jessf
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2016
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I wanted to see what it would take to make a custom softwood saya with basic tools most people have laying around. All you need for this is balsa sheets, a sharp knife, white glue and binder clips. The spine on my deba is 8mm so I ended up buying two thicknesses of balsa. Material cost per saya is under $10.
Trace the spine of the knife on what will become the spine of the saya. Offset 10mm and repeat. Cut this piece out with a sharp blade. It took a few passes for this thicker material. Your situation may vary.
On the thinner sheet of balsa cut a notch, place the knife and trace the blade.
offset those lines by 10mm then cut out your shape and create a duplicate. All the rough edges will be sanded away in the final steps.
Glue the spine to the bottom saya, lay the blade inside and trace the profile of the blade on the spine. If you did it right the pencil lines should meet at the knife tip.
Trim away the bulk.
Then sand the spine smooth up to the line.
Insert the knife to check the fit. If it's too loose then sand the spine down a bit and check again. Once satisfied with the fit I use any white glue and binder clips for the glue-up. The balsa will form nicely to the single bevel of the knife without having to pre-bend or carve anything.
....to be continued.
Trace the spine of the knife on what will become the spine of the saya. Offset 10mm and repeat. Cut this piece out with a sharp blade. It took a few passes for this thicker material. Your situation may vary.
On the thinner sheet of balsa cut a notch, place the knife and trace the blade.
offset those lines by 10mm then cut out your shape and create a duplicate. All the rough edges will be sanded away in the final steps.
Glue the spine to the bottom saya, lay the blade inside and trace the profile of the blade on the spine. If you did it right the pencil lines should meet at the knife tip.
Trim away the bulk.
Then sand the spine smooth up to the line.
Insert the knife to check the fit. If it's too loose then sand the spine down a bit and check again. Once satisfied with the fit I use any white glue and binder clips for the glue-up. The balsa will form nicely to the single bevel of the knife without having to pre-bend or carve anything.
....to be continued.