Rosecitythunderbirds.org
  • Home
  • Our Story
    • News & Announcements
    • Cliff Noxon Service Award
  • Past Events
    • 2011 >
      • Allure of the Automobile
      • Great Oregon Steam Up
      • Carousel Trip
      • Veterans Dinner
      • Christmas Luncheon
    • 2012 >
      • 2012 Kick-Off Luncheon
      • Superior Glass
      • June 2012 Picnic
      • CTCI - Memphis
      • Gorge Tour
    • 2013 >
      • 2013 Kick-Off Luncheon
      • President's Day 2013
      • Guide Dog Graduation
      • SMS Auto Fabrics
      • July BBQ
      • August Rally
      • September Business Meeting
      • Oct Covered Bridge Tour
    • 2014 >
      • 2014 Kick-Off Luncheon
      • Feb Dessert Auction
      • 2014 40th Birthday party
      • May Tech Session
      • July Rally
      • August Progressive Dinner
    • 2015 >
      • 2015 Kick-Off Luncheo
      • March Tour of Ken Austin collection
      • April Air National Guard Tour
      • May PT Boat Tour
      • July Rally
      • August Gorge Tour
      • August CTCI Convention in Albuquerque
      • Sept Carlton Crush
      • Oct Tour & Lunch
    • 2016 >
      • Feb 2016 Valentine Party
      • March - World of Speed
      • May 2016 - John Lemmon's car collection
      • June 2016 - Timberline
      • July 2016 - Rally
      • September 2016
      • Oct 2016 - Model Railroad
      • NOV 2016
    • 2017 >
      • Jan 2017
      • Feb 2017
      • March 2017
      • April 2017
      • May 2017
      • June 2017
      • July 2017
      • Sept 2017
      • Oct 2017
    • 2018 >
      • Jan Kick-Off Dinner
      • Feb 2018
      • March 2018 Freedman Collection
      • April 2018 Tech Session
      • May 2018 WAAM & LeMay
      • June 2018
      • August 2018
      • October 2018
      • November 2018
      • December 2018
    • 2019 >
      • January 2019
      • Feb 2019 Albany Carousel
      • March 2019 Ken Austin Tour
      • April 2019
      • May 2019
      • June 2019
      • July 2019
      • August 2019
      • Oct 2019
      • Nov 2019
      • December 2019
    • 2020 >
      • Jan 2020
      • Feb 2020
      • June 2020
    • 2021 >
      • June 2021
      • July 2021
      • August 2021
      • Sept 2021
      • Oct 2021
      • December 2021 Christmas Luncheon
    • 2022 >
      • Jan 2022
      • Feb 2022
      • March 2022
      • April 2022
      • May 2022
      • Aug 2022
      • Sept 2022
      • Oct 2022
      • Dec 2022
    • 2023 >
      • Jan 2023
  • Up Coming Events
  • Photos
    • As seen at a local Cruise-In
    • Prisoners of Time
    • 1962 Budd XT Bird
    • 1961 Buick Flamingo
    • 1916 Gas Prices
    • Ford History Video
    • Consumer Reports
    • Fords of the 1950's
    • 57-58 Thunderbird
    • Driving to Wichita 2006
    • Circus Party at 2008 International Convention
    • Working on members' cars
    • 1957 Rebuild
  • Contact Us
  • Join Us
  • Tech Tips
    • Preparing for winter storage
    • Cooling System >
      • Anti Freeze information
      • Plugged Overflow Tube
      • Radiator Caps
      • Temp Sender Bushing Removal
      • Cooling Trick
    • Electrical >
      • Battery Safety
      • Ground Strap
      • Safety Circuit Breaker
      • Turn Signal Switch
      • Fuel & Temp Gauge Safety
      • Electrical Leaks
    • Slide Shows >
      • Engine Install slide show
      • Body Removal Slide Show
      • Another Engine Install
    • Cleaning Tips
    • Valve Adjust tip
    • 1955 Shop Manual error
    • Turning Rotors
    • Welding around Brake Cleaner
    • Paint on Chrome
    • Wind Wing Glass Removal
    • Automatic Transmission Removal
    • Arm Protection
    • Changing the Fuel Pump
    • Rusty Lug Nuts
    • Local Parts availability
  • Club Store
  • Bird Watcher
    • 2014 >
      • Sept 2014
  • Cruise-Ins
  • Auto Service Recommendations

     Every day for a week prior to going to SteelPort Knife Company I checked the weather to see if I was willing to get the Thunderbird out. Finally on Thursday morning I made the decision to drive the Explorer because of the looks of the sky and the forecast I saw. As it turns out we only had a few sprinkles - now I wish I had been brave and drive the T'Bird. Oh-Well, there will be other events to get it out.
     From the calling committee we were expecting 17 people for lunch and the visit to SteelPort; however, only 10 met at Piccone's and then one later arrival got us up to 11 for the visit to SteelPort. Tom & Betti Mathews drove their Retro-Bird, the rest of us were in our family Trucksters.
     We were greeted at SteelPort by Ron Khormaei who gave us a history of the 1 1/2 year old company. At one step in their start-up they were making octagonal cast iron skillets (picture below), but soon realized that chefs and cooks were really after a tougher knife that would stay sharp longer. At this point he turned the tour over to Frances Dyer, Marketing and PR Manager. They then began studying the metallurgy of knifes. They were able to have the sharp edge of a knife meet Rockwell Hardness numbers of 65 (very hard), but yet keep the back edge of the knife much "softer" with a hardness value down in the 30's. This allows the knife to hold its edge, but yet not be so brittle that it would break under use. You can see the difference in the color of the edge vs. the back of the knife in the photos below.
