So after doing the Chinese cleaver i thought i'd rehandle the kitchen petty blade i made at Will C's (formerly-Raisedbybrocks) in the summer. Due to lack of time but a want to use it i had just cobbled together a rough octagonal one but it was never planned to be the final one.
I thought i would give it a more western style handle just to make a change and try something new, a kind of intermediary step before i try to rehandle one of my western knives.
Where i had made the knife a stick tang i planned to make a laminated handle to wrap around this and simulate a full tang, plus it is the first laminated blade i have made and i like the idea of a laminated handle on a laminated blade.
I had a piece of yew that i thought would look good with a middle layer of ebony, so after flatting all the pieces on a surface plate with a bit of sandpaper i glued them together.
Glued up:
Checking the blade still fits:
Once the glue cured it was time to start shaping up the handle. As i had only started making the handle last night at about 7pm it was about 9pm by the time the glue had cured enough to let me take the clamps off, so no chance to use any power tools (living in a flat has it's disadvantages), so i got out the trusty Mora and started to carve to shape in front of the TV.
Carving underway:
After 45 mins it was roughly to shape so time to put it down until this morning when i started sanding it down. Working through 180, 280, 600 and 1000 brought it up to a really nice finish.
180g:
1000g:
Spine:
Side:
Close up:
I think it fits the blade really nicely and feels good in the hand. The balance is just at the end of the wood which keps it feeling quite agile.
The san mai of the blade barely shows, not sure what the steel was-it was what Will let me have a play with. Both the outer layers and the core were hardening steels in case i didn't manage to keep it central , but i managed to - much to my relief.
San mai:
Sharpened it with a heavy asymetric bevel 90/10 (RHS/LHS) convexed the RHS and it cuts like a star
I'd like to thank Will for helping me to make the blade: letting me use his workshop, telling me what to do, dealing with the heat treat and for fixing the tang after my attempt to tweak it just a little bit more with the power hammer ended up with it at 90 degrees to the blade :eek2:
I thought i would give it a more western style handle just to make a change and try something new, a kind of intermediary step before i try to rehandle one of my western knives.
Where i had made the knife a stick tang i planned to make a laminated handle to wrap around this and simulate a full tang, plus it is the first laminated blade i have made and i like the idea of a laminated handle on a laminated blade.
I had a piece of yew that i thought would look good with a middle layer of ebony, so after flatting all the pieces on a surface plate with a bit of sandpaper i glued them together.
Glued up:
Once the glue cured it was time to start shaping up the handle. As i had only started making the handle last night at about 7pm it was about 9pm by the time the glue had cured enough to let me take the clamps off, so no chance to use any power tools (living in a flat has it's disadvantages), so i got out the trusty Mora and started to carve to shape in front of the TV.
Carving underway:
After 45 mins it was roughly to shape so time to put it down until this morning when i started sanding it down. Working through 180, 280, 600 and 1000 brought it up to a really nice finish.
180g:
1000g:
Spine:
Side:
Close up:
I think it fits the blade really nicely and feels good in the hand. The balance is just at the end of the wood which keps it feeling quite agile.
The san mai of the blade barely shows, not sure what the steel was-it was what Will let me have a play with. Both the outer layers and the core were hardening steels in case i didn't manage to keep it central , but i managed to - much to my relief.
San mai:
Sharpened it with a heavy asymetric bevel 90/10 (RHS/LHS) convexed the RHS and it cuts like a star
I'd like to thank Will for helping me to make the blade: letting me use his workshop, telling me what to do, dealing with the heat treat and for fixing the tang after my attempt to tweak it just a little bit more with the power hammer ended up with it at 90 degrees to the blade :eek2: