J&R Dodge Juste Judicato - double shear steel carving knife

[kwakster]

A recent thrift shop find, and bought for a fart and three marbles (dutch expression, meaning for next to nothing)
From research i learned that J&R Dodge Sheffield didn't manufacture anything themselves, but instead bought high quality cutlery, razors and tools from well established Sheffield makers and resold these under their Juste Judicato (Choose Right) brand, for instance in two stores they owned in Amsterdam.
That is most likely how this carving knife ended up in the Netherlands.
Back in the day in this country J&R Dodge were known for the quality of the double-shear steel carving knives they offered for sale.







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Specifications & measurements:

Overall length: 13.07 inch (33,2 cm)
Blade length: 8.07 inch (20,5 cm)
Blade thickness: 2,29 mm at the start of the swedge tapering to 0,44 mm at 1,0 cm before the point
Thickness behind the edge: 0.25 mm at the start of the swedge tapering to 0,16 mm at 1,0 cm before the point
Steel type: double shear steel
Handle material: black horn
Weight: 128,4 grams
The knife is handle heavy

[kwakster]

If you look closely at the blade surfaces (best to enlarge the picture to it's maximum) you can see that they are riddled with short black lines (actually voids), always running lengthwise along the blade.
That is a sign of the layered structure of this steel type.
Also: the surface of shear steel having a coarser structure can sometimes almost look like a layer cake, while the further refined double shear steel and it's still more refined cousin triple shear steel will have a finer layered structure.

The sequence in manufacturing seems to have been like this, where each metal type was made from the previous one: wrought iron > blister steel > shear steel > double shear steel > triple shear steel.
Carbon was added to wrought iron to produce blister steel, which in turn was made into shear steel.
Shear steel was already quite hard, and could be broken (or sheared) into pieces, which were then restacked, rewelded, and reforged into double shear steel, a more refined version.
Double shear steel itself could also be broken up, restacked, rewelded, and reforged into triple shear steel.

While none of the above were as refined as crucible cast steel, both shear steel and it's more refined versions double shear steel and triple shear steel were sought after for specific types of cutlery because of the toothy edges these steels would take, and which among others would work most excellent on all kinds of meat.
Where shear steel seems to have been known for it's very toothy edges, double shear steel edges were a bit finer toothy, while triple shear steel would have had the finest toothy edge.
Butchers in the old days highly prized these knives (in the Netherlands specifically the double shear steel ones), and specimens in good condition like this one are very difficult to find.

[kwakster]

Engraving depicting the shearing of blistered steel to produce a higher quality steel - Sheffield.
The shearers sat in swinging seats so that they could manoeuvre the bars being beaten under the hammers.
Dated 19th century

[kwakster]

These 2 pictures taken in 1869 show the J&R Dodge display, which was made especially for an international exhibition in the Dutch Paleis voor Volksvlijt exhibition hall in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.




Background on the building: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleis_voor_Volksvlijt

[kwakster]

I've already sharpened the knife on the Tormek SB-250 Blackstone and deburred it on the leather wheel, and from that experience i can say that the steel is quite hard (guesstimate in the 63-64 HRC range), the burr comes off in tiny bits instead of a long wire, and the resulting edge is armhair shaving sharp with an incredible amount of bite (even though the grooves from the (SiC) stone were polished away slowly by the 1.0 micron diamond compound on the leather wheel, as can be seen through my Victorinox loupe.
So far i've only used it to cut up 6 large tomatos on my Zanussi HDPE cutting board, but it is definitely going to see more kitchen use in the future.
After all: what better way to honor the Sheffield makers than by using the knife ?

Did you notice in the last picture the weld area that joins the double shear blade with what is likely a softer steel tang ?
I've read that is how many old Sheffield knives were made, and it is known as "the cutler's thumbprint".

[kwakster]

The knife really is a delight to work with and it gets used at least several times a week for cutting various types of meat, as well as softer breads and large apple pies.
It's kept sticky sharp freehand on a DMT red.

Part of the ingredients for an old school beef stew:





Probably the best apple crumble pie we ever had.
(made by a Chef in return for sharpening two knives for him)

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[kwakster]

The brothers J&R Dodge owned two stores in the Netherlands in Amsterdam from 1820 up to 1884, where they sold high quality made in Sheffield knives as well as chisels and other cutting tools.
One store was situated in the Kalverstraat while the other used to be in the Leidschestraat, and both streets are filled with various shops to this very day.

[Sir Amwell]

Love this Kwakster. There is something indescribably exciting about finding old tools and bringing them back to life! After all a knife is a knife and the basic design hasn't changed much in millennia. Sheffield steel used to be the envy of the world but alas is no longer producing. There are still some knife makers producing good knives. Taylor's Eye Witness springs to mind.