Handles With All Hand Tools?
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I've done a couple of handles with the only power tools being a handheld drill and a small mouse sander. It's definitely possible to do it. The nice thing with the slow work is that my mistakes tend to be smaller in magnitude. I found the tang hole to be the most challenging part. Shaping the rest by eye isn't too bad.
Here's what I've used: bench vise, sandpaper, needle files, handheld drill with bits, small block plane, rasp.
Here's what I've used: bench vise, sandpaper, needle files, handheld drill with bits, small block plane, rasp.
When I made my first handles they were all hand tool only, except for a power drill. That’s why I came up with the hidden dowel method maybe 10 years ago. I’d link to the thread but it was deleted and for whatever reason the Mods won’t restore it.
The hardest part of handle making is getting the slot for the tang made and central so that knife and handle are planar. Even slight wonkiness is noticeable in use.
A hand saw to cut to rough dimensions.
Some sandpaper spray mounted to something flat to lap the faces between ferrule and handle to get a clean joint - alternatively can be done with a shooting board and plane but has a longer learning curve. Saw straight with a fine saw and then sand. If you can’t saw straight then a shooting board may be needed sooner as sanding is only really for small adjustments.
A drill to start the tang hole- either matched to the tang size or matched to a dowel if taking that approach.
You then need to widen that hole to a slot. In the ferrule piece I like to use a fine fret saw to rough it in - then adjust with a broach and files. The broach can be fancy but I use a fine jigsaw blade glued into a handle and then ground to shape.
Some clamps to be able to hold everything aligned and tight during glue up.
a plane to smooth the handle and shape it. A no3 is a good size but you’ll probably find a block plane easier. Given the types of woods being used I’d get one that you can put a decent iron in. I’ve got a cheap Stanley that’s great on softwoods but dulls rapidly on handle type hardwoods. My Lie Nielsen though will shape a handle on a single sharpen.
you’ll also need layout tools - a good combination square is good, the 6” starrets are nice for handle making. A steel rule is useful for marking tapers etc and measuring lengths. Vernier callipers are good to get a measure on tangs, check drill bit sizes, and metal ones can be used to scribe parallel lines to reference off - eg an equal thickness either side of the tang slot.
A 0.5mm mechanical pencil is good for rough lines, and a small kiridashi or scalpel gives you precise marks to saw or plane to.
a good vice for workholding is handy or go traditional and use a Japanese planing board. If you go vice get something rigid to mount it to, the triton super jaws are surprisingly good for this sort of thing if you have a bit of space.
finishing is then sandpaper until you get good enough to finish off the plane.
Some of the tools are visible in the pic below.
The hardest part of handle making is getting the slot for the tang made and central so that knife and handle are planar. Even slight wonkiness is noticeable in use.
A hand saw to cut to rough dimensions.
Some sandpaper spray mounted to something flat to lap the faces between ferrule and handle to get a clean joint - alternatively can be done with a shooting board and plane but has a longer learning curve. Saw straight with a fine saw and then sand. If you can’t saw straight then a shooting board may be needed sooner as sanding is only really for small adjustments.
A drill to start the tang hole- either matched to the tang size or matched to a dowel if taking that approach.
You then need to widen that hole to a slot. In the ferrule piece I like to use a fine fret saw to rough it in - then adjust with a broach and files. The broach can be fancy but I use a fine jigsaw blade glued into a handle and then ground to shape.
Some clamps to be able to hold everything aligned and tight during glue up.
a plane to smooth the handle and shape it. A no3 is a good size but you’ll probably find a block plane easier. Given the types of woods being used I’d get one that you can put a decent iron in. I’ve got a cheap Stanley that’s great on softwoods but dulls rapidly on handle type hardwoods. My Lie Nielsen though will shape a handle on a single sharpen.
you’ll also need layout tools - a good combination square is good, the 6” starrets are nice for handle making. A steel rule is useful for marking tapers etc and measuring lengths. Vernier callipers are good to get a measure on tangs, check drill bit sizes, and metal ones can be used to scribe parallel lines to reference off - eg an equal thickness either side of the tang slot.
