tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
I picked up a knife a little while back with one of those basic wenge/horn handles, similar to the recent batch of Myojin's at Homebutcher. It felt cheap and absolutely horrible. The finish on the facets looked and felt like plastic, similar to something that came straight off of a CNC machine. The wood also came with some weird shiny hard flat coating that only added to this feeling. But the knife was cheap, so I thought whatever.
Fast forward, I've been working on some custom handles, and while testing out some new products I purchased, decided to experiment on this handle I cared little about anyways. So I rounded many of the sharp edges around the handle and ferrule, hand sanded the horn up to the highest grit I have available, stripped off the factory surface of the wood, resanding it to 220 and applied a couple thin layers of hardwax oil.
The results were surprising to me. Simply modifying the finish on the handle has really brought new life to it. Gone is the plastic dollar store look and feel. The wood now has a warm, slightly grippy texture, and the smooth polished horn comfortably molds to my pinch grip. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's as nice as a handle made from high quality hardwoods, but it's a significant step up from where it started. So to those who might have one of these plain wenge handles on your new knife and hate it, maybe consider screwing with it for the better.
Fast forward, I've been working on some custom handles, and while testing out some new products I purchased, decided to experiment on this handle I cared little about anyways. So I rounded many of the sharp edges around the handle and ferrule, hand sanded the horn up to the highest grit I have available, stripped off the factory surface of the wood, resanding it to 220 and applied a couple thin layers of hardwax oil.
The results were surprising to me. Simply modifying the finish on the handle has really brought new life to it. Gone is the plastic dollar store look and feel. The wood now has a warm, slightly grippy texture, and the smooth polished horn comfortably molds to my pinch grip. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's as nice as a handle made from high quality hardwoods, but it's a significant step up from where it started. So to those who might have one of these plain wenge handles on your new knife and hate it, maybe consider screwing with it for the better.
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