Enjoying making wa handles

Hey guys, I just finished making a handle for my moritaka honesuki. I'm pretty pleased with the results but know there's a lot I can do better. I've been having trouble posting pics but I'll try once again. Lemme know what you think, thanks a bunch.

Darn doesn't seem like pics are coming thru. If anyone can help that would be awesome

You'll have to upload it to an image hosting website and add it from there

Take Flickr. Simple to use.

Let's try again, just got flikr.

It worked, thanks guys!!!

Couple other handles I'm working on now

I got links to pics but not pics.

Seems like 3 out of 4 work

Same. I got the links but no pics are showing.

Just made them public photos, hope they can be viewed now

nice work

Ty slice, it's been fun learning the ins and outs of this stuff, funny how sanding different woods brings out smells that reminds me of other things(lignin vitae smells like flowers lol).

Little beeswax buff to see what it looks like

Very nice work!

Do you glue every part on the handle in one pass, or in several steps?

I get everything cut and fitted, making sure my dowel length is correct(also cutting a slot in it and sanding one side a bit to make a flat spot where glue can escape). Then I start glueing and assembling everything in one shot, glueing and stacking them and using a bar clamp to hold it tight while the glue cures.

Not much time tonite to work on these handles but got a bit more shaping done.



Bigger handle looks nice quickly run up to 2k sanding and a quick buff

Nice work!

Very nice work. May I ask what wood is the yellow-ish toned one? I really like the color and grain.

It's called lignium vitae, it's very dense stuff.

Thanks.

So I got home today and was thinking how I could make profiling these handles easier and came up with this glass plate that i had hanging around.
Now I can be a bit more exact than just grinding on the 6" belt.





Should be fun to try it out.

Finally done with this handle, very satisfied with how it came out



Lemme know what you guys think. Please critique it so I can work on making them better.

Also playing around with an angled buttcap. Still a work in progress.

Working on three bocote/ Blackwood handles for a set. Trying to figure out what to use them on lol but I don't think I can work them into my knives. I guess we will see

https://flic.kr/p/JABDvW

Been real busy with work lately but making a lil bit of progress. Decided to put them on the moritaka's I have, gonna shorten the cleaver handle because I find the original too long.

https://flic.kr/p/K2THix

That look great. I have a question concerning finish sanding. I use something similar, but I find that the finer sanding paper (in particular 1200 and 2000) clogs very fast and I do not manage to clean it (with a brush). Basically - I have spend 1 sheat of each 1200 and 2000 to finish one handle - and it was just a few strokes on each of the 8 facets) I am wondering whether there is a way to use the fine grained paper more efficiently.

Do you also use something like steel wool for final polish? May I also ask what do you use to finish the surface - some sort of oil or wax or something else? In the photos you shared the handles look so nice finished

Matus said:

That look great. I have a question concerning finish sanding. I use something similar, but I find that the finer sanding paper (in particular 1200 and 2000) clogs very fast and I do not manage to clean it (with a brush). Basically - I have spend 1 sheat of each 1200 and 2000 to finish one handle - and it was just a few strokes on each of the 8 facets) I am wondering whether there is a way to use the fine grained paper more efficiently.

Do you also use something like steel wool for final polish? May I also ask what do you use to finish the surface - some sort of oil or wax or something else? In the photos you shared the handles look so nice finished

Click to expand...

FWIW, have you tried wet-sanding at 1200 or 2000 grit? Works a little better. That said, IMHO there are pros and cons to sanding that high. For my taste they sometimes come out too plasticky and the last bit of wood character gets lost, especially in well stabilized woods. I hardly ever go over 1200 grit and I know that many of the Western handles are not even sanded over 600 grit. But I do a last rub-down with 0000 steel wool. It's nasty stuff but where sand paper sands, steel wool actually cuts more than it sands, and that leaves a nice and clean surface - good enough for me.

Stefan

Oops, I thought this was in the shop section, I hope you don't mind me chiming in.

Stefan, thank you. I will PM you so that I do not derail this thread.

Finally got around to replacing the handle on the cleaver. It was just way too long for me and a bit too wide also. So this one is about 1.5 inches shorter with a metal end weight to compensate for the weight loss of the larger handle. Feels much better in the hand now imo.

https://flic.kr/p/KuBjbw