DIY Friction Fit 3 Piece Softwood Saya

[jessf]

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.

 

[jessf]

A little bit of sanding and it's done.


I could thin it out a bit but I don't mind the extra padding.

 

[Mucho Bocho]

Jess, You have no idea how timely this post is. I've been trying to figure out how to make a saya for my Chinese Clever. I don't have many wood power tools and really didn't want to invest in a scroll saw either. Your post has now given me a new direction. Thank you!

 

[jessf]

Funny you should saya that since it's because of a chinese cleaver that I considered making a balsa saya. Only after did I realize the softness of the wood could really do well at form fitting and protecting the delicate edge and finish on my deba. Much better functionally that the fancy rosewood one. I'll be making one for my neeman as well.

 

[Dardeau]

The ones I make for myself are basswood, for the same reasons.

 

[Payton2634]

Nice wip. I made my first one last night and it was a 2pc and it was a ???? Hardwood and was a nightmare to carve I ended up using a drill bit drum sander. Looks like I'll have my wife pick me up some balsa next time she's at a.c. moore. Did you put any oil or sealer on it? How high did you sand up to?

 

[Payton2634]

Nice saya pun btw

 

[jessf]

yeah that sounds like a nightmare. If you want to stick with 2 pieces get a decent set of good (pfeil) gouges and chisel, then cutting long even slots in the face of wood will be much easier. I may put some wax on there but I'm not too concerned about protecting the wood at this point.