Wine and Wood (handles)

[cotedupy]

Here's a bit of fun I had yesterday. [Disclaimer: this is the first time I've ever tried making a handle, and I only had a saw, an Opinel, some epoxy, and some sandpaper. So the results are somewhat 'rustic'.]

This is a French oak stave that has been used in winemaking. A friend of mine who is a winemaker uses them after for firewood, and I rescued one the other day. Barrels are really quite expensive, so to try to get the same effect for cheaper wines planks of oak are suspended in the wine while in tank, which absorbs their flavour. The colour is a result of absorbing, liquid, wine solids (which are very dark), and also toasting it prior to use, which intensifies the flavour. Despite the appearance this plank was completely dry, the bit at the far end is where it was suspended from, so out of the wine itself.

Thought I'd cut it up and see if I could make some blanks for wa handles. It was quite thin so I had to glue two bits together, but they turned out alright for a first effort made from a piece of scrap wood I think. You can see how the wine has soaked through certain bits of it.

But seeing as I don't have a Japanese knife atm that needs an experimental handle, I then thought I might try making some scales for this old butcher knife.

But... Oh No! After removing the bolts it seems the scales were also glued on.

[TBC below...]

 

[cotedupy]

Is there anything you can't do with a Cai Dao?

And after some whittling and sanding, here's what it ended up looking like. As I said 'rustic', but I quite like that in this kind of knife, and the colours are interesting to play around with. I'll probably tidy it up a bit further, but I don't really have the tools to do much more.

And that was my afternoon buggering about with an old piece of dirty winemaking oak.

 

[cotedupy]

Decided to use one of the blanks for the above chinese cleaver (just as well because the tang turned out to be well rusty).

Going to give it a go later and see if it needs reshaping or shortening at all.

 

[cotedupy]

And another one. This is a cheap deba that I bought to practice single bevel sharpening, and making handles (it had a really crap handle!)

I was aiming for a style of handle similarly profiled to my Blenheim Forge Knives.

End result. Tho I think I'll sand a bit more on the underside.

 

[cotedupy]

And continuing on (on the off-chance anybody is still interested ), my first attempts at basic octagonal wa handles. And another shout-out to @Carl Kotte for excellent tips and advice for complete amateurs like myself.

This is the same old oak staves, and then some pine kindling used for the ferrule, next to a Mazaki petty for size reference.

Then another couple. The first I used pine again for the ferrule, and was about to for the second when I was called on to chop up a bit of wood which didn't fit in our fire. It's apparently 'Pink Gum' a very hard Australian Eucalypt species. It didn't look like much tbh (pic attached), and also like it had come from a fire-damaged tree. I don't know if that affected the outcome, but either way when sanded and polished it turned out to be extraordinary looking stuff, kind of like wine coloured marble.

And here are the three together. The larger two are quite big atm, so may need some more sanding / re-sizing depending on the knife they eventually go on.

 

[juice]

'Pink Gum' a very hard Australian Eucalypt species.

That's kickarse

 

[cotedupy]

That's kickarse

Cheers! It is quite cool isn't it, I couldn't believe what it ended up looking like. This is it while it was being glued and clamped.

 

[juice]

Yeah, it looks awesome

 

[cotedupy]

Probably be a completely nightmare to make the hole for a tang, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

 

[juice]

Probably be a completely nightmare to make the hole for a tang, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

One step at a time, or something

 

[Matt Jacobs]

I am really impressed based on the tools you have at hand to do this with.

 

[cotedupy]

I am really impressed based on the tools you have at hand to do this with.

Ah thanks! Largely down to some good advice from Carl K on how to do things with the bare minimum of kit.

As a postscript to this- after a bit of research it looks like 'Pink Gum' is what my father-in-law calls Rose Gum. And also it might not be that anyway, it looks more like pictures of Red Gum, which we also sometimes get for firewood.

 

[juice]

As a postscript to this- after a bit of research it looks like 'Pink Gum' is what my father-in-law calls Rose Gum. And also it might not be that anyway, it looks more like pictures of Red Gum, which we also sometimes get for firewood.

Just different shades of the same thing

 

[cotedupy]

Just different shades of the same thing

Are they?

(As you can tell I'm still trying to get my head around Australian tree species. See also the thread where I made a chopping board out of some kind of Ironbark and it turned out to be like cutting on marble :/ )

 

[juice]

Are they?

Well, if I was FORCED to be honest - no idea. I was making a joke based on the similar colours

(As you can tell I'm still trying to get my head around Australian tree species. See also the thread where I made a chopping board out of some kind of Ironbark and it turned out to be like cutting on marble :/ )

The clue is in the name

Lots of our timbers are hard, it seems. (Caveat: as you can tell, though, I'm no expert :-D

 

[cotedupy]

Well, if I was FORCED to be honest - no idea. I was making a joke based on the similar colours


The clue is in the name

Lots of our timbers are hard, it seems. (Caveat: as you can tell, though, I'm no expert :-D

Ha! Yes, the name might've been a bit of a giveaway I admit.

 

[cotedupy]

Ended up putting it on one of my Chinese cleavers. Looks alright I think.

 

[Carl Kotte]

Hey, Don’t give me any credit! You have already surpassed me. With you and @ian it seems I’m better at giving advice than actually making handles myself... well, your wood handles are better. It’s not as if you have made any impressive hot dog bun handles yet! (Universe still has a special place for me!!!!)

 

[Carl Kotte]

Ended up putting it on one of my Chinese cleavers. Looks alright I think.

It looks crazy good!

 

[cotedupy]

It looks crazy good!

Thanks mate! I'm certainly improving, but it will be many years before I master a truly fine bun-handle. I like the sesame seed highlights here, but it just doesn't feel right in my hand. I don't think it rose enough to get the authentically 'squishy' texture of the best Swedish examples.

 

[Carl Kotte]

Thanks mate! I'm certainly improving, but it will be many years before I master a truly fine bun-handle. I like the sesame seed highlights here, but it just doesn't feel right in my hand. I don't think it rose enough to get the authentically 'squishy' texture of the best Swedish examples.

Holy smokes, that looks amazing.

now I will have to sue you

 

[juice]

"Next up, The Beige Lion versus the Aussie Pom! Twelve rounds! Place your bets now!"

 

[birdsfan]

Really awesome work! I love that ferrule wood, great color and contrast. And something about using the old wine barrel staves is poetic, synergistic. How did you end up doing the tang slot?

 

[cotedupy]

Really awesome work!

Cheers!

How did you end up doing the tang slot?

Err... in a word... 'badly'.

I don't have a bench clamp so end up just holding them in my hand and trying to drill a few holes by eye, a bit of filing, and then epoxy-ing the tang in.

The latest cleaver actually went quite well (by which I mean the knife actually stayed in the hole without the epoxy, rather than it just being a massive hole filled with a feck-ton of resin!)

 

[birdsfan]

Still amazing what you accomplished with a limited tool selection!

 

[cotedupy]

Thank you all!

Made another today, trying out a spacer from a bit of pine, and with the ferrule definitely from Rose Gum this time rather than Red Gum.

It went well, tho this picture possibly flatters it slightly.

 

[Carl Kotte]

I retire

 

[ModRQC]

No biggie @Carl Kotte all those other handles are just way too not beige!

 

[birdsfan]

Excellent work! Soon you will b able to quit your day job (and pick up all of Karl's work, since he is retiring)

 

[Carl Kotte]

Excellent work! Soon you will b able to quit your day job (and pick up all of Karl's work, since he is retiring)

That’s what sea said