# Apparently I can make a wa handle now.



## ThEoRy

Took a shot at it and this was the result of my first attempt.

The materials used were buffalo horn for the ferrule and end cap, nickle silver spacers and dyed Oregon maple burl from burl source.































And here it is mounted on my Tanaka R2 pm 210mm wa gyuto.











And here it is with my Tanaka 300mm damascus yanagiba with Stephan Keller handle.














So that's it, my first attempt at a wa handle. Questions and comments are welcome and thanks for viewing.


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## SousVideLoca

Nice work!


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## aboynamedsuita

Looks nice Rick! Before I scrolled down to the Yanagi I was gonna say it reminded me of that one too.

Also just noticed that it's described as 30mm Yanagi (not 300mm or 30cm)


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## chinacats

Nice job, the handle looks great! I also find it impressive that your Tanaka has not turned into a suji by now...that R2 must be some awesome steel.


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## ThEoRy

tjangula said:


> Looks nice Rick! Before I scrolled down to the Yanagi I was gonna say it reminded me of that one too.
> 
> Also just noticed that it's described as 30mm Yanagi (not 300mm or 30cm)



Yeah, I meant 300mm. Stupid keyboard!


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## brianh

Awesome. What epoxy did you mount it with? Pic?


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## daveb

Thats a lot of eyes watching you use the Tanaka.

Looks good.

And I just grew the Yani for you. No charge.


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## ThEoRy

brianh said:


> Awesome. What epoxy did you mount it with? Pic?



I used devcon 2 ton 30 minute epoxy for the handle glue up. Then to mount it I used the same stuff but I dyed it black.


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## Mute-on

Yeah, you sure can!

Nice job. Orders to follow


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## TurboScooter

Wow. Super nice, especially for a first attempt - if you didn't say, I don't think you could tell.

What did you use to dye the epoxy black? The purpose made dyes or something like carbon black?


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## YG420

Great job! Taking any orders?


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## Chicagohawkie

Was this your first try? Damb! Ya, it seems like you got this nailed! Great work!


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## ThEoRy

TurboScooter said:


> Wow. Super nice, especially for a first attempt - if you didn't say, I don't think you could tell.
> 
> What did you use to dye the epoxy black? The purpose made dyes or something like carbon black?



The dye I used is called "castin' craft color pigment concentrate" it also says "for coloring polyester and epoxy resins" I have black, white and red.


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## Bill13

Rick,
Did you keep track of your hours? I'm guessing first time=4 hours minimium:biggrin:


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## ThEoRy

No I lost track of time though I believe it was more than that.


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## Bill13

I can believe that, it looks amazing. You were bold to start with such nice wood, and 2 metal spacers. Your sides are a bit longer that Keller's - was that intentional?

When I think about making a handle my first thought is no metal followed by a cheaper piece of wood.


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## Chuckles

Looks really nice Rick.


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## Dave Martell

You made that looks easy....and I know it's not. Great work Rick!


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## katana110

sandwich handle&#65281;


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## ThEoRy

And now for my next number.

Blocked.






Shaped.






Sized up.






Sanded.












Mounted upon my wife's 165mm R2 Tanaka Santoku.


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## jessf

You've got the shining.


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## Mucho Bocho

Nice Rick. You got this!


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## Marek07

One could have viewed your first handle as beginner's luck. Now with your second you've blown that out of the water. Stunning work! Hard to believe you're new to this.

If you are taking orders, I'm in the queue.


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## ThEoRy

Thanks guys. I've got one more in the works for the next week or so.


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## daddy yo yo

Very impressive! Respect!


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## Rubix3

Stunning work!


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## James

Nice work! Really churning them out too.


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## ThEoRy

Ebony and elforyn. Mounted on my Konosuke HD 240mm wa gyuto.


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## Bill13

Good grief, another few days go by and Rick cranks out another outstanding handle. It gives me hope for the wood blocks I have been collecting.


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## jessf

Where did you get the elfish material from? The Shire?


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## ThEoRy

Rivendale.


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## preizzo

Nice looking handle on the kono


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## ThEoRy

Working on #4 right now and it's really kicking my ass.


