Saya Feedback

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7K1z6DlzSxNZDNrbElWcXktc2c

Just want to get some feedback on saya making from the pros. It's my first little stint at giving this a go and want to get feedback on how to improve. Like what kind of tools are you guys using, best wood for the job, and any other little tips and tricks.

These sayas I made in order of left to right, and I think they steadily improved each time, and they were all made using pine (I think), but the first one was stained, (wasn't such a great idea as it left a tacky finish). The tools I used were just a chisel, saw, wood glue and some sandpaper, finished with eithet danish oil or a bees wax based wood balm.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Nick

I'm not a pro, but I think your sayas look nice! Good job! :doublethumbsup:

Are they friction fit? If so, how are they retaining the blade?

I like pine because it's relatively soft. I've personally used balsa, basswood, and pine as all three are softer woods that are less likely to damage the edge. Some people love exotic hardwoods and they do look nice. Some of the hardwood sayas I've seen are three piece laminated with a softer wood like basswood or pine as the center spacer.

Thank you. Want to try out some other woods, but for the moment it seems that pine is the only easily acessible one to me, so I'll have to keep an eye out. They're friction fit by just being quite snug near the spine of the blade so it effectively just pinches it there.

Want to look into other materials to make saya's out of so I can make them more streamlines and not as clunky in the roll, anyone have suggestions on this? (Leather, cork, maybe a more synthetic material?)

If you'd like to compare your process I posted a how to a while back which gives a quick run through of how I'll make one
http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/33939-Making-a-saya-for-a-Takeda-gyuto?highlight=

For me, I prefer a curve where the heel of the blade is as I prefer the look. I also try to get an even curve from spine to edge, and with distal taper, again for the aesthetics. If you're using hand tools a small block plane can make this easy to do.

How are the glue lines looking? If you can keep those barely noticeable that's most of the battle.

Looks like you've got all the hard stuff done, and now it's just refining

For wood, if you're finding it hard to find anything other than pine drop me a pm with your address and I'll put some bits in the post for you to try

Other materials wise, leather is quite straight forward to work with to make something simple, but will need another toolkit. Kydex can give something utilitarian and lightweight but can scratch blades if tight fitting

Only just seen this, so sorry for the late reply. Think the main battle is done and glue lines dont look too shabby, but definatly some refinment, and some consistency need to be worked out. If you were able to spare some bits and pieces to try out that would he great, local shops only seems to have pine for the most part. Leather is another route I want to explore, just another time i think.