A 0.5mm mechanical pencil is good for rough lines, and a small kiridashi or scalpel gives you precise marks to saw or plane to.
a good vice for workholding is handy or go traditional and use a Japanese planing board. If you go vice get something rigid to mount it to, the triton super jaws are surprisingly good for this sort of thing if you have a bit of space.
finishing is then sandpaper until you get good enough to finish off the plane.
Some of the tools are visible in the pic below.
If I were to select one helpful real workshop tool for this type of project it would be a proper drill press for cutting tang holes in wa and for pin-holes in western handles. I've seen power drill attachments that have a plunge action, but they all look v crappy to me - so I've never tried one. Perhaps someone has had luck with one of those plunging things... But yeah - drilling straight can be a challenge and is critical.
Yeah, it's possible. I use a Hand plane and Hand drill for most of my handle build.
I cut all of my wood using a Japanese Ryoba and Dozuki. I have Kanna plane, Jack plane, Block plane and Smoothing plane for shaping the handle.
I cut all of my wood using a Japanese Ryoba and Dozuki. I have Kanna plane, Jack plane, Block plane and Smoothing plane for shaping the handle.
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tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
How do you align your drill hole?
drill block and bench vise
inferno
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) <*))))><
nym
What is are Wa handles ? Too many acronyms everywhere, everyday. What's wrong with the whole word?
Wa is the traditional Japanese handle with a hidden tang. As opposed to Western with exposed tang and scales
Wa on top. Western on bottom
Wa is a word not an acronym. See @stringer's explanation above. I believe yo is the word for a western handle.
tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
holy crap that spine.
Deba. About 8 mm.
Wa- means Japanese style. where Yo- means Western style. Wa-Shoku means Japanese-style food whereas Yo-Shoku means Western-style food.
i think it's from Wa-Shiki and Yo-Shiki
i think it's from Wa-Shiki and Yo-Shiki
About the planes. Do I need all of them?
Nope, if you need one plane it would be the No 4 Smoothing. Block plane would be a nice addition for chamfering.
Colton put out a book on making wa handle with hand tools. You can also look at his blog, but go ahead and spend a few bucks to support his trade.
Colton hand crafted wa handles
Colton hand crafted wa handles
I'd forgotten about this recommendation until @Dr. T's post today about hand making handles.
Support extended and book ordered.
This cutesy little thing is a 101 size Stanley plane which I picked up about 6 months ago, and might as well have been custom designed for making knife handles. Along with a saw, sandpaper, and a vise/clamp, you be golden.
I haven't actually made a handle with it yet tbh, but maybe I'll sharpen the blade up a bit and give a go soon...
I haven't actually made a handle with it yet tbh, but maybe I'll sharpen the blade up a bit and give a go soon...
tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
Got 2 more I just completed shaping. It's slow going with sandpaper, but the slow removal helps me maintain more precise dimensioning. My first WA handle took over 10hrs. These 2 still need a bit higher sanding, edges rounded off, and oiling, but should be done in a couple more hours. The process has become more efficient bringing my total time down to maybe 7hr for a handle, with plenty of room left for additional improvement.
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Carl Kotte
Senior Member
I just completed cracking a handle I put on a knife 13 months ago. 
With the help of a friendly mod this thread from 2011 has been restored. In it I posted my original how to, which was the result of a bit of experimentation and then a lightbulb moment for how to simplify the slot making process.
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/tang-slot.2244/
Seems to be the defacto method nowadays, but when I posted I’d never seen or heard of it before.
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/tang-slot.2244/
Seems to be the defacto method nowadays, but when I posted I’d never seen or heard of it before.
I honestly think it would be pretty easy. And also save time with sanding, and etc. A plane can give such a great finish.A small plane is what I was thinking too. I reckon if I did give it a try it'd be another thing to learn to sharpen.
How big are the pieces you're starting with? Also what kind of bolster do you plan to use? I image the bolster will be the main thing to get in the way.
Oh. I just realized how old this thread was. 
Carl Kotte
Senior Member
I fixed it! Here’s to another 13 months! (Only this time, I made a ferrule).I just completed cracking a handle I put on a knife 13 months ago.
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FERRRRRRULLLLLE!
tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
How did you manage to crack it like that?