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## apicius9

ThEoRy said:


> Working on #4 right now and it's really kicking my ass.



Reality catching up with you? 

Stefan


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## ThEoRy

Yeah I was living in a dream world. #4 was a failure. While drilling the extremely deep tang hole it must have gotten too hot and the epoxy failed at the ferrule joint. Sucks because I had that wood planned for this project for a few years. It was to go on my Gesshin Hide 210mm kamagata usuba. Going to have to be on the lookout for a new block. Kind of a shame but it's a learning process so I'm surprisingly not upset.


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## apicius9

ThEoRy said:


> Yeah I was living in a dream world. #4 was a failure. While drilling the extremely deep tang hole it must have gotten too hot and the epoxy failed at the ferrule joint. Sucks because I had that wood planned for this project for a few years. It was to go on my Gesshin Hide 210mm kamagata usuba. Going to have to be on the lookout for a new block. Kind of a shame but it's a learning process so I'm surprisingly not upset.



Sorry to hear that. Quite often you can just take the pieces apart again, clean them up and start over - wouldn't that work here?

Stefan


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## ThEoRy

apicius9 said:


> Sorry to hear that. Quite often you can just take the pieces apart again, clean them up and start over - wouldn't that work here?
> 
> Stefan



Yeah I had a change of heart, dug it out of the trash and am giving it a second go. Not sure whats going to happen but it's worth a shot.


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## Matus

Do not give up on a nice piece of wood


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## NO ChoP!

Dude, that has happened to me more than once. At the very worst, I ended up with a smaller handle then planned, and I used it on a smaller knife.


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## ThEoRy

Back at it again today. Everything glued back up last night and waited for it to cure before drilling again. I wasn't happy with the shape so I re belt sanded it first to fix some wonkiness then I started drilling the tang hole again. Things started getting warm so I've backed off and am letting it rest before I continue. It's a really deep tang hole mind you. Longer and wider than the one on my kono hd and that's saying something as that sucker was long. 

Next problem is going to be filing out the tang slot so the tang can fit. The last one took me over an hour. I must need some faster needle files or something. I've ordered some from amazon but they have yet to arrive. Hoping they do and that they work well.


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## Matus

Check out the needle rasps on brisa.fi These were recommended to me and I plan on buying a few of these for this very purpose.


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## apicius9

Needle rasps are the way to go. Woodcraft had them in the US but they only sell the set now, not the individual ones which is a shame. With the flat one and the square one you can file what you need. I am still looking for a new source myself, maybe I have to consider Brisa. A for the drilling: Have you thought about predrilling pieces before gluing them? Even if you only do smaller starter holes, it should be easier and produce less heat. I always predrill the deep tang slots, makes it much easier. 

Stefan


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## Castalia

How about a broach? http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/838734-Make-yourself-some-broaches

Instead of making one, there is always just using a jigsaw blade attached to something long and thin. 

Or this


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## Dave Martell

Needle rasps are my preferred method as well. Only problem is metal spacers, they kill the rasps quickly.


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## Castalia

These are called broaches but they look like thin long square files. Should not have a problem with metal.


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## apicius9

This is what we need:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/695049-Power-broach?p=7537995#post7537995

Stefan


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## Graydo77

I ended up taking taking a 1/4" chisel and taking it down to 3/32" then taking it to the stones to clean it up. I got tired of working with needle files that just didn't do the job well.

https://flic.kr/p/KLjGzC


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## ThEoRy

Well I'm slowly filing away now. A long process for sure. Though I think some tang modification will be in order. Needs to be a few mm shorter length wise and a few mm shorter height wise. I have to do this because if I widen the tang slot as far as the tang currently is I'm afraid its a little too close to the edges. This is because the horn ferrule had a crack in it that I had to grind out making the ferrule a little bit slimmer than it should be. One problem at a time it seems with this project. Hope it's all worth it in the end.


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## ThEoRy

apicius9 said:


> This is what we need:
> 
> http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/695049-Power-broach?p=7537995#post7537995
> 
> Stefan


That's what I've been thinking. but I would need a jig saw too though.


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## ThEoRy

**** you handle, I win!


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## jimbob

Yes you do!


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## Marek07

Well done! From trash can to trophy cabinet.
Persistence pays off... in time.


