A new handle that I made out of olive and ebony for my Mazaki nakiri.
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Tidy! And nice way to achieve the handle taper towards the blade. Always a puzzle with octagonal handles.
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.
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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.Do you use dowels for a one-piece…?
Appreciate it Oli! There's one more slated for my cleaver, but still needs a bit more work.
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.
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.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!]
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.What kind of surface finish do you use? It is nice and satin shiny, classy.
Sandpaper grit? Oil type?
Not a handle but my first ever saya! If you have any tips or tricks please let me know
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View attachment 299659Not a handle but my first ever saya! If you have any tips or tricks please let me know
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Ello ello ello, this looks rather tasty!English Walnut is a really lovely species for knife handles in terms of feel and texture - basically perfect. But while it's quite nice to look at, it's rarely particularly interesting; sometimes has some nice streaky colour contrast, though the grain isn’t often very featured, and there's almost never any figure.
The tree that supplied our latest batch at work however was f-ing stunning. This is an offcut I grabbed today:
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(I'm certainly going to be making a handle for myself from it, but @PeterL - give a shout if you'd like me to save you a bit. This wood is next-level pretty, and it'll look great with mottled horn...)
Hell of a first handle. Awesome job.First Wa handle. Birdseye maple and walnut. Vulcanized spacers.
Block after epoxy:
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Finished handle:
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After some oil and wax:
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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.
This!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.
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