I wrote this in the other thread, but as it got wordy and long winded I figured it really didn't belong there.
I find it interesting how Japanese, throw away, WA handle construction philosophy morphed when it intersected with western makers that started making Japanese style knives. Japanese makers, in general, used to treat handles as an after thought, a replaceable, cheap and temporary part that gets used up and replaced. The focus is on the blade and the handle is there for convenience and not expected to last as long as the blade. In light of this, handles are burned in, held mostly by friction, sometimes beeswax is used to increase friction, and are easy to replace. The material used is soft and not durable, it is left untreated so overtime it discolors, scratches, dents and eventually gets replaced. The handles are also cheap and are just utilitarian, the wood is plain and doesn't look as anything special. Basically, no one seems to care about the handles, they are all basically the same. An interesting side effect of this construction is that the knife becomes somewhat customizable since the handle can be moved closer or further from the choil of the blade.
Now, when western makers got into the game they brought their philosophy of western handle making to WA handles. We start seeing much more effort and focus being given to the handles. They are functionally similar, but different woods and materials are used. We see metal and other spacers, treated woods, acrylics, ferrules made out of metals or composites, etc. The attachments are often permanent with either epoxy or nut on the end of the threaded tang, or pin through the tang. The handle now is meant to be permanent and expected to last as long as the rest of the knife, much more time and effort is spent on it. This creates an interesting paradigm, these handles are often very beautiful and will last for the life of the knife, but they are also often heavy and slippery, they can mess with the balance of the knife making it a lot more handle heavy and heavier over all. The maker now needs to consider how to correctly balance the knife, something Japanese makers are unlikely to ever think about since traditional WA handles are so light. These handles sometimes have sharp corners, due to materials used and octagonal or hexagonal shapes of hard ferrules.
On western ergonomically shaped handles using permanent attachment and durable materials makes a lot of sense. For one the grip is often different and handles are difficult to change. On cooking knives that are mostly held in pinch or similar grip the handle doesn't need to be elaborate from a functional standpoint since it is not held fully, it is there as a counter balance and counter weight to some degree. I wonder if different handle making philosophies came from relative scarcity of steel in Japan vs Europe in the past.
Recently we see a move to the middle of sorts, more and more western makers use hot glue as semi-permanent attachment and are staying away from heavier materials. Focus seems to be more on the blade than the handle in a way. In any case, some of my observations from messing around with a lot of different knives.
I find it interesting how Japanese, throw away, WA handle construction philosophy morphed when it intersected with western makers that started making Japanese style knives. Japanese makers, in general, used to treat handles as an after thought, a replaceable, cheap and temporary part that gets used up and replaced. The focus is on the blade and the handle is there for convenience and not expected to last as long as the blade. In light of this, handles are burned in, held mostly by friction, sometimes beeswax is used to increase friction, and are easy to replace. The material used is soft and not durable, it is left untreated so overtime it discolors, scratches, dents and eventually gets replaced. The handles are also cheap and are just utilitarian, the wood is plain and doesn't look as anything special. Basically, no one seems to care about the handles, they are all basically the same. An interesting side effect of this construction is that the knife becomes somewhat customizable since the handle can be moved closer or further from the choil of the blade.
Now, when western makers got into the game they brought their philosophy of western handle making to WA handles. We start seeing much more effort and focus being given to the handles. They are functionally similar, but different woods and materials are used. We see metal and other spacers, treated woods, acrylics, ferrules made out of metals or composites, etc. The attachments are often permanent with either epoxy or nut on the end of the threaded tang, or pin through the tang. The handle now is meant to be permanent and expected to last as long as the rest of the knife, much more time and effort is spent on it. This creates an interesting paradigm, these handles are often very beautiful and will last for the life of the knife, but they are also often heavy and slippery, they can mess with the balance of the knife making it a lot more handle heavy and heavier over all. The maker now needs to consider how to correctly balance the knife, something Japanese makers are unlikely to ever think about since traditional WA handles are so light. These handles sometimes have sharp corners, due to materials used and octagonal or hexagonal shapes of hard ferrules.
On western ergonomically shaped handles using permanent attachment and durable materials makes a lot of sense. For one the grip is often different and handles are difficult to change. On cooking knives that are mostly held in pinch or similar grip the handle doesn't need to be elaborate from a functional standpoint since it is not held fully, it is there as a counter balance and counter weight to some degree. I wonder if different handle making philosophies came from relative scarcity of steel in Japan vs Europe in the past.
Recently we see a move to the middle of sorts, more and more western makers use hot glue as semi-permanent attachment and are staying away from heavier materials. Focus seems to be more on the blade than the handle in a way. In any case, some of my observations from messing around with a lot of different knives.
