The worst of the worst western handles...who makes them?

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Dave Martell

Dave Martell

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I submit Teruyasu Fujiwara Denka as King of the worst followed closely by Shigefusa for 2nd place.

Honorable mention goes to Takamura Uchigumo



Who else? :wink:
 
Aww thats mean and I beg to differ, the TF Nashiji Yo is far worse. To me the Denka has character LOL
 
Ken Onion chef knives. Don't get me wrong I have one of his folders that is one of my favorites, but his chef knives suck.
 
Only western handles I've enjoyed were made by western makers.
 
Keith Sinclair said:
Ken Onion chef knives. Don't get me wrong I have one of his folders that is one of my favorites, but his chef knives suck.
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It's more than the handle that sucks with the KO kitchen knives. I saw a recent IG post showing a new "prototype" with a claimed HRC of 73. I'm might buy one just to send to Dave for sharpening :devilburn:
 
Terayusa fujiwara nashiji is one of the worst, it isnt even sanded down, its infinity worse than the denka or takamura who atleast provide a functional handle, a lot of chinese cleavers also come with really crappy westren handles, like the type where he went to his back yard, grabbed some scrap lumber and quickly shaped it and maybe put some oil on it.
 
I will say the TF Denka handle is definitely contoured for the smaller hand.
 
These are runner up for second worst yo-handle?

20839008_1353618961401891_3047782456225693696_n.jpg


I must be missing something.
 
brooksie967 said:
These are runner up for second worst yo-handle?

20839008_1353618961401891_3047782456225693696_n.jpg


I must be missing something.
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I think he's referring to under the wood, maybe the are a b to rehandle, I wouldn't be shocked if under the wood it wasn't super nicely polished similar to what most westren makers are going to make. Also that koa one is sick
 
Godslayer said:
I think he's referring to under the wood, maybe the are a b to rehandle, I wouldn't be shocked if under the wood it wasn't super nicely polished similar to what most westren makers are going to make. Also that koa one is sick
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Maybe I'm just too stupid to understand... but why would it need to be 'super nicely polished' under the wood?
 
Godslayer said:
I think he's referring to under the wood, maybe the are a b to rehandle, I wouldn't be shocked if under the wood it wasn't super nicely polished similar to what most westren makers are going to make. Also that koa one is sick
Click to expand...

I would have never come to that conclusion by reading his post.
 
if you're thinking (too much)
about the handle on your knife,
you're buying the knife
by the wrong end.

:)
 
I recently rehandled my 480mm Sakai Takayuki castella knife… the original handle was boxy and uncomfortable with tang gaps, but I used a Dremel cutoff to make hidden tang then put a wa handle on… I'd not want to try to do a western handle with the limited resources I have

The ruler in the picture is 6" long
ImageUploadedByKitchen Knife Forum1521322760.336779.jpg
ImageUploadedByKitchen Knife Forum1521322826.546709.jpg
ImageUploadedByKitchen Knife Forum1521322887.583700.jpg


PS
@brooksie967 pls send me those Ashi for safe disposal… I'll even settle for the discoloured one, looks like it might have heat damage on the blade too :D
 
aboynamedsuita said:
I recently rehandled my 480mm Sakai Takayuki castella knife… the original handle was boxy and uncomfortable, but I used a Dremel cutoff to make hidden tang then put a wa handle on… I'd not want to try to do a western handle with the limited resources I have

The ruler in the picture is 6" long
View attachment 38888
View attachment 38889
Click to expand...

The original handle looked pretty bad. You did a great job on the rehandle - really revitalized the look of the knife.
 
hmansion said:
The original handle looked pretty bad. You did a great job on the rehandle - really revitalized the look of the knife.
Click to expand...

It is in the realm of what I presume the tojiro itk bread knife was like… tang gaps, etc. I realize that with a wa conversion the knife may not qualify anymore but the ootb handle wasn't nice so I thought to mention
 
Those of you who like Shigefusa westerns must have low expectations for fit 'n finish with high tolerance for wabi-sabi. :D

Seriously though, they're rough, poorly fitted, exposed sharp edges at the tang/bolster/rivets, with wood so unstable the scales move more than a willow tree in a hurricane. They're some of the most requested knives to rehandle. I suspect if it wasn't for their low numbers in westerns, as well as Fujiwara taking the lead, that they'd be #1.
 
bkultra said:
It's more than the handle that sucks with the KO kitchen knives. I saw a recent IG post showing a new "prototype" with a claimed HRC of 73. I'm might buy one just to send to Dave for sharpening :devilburn:
Click to expand...


I used to like you. :bat:


PS - Rc73? :bashhead:
 
aboynamedsuita said:
I recently rehandled my 480mm Sakai Takayuki castella knife… the original handle was boxy and uncomfortable with tang gaps, but I used a Dremel cutoff to make hidden tang then put a wa handle on… I'd not want to try to do a western handle with the limited resources I have

The ruler in the picture is 6" long
View attachment 38888
View attachment 38889
View attachment 38890


PS
@brooksie967 pls send me those Ashi for safe disposal… I'll even settle for the discoloured one, looks like it might have heat damage on the blade too :D
Click to expand...


Nice work T! :doublethumbsup:
 
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