Thanks buddy!
Tanaka Sekiso Wa to Yo handle conversion
- Thread starter ma_sha1
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Thanks buddy!
Tim Rowland
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Looks awesome.
Nice work.
Nice work.
Wow, as others have said - beautiful work
Certainly not everyday you see a wa to yo conversion, especially with Damascus bolster. Really neat
Thanks guys, much appreciated. I had lot of fun doing this, learned a lot along the way.
I am thinking about re-handle this guy again. I was going for the Maumasi/David Lisch pregnant goldfish look but didn’t quite get there, it’s a bit skinny & the side didn’t have enough curve.
What do you think will fit the knife the best, if only look at the wooden part of the handle? The Damascus bolster will not get changed.
1, Maumasi; 2, David Lisch, 3, David Lisch 4, Maumasi again, this time with the brass/black G10 spacers.
What do you think will fit the knife the best, if only look at the wooden part of the handle? The Damascus bolster will not get changed.
1, Maumasi; 2, David Lisch, 3, David Lisch 4, Maumasi again, this time with the brass/black G10 spacers.
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Just discovered this WIP thread via the link in the BST post. What an awesome project, great work! Very inspiring...haven't done a rehandle in a long time, might have to start up again 
Just discovered this WIP thread via the link in the BST post. What an awesome project, great work! Very inspiring...haven't done a rehandle in a long time, might have to start up again
Thanks buddy, much appreciated
Honestly, I wouldn't touch it. It looks just about perfect the way it is. But that's probably not gonna stop you ?
Why not buy another Tanaka dammy with a basic handle for cheap and do another one? Maybe a 240?
That should move easily on BST if you nail the conversion like with this one, should you not want to keep it that is.
?Why not buy another Tanaka dammy with a basic handle for cheap and do another one? Maybe a 240?
That should move easily on BST if you nail the conversion like with this one, should you not want to keep it that is.
Honestly, I wouldn't touch it. It looks just about perfect the way it is. But that's probably not gonna stop you
Why not buy another Tanaka dammy with a basic handle for cheap and do another one? Maybe a 240?
That should move easily on BST if you nail the conversion like with this one, should you not want to keep it that is.
Thanks, and that’s solid advice as well, I am hesitating in starting over also, but one thing for sure that I won’t do another Tanaka. The B2 Sekiso cheaper basic 210 is never available, the only model available is with the Colorful handle To Go version, $309 for a 210, at this point, I learned that people are not accepting expensive Tanaka.
I agree that paying over $300, a $100 premium for a handle that's getting scrapped anyways, doesn't make much sense.
These used to be available from lots of places, but do indeed seem to have become more scarce.
These used to be available from lots of places, but do indeed seem to have become more scarce.
Honestly, I wouldn't touch it. It looks just about perfect the way it is. But that's probably not gonna stop you
It’s either that Garm can predict future or I might have a serious problem with wanting to destroy beautiful things? I woke up this morning, & this happened
Noooo.. 
You may just be right about having a problem.
Hopefully the next handle will become what you're aiming for.
You may just be right about having a problem.Hopefully the next handle will become what you're aiming for.
LOL....I would have bet on it. So what did you do there, just cut underneath the tang and belt sand to create a dowel of sorts?
Yes, that’s exactly what I did. It’s much easier 2nd time around, just need a big hole now.
You must have a karelian birch forest in your backyard. Are you going to shape the handle blade on or off?
I wish, It’s been my fave for sure but I am running out, they only come from Russia. The last one took 3 month to arrive. It doesn’t help that I always hand-pick the patterns, & order one at a time.
I shape the handle roughly, then do most shaping on the knife after gluing.
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Here is a quick preview of the handle before heading into hand sanding stage.
The main difference is the 3D curve. Previous handle started from a block that wasn’t thick enough, prevented me from sculpting the side. The new handle has curves from all angles.
However, more important than the looks is the function, in order to gain the ideal balance that I desire, the rat tail was cut short & the wooden tail was kept slim.
The main difference is the 3D curve. Previous handle started from a block that wasn’t thick enough, prevented me from sculpting the side. The new handle has curves from all angles.
However, more important than the looks is the function, in order to gain the ideal balance that I desire, the rat tail was cut short & the wooden tail was kept slim.
Link to a 360 video of the handle, showing the curves from different angles:
Handle 360 view
Handle 360 view
Beautiful work! That birch really does have some very interesting grain figuring!
Thanks buddy!
This one is actually a piece of two-tone elm burl. I was aiming for a white tail/dark body look but some of the contrast got lost. I think for color & contrast to stay true during handle-making, it needs to be treated wood, lessons learned. However, I prefer untreated wood because it’s less slippery
Here is what the block looks like before:
It’s not yet finished, look like it needs much higher than 600 grit for the burl patterns to stay when dry. Also need to redo etching of the bolster to get the dammy back.
But I want to use it for a few meals first to test the comfort, in case I need to tweak the belly size. I finally got the big round belly, just need to make sure it isn’t isn’t too big before I do final steps.
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I agree with you. I like the feel of the untreated wood much better. You can take it to 1000 and it still has some grippiness to it. The stabilized wood gets to feel plasticy after 500.
The balance point in the picture looked perfect. Hopefully it fits your hand well!
The balance point in the picture looked perfect. Hopefully it fits your hand well!
So what's the next project?
I’ve been wanting a 210 Misono dragon for a while but the dragon only comes on 240 gyuto or larger, the 210 comes with lousy flowers
No rush, my knife block is full. With a self-imposed rule of one-in one-out, I’ll be having a real hard time if I make another knife.
I have an old Dragon Suji, they look bad ass. Now I know that what you are telling me is true, But I think I saw a Misono 210 with a dragon advertised on E-bay . Perhaps a vintage? I paused on it and opened the ad to check, and it was listed as a 210....with the Dragon. I will see if I can find it.
Really? Lemme know if you can find it, I’ve never seen one with dragon smaller than 240, except on garasuki
It says 210.....but the picture sure does look like a 240 right?
Thanks! Just sent the seller a question to confirm, hope it’s not a generic stock photo.
Yes, it does. Likely a stock photo, but if he has a real 210 with dragon, it’ll save me a lot of work. I’ve previously concluded that they do not exist, I hope I am wrong thou.
