Show us your sticks (finished handle projects)...
- Thread starter cotedupy
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Tidy! And nice way to achieve the handle taper towards the blade. Always a puzzle with octagonal handles.
KrnSeoulja
Well-Known Member
Custom handle and leather saya for Kitaoka Damascus W#1 Deba
Fwiw - taper should be very easy if you use a belt sander to shape them.
(The only thing that would make it tricky, which sometimes people miss is: Make the handle in its entirety before you fit it. You can’t do that for full tang ‘yo’ handles obviously, but for wa handles you definitely don’t want to be shaping them when already attached.)
tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
Just finished a pair of mono handles for a couple of my gyutos. A clean two-tone Tasmanian blackwood and to contrast, a more chaotic spalted maple burl.
Well I can see why you saved those two bits of wood for yourself! Really gorgeous handles.
Do you use dowels for a one-piece…?
tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
Appreciate it Oli! There's one more slated for my cleaver, but still needs a bit more work.Well I can see why you saved those two bits of wood for yourself! Really gorgeous handles.
No, having a dowel with a glued connection kinda defeats the purpose of having a mono handle in my mind. I use a broach, rasps, and files to open up the slots. Making a clean slot usually ends up taking a good 30-50% of the total time to construct the handle, but worth it in the final result I think.
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Those are SENSATIONAL. Also nice to see a small part of Australiana represented from time to time
Bravo Sir! I doff my cap.
[For anyone reading this thread who hasn’t made a lot of different type handles before… ^that^ right there is proper dedication to the cause. A mono / one-piece handle made in this way, so the fit is completely perfect, takes a considerable amount of skill and a feck of a lot of time!]
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Yeah he makes a proper handle for sure. Just opening the hole enough to get a completely perfect fit on my Okubo clever took a good bit of time, but well worth it. Though it taught me what to do if I ever make one from scratch.
What kind of surface finish do you use? It is nice and satin shiny, classy.
Sandpaper grit? Oil type?
Sandpaper grit? Oil type?
tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
Depending on the wood, I finish between 400-800 grit. These were finished at 400 grit. Sometimes I take the corners and edges up higher to smooth them out without changing the geometry.
I use 2 coats of hardwax oil. The major brands have some minor differences between them (osmo polyx, rubio monocoat, odies oil, tried&true) but overall similar. It penetrates and cures dry, but soaks into the grain rather than forming a layer on top (like tru-oil or other lacquer-type finishes). So you get water resistance without having major affect on feel. After hand buffing, it leaves a satin finish. I think glossy finishes bring out the grain better for photos, but satin to me feels better for actual use.
FWIW I'd also strongly recommend hardwax oil.
My recent handles have all been finished with Tung oil, which is excellent too, but I wouldn't say 'better'. I use it now because it's easier and cheaper for me to buy in the UK than hardwax is. When I lived in Aus hardwax was easier and cheaper to get, so I used that.
In fact all things being equal... I'd probably pick hardwax. I believe most hardwax oil is Tung oil based anyway(?), but hardwax has more range than pure Tung. Depending on how long you leave it, how you buff it off, &c. &c. you can make hardwax oil finish almost any way you want. Regardless of how high you've sanded; you can make it matte n grippy, or hard n shiny, or anywhere in between. It's very versatile stuff.
My recent handles have all been finished with Tung oil, which is excellent too, but I wouldn't say 'better'. I use it now because it's easier and cheaper for me to buy in the UK than hardwax is. When I lived in Aus hardwax was easier and cheaper to get, so I used that.
In fact all things being equal... I'd probably pick hardwax. I believe most hardwax oil is Tung oil based anyway(?), but hardwax has more range than pure Tung. Depending on how long you leave it, how you buff it off, &c. &c. you can make hardwax oil finish almost any way you want. Regardless of how high you've sanded; you can make it matte n grippy, or hard n shiny, or anywhere in between. It's very versatile stuff.
Not a handle but my first ever saya! If you have any tips or tricks please let me know
View attachment 299089
View attachment 299659Not a handle but my first ever saya! If you have any tips or tricks please let me know
View attachment 299089
Pretty happy with how this turned out for my first saya! Just need some Tung oil and saya pin
tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
Stabilized old growth curly redwood in a simple, no frills mono
That wood is almost van Gogh wavy and curly!
OkayMode
I am the pig Daveb's mama was talking about
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Ello ello ello, this looks rather tasty!
Have you made any handles with them yet? Sign me up if you've got enough leftover.
ant_topps
Member
Caleb Cox
Senior Member
Now for the fun part, putting a long rectangular hole in it!
Hell of a first handle. Awesome job.
Another choice for assembly is to make the appropriate holes in the woods to begin with, but before assembly.. For the piece that is in contact with the tang,
make the holes from the back side, and leave an area for the penetration of the blade somewhat thinner. Then make the hole for the tang just perfect, maybe, since it is wood, slightly tight.. Then assemble the pieces, and apply your adhesive of choice at the same time.. The contact area between the tang and the wood will be just perfect, and give a better appearance.. Then do the final shaping, cleaning, polishing to the handle. Make a custom jig to clamp the handle and blade together while adhesive is curing, but be absolutely certain to get the adhesive off of the exposed tang before cure.
make the holes from the back side, and leave an area for the penetration of the blade somewhat thinner. Then make the hole for the tang just perfect, maybe, since it is wood, slightly tight.. Then assemble the pieces, and apply your adhesive of choice at the same time.. The contact area between the tang and the wood will be just perfect, and give a better appearance.. Then do the final shaping, cleaning, polishing to the handle. Make a custom jig to clamp the handle and blade together while adhesive is curing, but be absolutely certain to get the adhesive off of the exposed tang before cure.
tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
A multidyed amboyna and Koa curing after first coat of oil
ant_topps
Member
I mainly make handles for the knives I make. So each handle is fitted to the blade. For those who make handles for others, what size slot / hole do you have?
Uncle Danny
Sorry about that pineapple pizza thing
This!
tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
A friend gave me a box of blocks and a challenge for his okubo cleaver. A D-shaped handle scaled to cleaver dimensions. And with a cutout notch about a finger width in length.
Never made a d shape before. I spent probably a good month doing nothing, just trying to figure out how to shape the curve correctly. Ended up setting up a spreadsheet to calculate the points to lay out on the block as an ellipse. Then added the d point which was offset about 60/40 and extended out approx 15% of the total width. I used the spreadsheet to iterate backwards from the final desired dimensions to see what size ellipse to use.
Final result is a rounded shape on the sides which fits the hand much more comfortable than a rounded handle I made previously with flat sides.
Never made a d shape before. I spent probably a good month doing nothing, just trying to figure out how to shape the curve correctly. Ended up setting up a spreadsheet to calculate the points to lay out on the block as an ellipse. Then added the d point which was offset about 60/40 and extended out approx 15% of the total width. I used the spreadsheet to iterate backwards from the final desired dimensions to see what size ellipse to use.
Final result is a rounded shape on the sides which fits the hand much more comfortable than a rounded handle I made previously with flat sides.
