A full handle would be great looking. really like the blue ferrule you made
Show us your sticks (finished handle projects)...
- Thread starter cotedupy
- Start date
Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:
A full handle would be great looking. really like the blue ferrule you made
Just a couple of recent projects I have been tinkering with.....
Did a western wa for my TF Mab. The handle body is dyed and stabilized curly maple with a stainless steel spacer and horn ferule. The saya is also curly maple which was tnited with dyed resin and heat set. Wish the sun was out so you could really see the chatoyance. Curly maple is rapidly becoming one of my favorite woods!
The Masakage Koishi got a similar shaped western wa. This one made from stabilized African mahogany with a brass face plate. The saya was cut from the same block as the handle. You can see how much darker the resin tints the wood. I used this one at work last week and had forgotten what a good cutter it was, and how well this AS held an edge.
Did a western wa for my TF Mab. The handle body is dyed and stabilized curly maple with a stainless steel spacer and horn ferule. The saya is also curly maple which was tnited with dyed resin and heat set. Wish the sun was out so you could really see the chatoyance. Curly maple is rapidly becoming one of my favorite woods!
The Masakage Koishi got a similar shaped western wa. This one made from stabilized African mahogany with a brass face plate. The saya was cut from the same block as the handle. You can see how much darker the resin tints the wood. I used this one at work last week and had forgotten what a good cutter it was, and how well this AS held an edge.
Hah....that I have, Greg. I have a lot of knives. And once I put a handle and saya on 'em, I get too attached to sell them. When is the next Knife Anonymous meeting? "My name is Fred and I am powerless against the draw of new gyutos......Wait....Heiji western on BST?!? " Maybe I will make the next meeting...
Last edited:
I just learned a new term! Very cool, thanks. Maple is great for that (and awesome figuring in general) but I've got a little Walnut heartwood that can duel with Maple on a good day.
Walnut is a beautiful wood as well. Nice to work with too! Havent done a handle in it yet, but I have done a number of sayas. Would love to see some stuff you've done with that heartwood!
Here ya go mate.Walnut is a beautiful wood as well. Nice to work with too! Havent done a handle in it yet, but I have done a number of sayas. Would love to see some stuff you've done with that heartwood!
Attachments
NICE! Really beautiful grain features!
Thanks! It looks twice as good in hand when you roll it slightly; the different grains change shades as they move. Very chatoyancey.
Hah! Now i learned a new word! Chatoyancey!
Your work is getting ever more sophisticated. What a wonderful job.
Could you guys that are making wa handles tell me what size blank you start out with? I’m making a new mold for epoxy resin and I’m going to be experimenting with wood and epoxy layers. My current mold and my current wood layered handles that are made without a mold start out at 1”x1”x6”. That size won’t work for a wa handle or on a larger knife. Thanks. -Greg
Actually....for a standard octo wa, that is exactly the size I start with.
No kidding? Wow! I have always thought that I was starting with a smaller blank than what would be needed for a wa. Using that size blank for my Japanese style oval handles they end up fairly narrow in hand. My wife really likes the size but it’s a bit thin for me. Now that I think about it, making a wa requires a lot less material removal so I guess it makes sense. Well, before I make a new mold I’ll make my first wa handle and see how that goes. Thanks for the input, it’s much appreciated.
Pleasure to help a fellow handle enthusiast! Yup....a lot less stock removal. All I typically have to do is cut it to length for balance weight, grind down to the desired tapers and sand in the chamfers.
So, just realized that while I’ve participated in this thread admiring everyone’s work I’ve never actually posted any of mine. For some reason when this thread started, I thought it was only about wa handle making. Anyway, here are some of my handles that I’ve made in the last year.
Last edited:
Sorry for the duplicates, I was having trouble posting with my phone.
Fixed the duplication problem and changed up some of the pictures. I should add that I also made the knives and letter openers that are also shown in some of the pictures.
The epoxy resin handles look much better in real life. If anyone is interested the spacers are 1” aluminum mini blinds turned towards and away from each other to form the pattern and placed before the epoxy is poured into the mold.
Fixed the duplication problem and changed up some of the pictures. I should add that I also made the knives and letter openers that are also shown in some of the pictures.
The epoxy resin handles look much better in real life. If anyone is interested the spacers are 1” aluminum mini blinds turned towards and away from each other to form the pattern and placed before the epoxy is poured into the mold.
Last edited:
Caleb Cox
Senior Member
A man who loves a spacer so much, they become the whole handle. Bravo.
So, having more time I went back and reposted the pictures to get rid of the duplicates. I had a heck of a time as they kept showing up twice. Then when I tried to delete the duplicates it would delete both of the pictures as if there was only one posted. Anyway, I know these are all similar in design, which is why I’m going to start working on wa handles and some other ideas I have floating around in my head.
Some beautiful work there!
Thank you.
Thank you!
I finished this ensemble the other day for my Heiji 270. I used cherry burl for the handle that I scored from @Chang and a disk of Aussie redgum generously provided by @cotedupy squeezed between 2 copper spacers with some g10. Despite the weight of the spacers, the balance point is still blade forward. I found a nice piece of reclaimed cherry for the saya. It has a lovely grain and streaks of color that nicely match the handle material inlay. The grain almost mimics a blade bevel...
tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
I love that splash of wood going across the saya
Thanks Tostadas! I had a little handle wood left over and I have lately enjoyed making sayas that match my handles. It makes the knife look even more bada$$ when you pull it out of your bag.
I think I had posted a picture of my Myojin in another thread, so I apologize for the redundancy. That said, I just finished the matching saya, and I think this wood is really freaking cool looking, so it deserves a show off. The handle is myrtle burl, the saya is myrtle. It has some curl in it, and some awesome color variation. As is my habit, I put an inlay of the handle material so they would compliment each other better. (and when I get older I will know which saya goes with which knife)
KitchenCommander
Well-Known Member
Western handles apply to this thread?
Some low cost carbons that I did last week. 240 suji, 180 Misono Santoku with a spine reprofile, and a Forgecraft boning knife.
The Suji and Misono are in matching Koa wood un-stabilized that I brought back from a trip to Hawaii. The Forgecraft is Bocote. Couldn't help but cut something with the top two before I got photos, since I did a thinning and refinish on them and really wanted to see how they did on some food.
Some low cost carbons that I did last week. 240 suji, 180 Misono Santoku with a spine reprofile, and a Forgecraft boning knife.
The Suji and Misono are in matching Koa wood un-stabilized that I brought back from a trip to Hawaii. The Forgecraft is Bocote. Couldn't help but cut something with the top two before I got photos, since I did a thinning and refinish on them and really wanted to see how they did on some food.
