Nothing like going to the source. I e-mailed Francine and she quickly answered. She covered everything I asked and the knives are not just decorative. I'm not sure how the deep stick tang is more sound than a full tang, but she apparently believes it is.
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Hello Kevin,
Thank you so much for your interest in our work. Here are the answers to your questions:
These knives are made to be used in every way. From the steel and it's extreme cutting and edge holding ability to the balance and handle materials, they really are wonderful knives to use. Customers often tell us how much they love our knives. One of my favorite stories is from a woman who told me she now rushes home from work to cook dinner because she loves to use her knives!
I sometimes bleed the design out to the edge because I like the idea that the image on the knife is a small part of a larger world that I've been able to capture onto the knife blade. Because these knives stay sharp for so long and it takes so little work to restore the edge, they don't wear down over time like many other knives do, and so the design will remain as I intended. If you're not comfortable with the bleed along the edge, I can draw the design back so it stops short of the edge.
The Kitchen castings are designed similarly to the Outdoor knives. They have a stick tang that goes deep into the handle. This type of handle has fewer wood to steel seams, so is more sound than a full tang handle.
Yes, we use Boye Dendritic Steel castings for our Kitchen knives. They come pre-sharpened, ready to use, and they will stay sharp for a very long time.
I think that covers everything. Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Best Regards,
Francine
Francine Etched Knives
francine@francineetchedknives.comhttp://www.francineetchedknives.com1-800-557-1525
1-831-426-6046
On Feb 12, 2010, at 9:09 AM, Kevin Furey wrote:
Hi there Francine,
Your steel etching is truly impressive. I have a friend that is seriously enamored with your dragonfly etched Chef's knife. I have a few questions though.
From the picture on the site, I couldn't tell if the knives have an edge. Are they decorative only, or are they practical to use as kitchen knives? Some of the etching seems to go down to where the cutting edge should be. It would be a shame to have to sharpen the blade at the cost of the etchings.
What type of a tang do the blades have? I realize the Boye outdoor knives are full tang, I'm more concerned with the kitchen knives at this point.
Are you using the dendritic steel for the kitchen knives?
Do they come presharpened?
Not having hundreds of feet of hemp rope lying around to try and dull them on, I assume they will stay sharp for a very long time against less antagonistic meat, fruits and vegetables. True?
Thank you,
Kevin