     After initial grinding into its final shape enough metal is taken away that the color gradient disappears. They wanted that "patina" to show. So they discovered that letting the blade soak in coffee (yes coffee) the acid in it would restore the color gradient. They wanted this to show so that customers would know about the difference in hardness from edge to back of the knife.
     Wanting to be able to spell Ron Khormaei's name correctly here I picked up his business card. There I found three letters behind his name: PhD. I had a chance to ask him about his PhD. He is a degreed Electrical Engineer and is on staff at OSU in Corvallis. Metallurgy and knife making is a bit of an obsessive hobby.
     In the photos below you will see a wooden case with the steps in knife making displayed. It moves from a round piece of bar stock to a knife shape through drop-forging. We were all in hopes of seeing that process but it is done by their metal supplier in the mid-west. All of the rest of the steps are done in their shop.
     Thanks to Jim Sweet for arranging this informative event and supplying many of the photos below.

  • Home
  • Our Story
    • News & Announcements
    • Cliff Noxon Service Award
  • Past Events
    • 2011 >
      • Allure of the Automobile
      • Great Oregon Steam Up
      • Carousel Trip
      • Veterans Dinner
      • Christmas Luncheon
    • 2012 >
      • 2012 Kick-Off Luncheon
      • Superior Glass
      • June 2012 Picnic
      • CTCI - Memphis
      • Gorge Tour
    • 2013 >
      • 2013 Kick-Off Luncheon
      • President's Day 2013
      • Guide Dog Graduation
      • SMS Auto Fabrics
      • July BBQ
      • August Rally
      • September Business Meeting
      • Oct Covered Bridge Tour
    • 2014 >
      • 2014 Kick-Off Luncheon
      • Feb Dessert Auction
      • 2014 40th Birthday party
      • May Tech Session
      • July Rally
      • August Progressive Dinner
    • 2015 >
      • 2015 Kick-Off Luncheo
      • March Tour of Ken Austin collection
      • April Air National Guard Tour
      • May PT Boat Tour
      • July Rally
      • August Gorge Tour
      • August CTCI Convention in Albuquerque
      • Sept Carlton Crush
      • Oct Tour & Lunch
    • 2016 >
      • Feb 2016 Valentine Party
      • March - World of Speed
      • May 2016 - John Lemmon's car collection
      • June 2016 - Timberline
      • July 2016 - Rally
      • September 2016
      • Oct 2016 - Model Railroad
      • NOV 2016
    • 2017 >
      • Jan 2017
      • Feb 2017
      • March 2017
      • April 2017
      • May 2017
      • June 2017
      • July 2017
      • Sept 2017
      • Oct 2017
    • 2018 >
      • Jan Kick-Off Dinner
      • Feb 2018
      • March 2018 Freedman Collection
      • April 2018 Tech Session
      • May 2018 WAAM & LeMay
      • June 2018
      • August 2018
      • October 2018
      • November 2018
      • December 2018
    • 2019 >
      • January 2019
      • Feb 2019 Albany Carousel
      • March 2019 Ken Austin Tour
      • April 2019
      • May 2019
      • June 2019
      • July 2019
      • August 2019
      • Oct 2019
      • Nov 2019
      • December 2019
    • 2020 >
      • Jan 2020
      • Feb 2020
      • June 2020
    • 2021 >
      • June 2021
      • July 2021
      • August 2021
      • Sept 2021
      • Oct 2021
      • December 2021 Christmas Luncheon
    • 2022 >
      • Jan 2022
      • Feb 2022
      • March 2022
      • April 2022
      • May 2022
      • Aug 2022
      • Sept 2022
      • Oct 2022
      • Dec 2022
    • 2023 >
      • Jan 2023
  • Up Coming Events
  • Photos
    • As seen at a local Cruise-In
    • Prisoners of Time
    • 1962 Budd XT Bird
    • 1961 Buick Flamingo
    • 1916 Gas Prices
    • Ford History Video
    • Consumer Reports
    • Fords of the 1950's
    • 57-58 Thunderbird
    • Driving to Wichita 2006
    • Circus Party at 2008 International Convention
    • Working on members' cars
    • 1957 Rebuild
  • Contact Us
  • Join Us
  • Tech Tips
    • Preparing for winter storage
    • Cooling System >
      • Anti Freeze information
      • Plugged Overflow Tube
      • Radiator Caps
      • Temp Sender Bushing Removal
      • Cooling Trick
    • Electrical >
      • Battery Safety
      • Ground Strap
      • Safety Circuit Breaker
      • Turn Signal Switch
      • Fuel & Temp Gauge Safety
      • Electrical Leaks
    • Slide Shows >
      • Engine Install slide show
      • Body Removal Slide Show
      • Another Engine Install
    • Cleaning Tips
    • Valve Adjust tip
    • 1955 Shop Manual error
    • Turning Rotors
    • Welding around Brake Cleaner
    • Paint on Chrome
    • Wind Wing Glass Removal
    • Automatic Transmission Removal
    • Arm Protection
    • Changing the Fuel Pump
    • Rusty Lug Nuts
    • Local Parts availability
  • Club Store
  • Bird Watcher
    • 2014 >
      • Sept 2014
  • Cruise-Ins
  • Auto Service Recommendations