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## Matus

That looks fantastic, congrats!


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## ThEoRy

Yeah I'm really glad this one is over. Think I'll take a break for now.


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## Mute-on

Maybe try a saya for a change of pace?


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## ThEoRy

I've made a couple of those already. One for my Martell 240mm wagyuto and one for my Tanaka 300mm sakimaru takobiki. Both from walnut. Came out really nice.


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## ThEoRy

Here is my fifth wa handle made from koa, buffalo horn and fiber spacers. This one is mounted on my Yoshikane 90mm semi stainless pairing knife.


































Please feel free to comment or ask any questions.


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## Mute-on

Very nice handle there, Rick. Not much to improve on from my perspective. Refined, clean and great material choice. 

Cheers

J


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## chinacats

Nice handle Rick! In addition to really liking Koa handles, I really like the profile of that Yoshikane parer. :knife:


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## Mucho Bocho

You make it look easy Rick. Looks pro


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## ThEoRy

Yeah, I'm really seeing the appeal in Koa. The camera can't capture the real beauty in it's movement. This piece has a very parallax 3d look I'm kinda stupid because I don't remember where I got it from. I want to say Rogue 108 but I'm not sure. The knife was purchased about 3 years ago from Maxim and originally came with a burnt chestnut handle. 

After I glued all the pieces up I was unsure about the design choice but upon completion I'm really digging the fiber spacer combo. Starting to run out of knives here.


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## Matus

Do you actually use a dowel inside the handle or you glue the parts and then drill the opening for the tang? One way or another - the results look fantastic. I really like how nicely and evenly the edges at the bottom of the handle are rounded.


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## Charon

As I understood using metal spaces is difficult. They heat up alot. 

The handle looks great. Good proportions, nice color scheme. 
How much time did you spent making it?


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## ThEoRy

Matus said:


> Do you actually use a dowel inside the handle or you glue the parts and then drill the opening for the tang? One way or another - the results look fantastic. I really like how nicely and evenly the edges at the bottom of the handle are rounded.



Thanks. Yes there is a 3/8" dowel connecting the 3 spacers and the ferrule. After everything is glued up and cured (24 hours) I drill the tang hole 1/4" wide and as deep as the tang is long. Then I use a needle file/rasp to widen the slot on both sides until the tang goes in all the way. Then the hole gets filled with dyed epoxy and the knife is inserted. 



Charon said:


> As I understood using metal spaces is difficult. They heat up alot.
> 
> The handle looks great. Good proportions, nice color scheme.
> How much time did you spent making it?



Metal spacers are easy if you have sharp tools. It's all the same construction. I did have a hard time with heat during my last handle though. Things got too hot, things went into the trash, things came out of the trash. 

On this handle it did seem as though it took much less time. Is that because it was a slightly smaller handle or because I'm getting better/more efficient with the process? Either way the time really flies when I'm down in that basement.


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## Matus

ThEoRy said:


> Thanks. Yes there is a 3/8" dowel connecting the 3 spacers and the ferrule. After everything is glued up and cured (24 hours) I drill the tang hole 1/4" wide and as deep as the tang is long. Then I use a needle file/rasp to widen the slot on both sides until the tang goes in all the way. Then the hole gets filled with dyed epoxy and the knife is inserted.



Thank you. Did you consider cutting a slot in the dowel before the glue-up? You would have none (or very little) filing left. I am also fighting when making a handle without a dowel - I usually drill 2 - 3 holes that partially overlap with 4mm grill and then finish the work with a file and it also takes for ages. It is much faster when using dowel with a slot - the catch is to make sure the slot is nicely vertical and the slot centred relative to the handle.


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## ThEoRy

Matus said:


> Thank you. Did you consider cutting a slot in the dowel before the glue-up? You would have none (or very little) filing left. I am also fighting when making a handle without a dowel - I usually drill 2 - 3 holes that partially overlap with 4mm grill and then finish the work with a file and it also takes for ages. It is much faster when using dowel with a slot - the catch is to make sure the slot is nicely vertical and the slot centred relative to the handle.



