparks, if I use low grit belts and low speed... which is the exact thing I would do to modify the profile of a knife without ruining it's hardness.
@@maximeregamey4458 of course, im not expecting mine to have extra high carbon content but its noticeable that it sparks after quench at same belt speed
That's freaking credible! I say that because the word "incredible" doesn't make sense. I just watched it. Its credible...
Maybe because you don't understand the English language.
@@patman0250 Let's hear it smartass. When "credible" means - able to be believed; convincing. "In" means - expressing the situation of something that is or appears to be enclosed or surrounded by something else, or expressing a period of time during which an event takes place or a situation remains the case. "Incredible" means too extraordinary and improbable to be believed. Putting "in" and "credible" together, how does that equal something not credible?
Maybe mostcredible is the word we're looking for.
@@bobbysweeney5377 Dude credible and incredible are two completely different words with two completely different meanings. The counterpart to credible is uncredible not incredible genius. You think just because the word incredible has credible in it that it's the opposite!? Man you really don't know the English language do you.
@@patman0250 incredible, is based off of the word, credible. It literally means NOT CREDIBLE, genius. The words entered English language in the 1400's. But thanks for making yourself look dumb. Look it up . My original point was that the word "incredible" is commonly used incorrectly, and should not be used for what I was trying to say.
Not only is the video dope as hell but the editing is great! Love this channel
Nice video. Well done. The dramatic pauses were funny. Good job. Thanks you for posting.
Nice work! I'm curious how these "turn a cheap knife into a good knife" knives actually hold up after some use.
That's going to depend on the quality of the steel and the heat treatment of the original knife. If you want to find out for yourself, just do a convex-thinning on a bench stone. All the rest of the work is entirely cosmetic.
Considering he used a belt sander to sharpen it I'm guessing it didn't last too long between sharpenings.
@@lazyh-online4839 Could you elaborate why? Is sharpening using a belt sander not as good as compared to using whetstones maybe? Thanks.
@@CikguSyawqi too much friction caused more heat...🙄🙄
@@CikguSyawqi as Leon nosois said, using power tools to sharpen is almost never q good idea because of heat, it will ruin the temper of the edge and therefore the steel will be too weak to hold an edge.
It seems like a sign of a good bladesmith is no arm hair.
I love how you eyes devoid of life when sanding knife. Subscribed.
For every minute of sanding you lose a minute of life.😑
Loving the style youre acquiring!
this guy looks like if linustechtips actually went outside
But linus has a beard Hmm bet you didn’t see that coming
@@zaidtayeh4888 didn't know he grew one. guess he isn't baby faced anymore lol
You are awesome bud. Ever since I found your channel I watch and even rewatch a lot of your videos all the time. I’ve been sharpening for a long time and I like to think I’m decent at it but I’ve never been able to get a knife that sharp.
So glad I ran into the channel!!
There are three things could be watched eternally: how water flows , how fire burns and how someone works
Юрий Райковский no because the sun will swallow the earth one day leaving no fire and not water and we couldn’t watch it cuz we would be dead and also we die one day Anyway
@@iGoku1 u still can see water and fire burns even without the sun
@@iGoku1 and even without the earth
jordan lee water doesn’t flow while frozen in ice. Fire doesn’t burn eternally cuz one day the whole universe will die so....
jordan lee plus I was just joking around
All that time and effort wasted on a poor steel...
How do you know if it was a poor steel? The simple carbon steels used by factories and makers in the industry usually cost less than $20 for a small piece. It's all about the heat treat, the final finish and overall craftsmanship.
you're one of a kind. i like your videos and i'm sharing them with everyone i know in this field.
Excellent work thank you for sharing
It doesn't matter how much you polish and sharpen it. It's still cheap steel.
So is 1080
Yeah be sharp for a little while but cheap steel doesnt keep it for long
That video edit is almost as sharp as the knife. Oh and by the way these tomato slices are way too thin for my hamburgers.
WHAT CRAFTSMANSHIP!!!! Excellent job and video!!! Chuck Knight from Buffalo, Texas. 🤠
The way you branded it is so cool
You can put a good edge on any knife. But wiil this hold it?
Exactly. 300 dollars? Hah!
Sanding for 3 hours... Those are rookie numbers 😂 I love it when there's a few knives to sand one after the other.
As soon as I read the handle and saw Revere.. I knew that this knife would be very decent when fully restored. My pots and pans I inherited from my parents happen to be 40+ year old copper bottom Revere, and are still beautiful and perfect to this day.
Editing music and humour on point sweet vid more please
But I thought that the quality and price of a knife is determined by the quality of the steel ie you can't make an expensive knife from crap steel.
You would be surprised...it's not simple but some forge welding, hammering, grinding and a decent heat treating can turn shitty steel into a good to excellent knife.
"I'm not a chef I'm a knife maker" Me: That's not a knife, this is a knife" **Points at random toe crashing chair**
What???
love that you freehanded the bevel!
Love your humour man.
So the 299 difference are just countless hours of sanding lol
Essentially! Yea it's funny definitely $300 worth of labour and materials but I still wouldn't even pay $100 for it
You got it sanded on only three hours?! What's your secret? 🤣
I gotta couple tips. After you're done shaping the bevel on the grinder, do more grinding with higher grits. This will remove all those low grit vertical scratches that are really hard to sand out. Eliminates lots of work, and you can start your hand sanding with a higher grit. Once you start hand sanding, do not move to the next grit until you have all the previous grit scratch marks out. Take the knife under some different light if you have to, it can be hard to see sometimes. Doing these things can get this knife sanded to 600 or 800 in an hour or 2
Seems your setup has started to evolve quite a bit. Like the work you out out and the skills you've developed. Keep up the good content!
You nailed it. This is now bookmarked for sending when someone asks me what hand sanding is like. Seriously, that’s why I went from bladesmithing to blacksmithing.
First music track title plz. knife is ok u can't make steel better, polish it or not😂
Please cite your music good sir
That face looks just like *MY* “I-have-been-trying-to-hand-sand-hardened-stainless-steel face.” BTW you may want to consider your choice of cutting boards. I find that plywood sheets impart a particular taste to tomatoes...
He implied it was carbon steel, not stainless.
I have a 2 blade case hardened set off and on I've tried to sharpen over 10 yes the small one j got . The big one I'm still trying. I sharpen till I give up and throw it in a drawer. Couple weeks later I try again. One of these days it's gonna shave
Beautiful work.
Nice job on the knife. Amazing job on the video. I don't even know the right words to use, but the editing, lighting, music and humor were perfect.
and here i am not able to get a hair splitting knife even with 8000 grit whetstone and 0.5 micron diamond paste
But why?
I know how you feel. My daddy could pick a rock up out of the driveway and get an edge on a knife. Me? I buy all the toys and my knives are still dull.
“ cuts a tomato so thin it can feed a family of five for three years”
Another great job. Funny, too. Keep rockin' it!
The results of this is so satisfying.