Where to get WA handles (HO or chestnut)

Hi,

I know this questions pops here and then (I have browsed diligently). I am looking for octagonal HO wood or burned chestnut handles with water buffalo horn ferrules and it seems that there are none to be found in the English speaking world. Naively I would expect that these must be plentiful - most of knives coming from Japan have HO wood handles, but no one seems to carry them as a separate item.

I already asked Maxim, but he does not have them.

thanks

There always seems to be a shortage of these... Some vendor would make a killing if he could bring in more basic handles and offer them for a reasonable price...

Clean cut have these but not exactly what you're lookong for. http://cleancut.se/butik/knivmodeller/losa-blad-och-skaftmaterial/skaft-d-formade

spoiledbroth said:

There always seems to be a shortage of these... Some vendor would make a killing if he could bring in more basic handles and offer them for a reasonable price...

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As i understood octagonal handles need to be made my hand. Oval or D can be made with a special lathe for half the price.
With that in mind and the shortage of craftsmen the price of any octagonal handle is high

A 1800 yen handle + shipping, vat and a bit o profit may cost 25 euros to sell in EU. For that much I would settle for a D shaped rosewood.

True takes more labor to make an octagon handle with horn that's why usually on knives 150.00 & up. A number of these get knocked off for custom handles. I have always saved them & got a few from Stefan. Work well for good knives with cheap handles, no matter D or Octagon at least they have real horn instead of plastic.

I really like those burnt chestnut handles and look what kind of knives they come with top quality blades.

Thanks for the tips - seems like the only way to get these is to order from from Japan. I actually did not consider getting used ones - that could actually be an option.

My main motivation to get these is to have more time to concentrate on blade making (very slow process as I do manual stock removal with filing jig) and start with handles later (no try to learn everything at the same time) and have SOME usable handles to put on knives so they can be used/tested.

Burned chestnut would be awesome, but those cost about double of HO wood if I am not mistaken.

I feel Like I saw a lot of them at Bernal Cutlery when i was in SF. They could maybe tell you where they get them.

spoiledbroth said:

There always seems to be a shortage of these... Some vendor would make a killing if he could bring in more basic handles and offer them for a reasonable price...

Click to expand...

I suppose that the market for these is not quite as large as we think - most knives that folks around here buy already have one of them, only the very low end knives come with really poor handles that one may be inclined to swap for something nicer.

Actually that's true, my chef does not care, no sanding, beeswax or anything on any of his hou handled knives.

I Kind of liked d-shaped more than octag... is there a reason octag is supposed to be "premium"?

Morimoto's knives...

handle makers in japan are few and far between now days and they are all working hard just to keep up with the expanding demand within japan. While it is sometimes possible to get them, its not easy and takes time. I know quite a few knifemakers in japan who cant get ho wood octagon handles right now, and when they can, the wait can sometimes be months. I know for a fact that after over a 4 month wait, one knife maker was able to get only 4 ebony octagon handles he was waiting for.

apicius9 said:

Morimoto's knives...

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Great photo! I've seen several like this before too in Japan, 10-20 years of real use until they get to this state. Actually, only yanagiba come to think of it, but must apply to others as well.... When you see a few of these used by someone who really knows what he's doing and really uses them, I can't help think that many of the knife concerns that pop up here are kind of precious in comparison.

I never got it with the handles, though. I get that they're washed and maybe sanded down for cleanliness many times to get to that point, but if one of the great advantages of wa's is the ease of replacement then why not.

Thanks for the explanation Jon. I am wondering whether handle making is not lucrative enough so that new makers do no take on the opportunity of the growing market.

not just that, but also its very hard and dangerous work

JBroida said:

not just that, but also its very hard and dangerous work

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Dangerous???

Shaving catching of fire or what?

almost all of the guys i have met have holes in their hands from drill bits... its a lot more dangerous than people might expect. I'll try to find some pictures from times i've visited some of those guys so you can see.

Taking skin off your fingers with big power sanders:sad0:

I did not expect the safety to be an issue. I would be interested to learn more about the process (and possibly see how NOT to do it at home)

I suppose like any hand made craft there's the danger of bodily harm and the proud scars to prove it. That being said I don't buy any knives with ought an octagonal handle. I guess it's my prerequisite. Good luck on your search.

I think producing handles en masse might be more dangerous than one or two for "personal use" as it were.

In Germany you can get this
https://www.dictum.com/en/materials...&simi=97.9&page=1&pageSize=12&origPageSize=12

They look like the tadafusa