Yeah I thought about it but decided against it for the reasons stated. Besides, dowels are super soft and file fairly easily if you have the right tools. I had a fine needle file and now I have a diamond tipped needle file that cuts faster so I've been giving that a turn. This last handle had a very small tang so the slot was relatively easy to cut in.


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## Bill13

Rick, these handles you keep knocking out of the part. They get better and better, that Koa wood is stunning.


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## Matus

Matus said:


> Check out the needle rasps on brisa.fi These were recommended to me and I plan on buying a few of these for this very purpose.



Quoting my own post here. I have bought 3 needle rasps (round, square and flat) from them and it turned out that these are the Italian CORRADI raps with 160 mm length. They work very well and speed opening the handle after drilling for tang considerably. I have been using needle files, but those were slow for the job (as expected) - I even managed to break some in the process.


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## Matus

Rick, one more question. May I ask what dye do you use for the epoxy?


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## ThEoRy

It's called "Castin Craft color pigment concentrate" It also says "For coloring polyester and epoxy resins" I found it on Amazon. I don't know if that helps you because of your location. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AHGNNJ6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## Matus

Thanks, now I know what I am looking for.


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## Matus

ThEoRy said:


> It's called "Castin Craft color pigment concentrate" It also says "For coloring polyester and epoxy resins" I found it on Amazon. I don't know if that helps you because of your location. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AHGNNJ6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20



Sorry for spamming your thread, but I have to share this. I have actually found that exact 1 oz. bottle of pigment on German Amazon ... for 2.700 - I nearly fell of my chair. I mean, funny pricing can be found there sometimes, but this is just off the chart


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## HugSeal

Matus said:


> Sorry for spamming your thread, but I have to share this. I have actually found that exact 1 oz. bottle of pigment on German Amazon ... for 2.700 - I nearly fell of my chair. I mean, funny pricing can be found there sometimes, but this is just off the chart



Old blogpost I found but it is usually due to things like this, although in a slightly updated form:
http://www.michaeleisen.org/blog/?p=358

Basically, a computer sets the price for an item taking into account a bunch of things. ometimes some of those things gets messed up so the price follows suit.


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## ThEoRy

Matus said:


> Sorry for spamming your thread, but I have to share this. I have actually found that exact 1 oz. bottle of pigment on German Amazon ... for 2.700 - I nearly fell of my chair. I mean, funny pricing can be found there sometimes, but this is just off the chart



That's awesome! Glad to hear it.


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## johnstoc

Those look top-notch! Need to put a couple handles on my to-do list.


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## Dave Martell

Matus said:


> Quoting my own post here. I have bought 3 needle rasps (round, square and flat) from them and it turned out that these are the Italian CORRADI raps with 160 mm length. They work very well and speed opening the handle after drilling for tang considerably. I have been using needle files, but those were slow for the job (as expected) - I even managed to break some in the process.




These are the rasps I use, love them. Just don't use them on metal spacers or you'll dull the **** out of them straight away.


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## ThEoRy

Well I solved the "It takes too long to file out this tang hole by hand" problem.







Round diamond tipped needle file stuck in the makita drill for the win Bob. This cut my filing time by 2/3 easily.


So what did I make this time? My 6th wa handle for my Itonomon 210mm wa petty. This will be my final wa handle for now as I've run out of knives that I want to rehandle. The rest of my un rehandled wa bocho all have nice ebony and horn handles on them so I'd rather just leave those alone. So, here we go with number 6.

The materials used were blond buffalo horn, elforyn and dyed Oregon maple burl from Burl Source.


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## NO ChoP!

Dude, when you run out of knives to rehandle, then you turn to fish spats, offset spats, sharpening rods...also, try some sayas.

Handles look grade A pimpin' btw....


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## NO ChoP!

You pretty much murdered my Itinomonn petty handle!


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## ThEoRy

NO ChoP! said:


> Dude, when you run out of knives to rehandle, then you turn to fish spats, offset spats, sharpening rods...also, try some sayas.
> 
> Handles look grade A pimpin' btw....



Thanks a lot!

I have already run out of fish spatulas to rehandle as I've done two now. I have also done 2 sayas now but I only have one piece of saya wood left. Maybe I can get one more out of it. Sharpening rods I'm not so sure about doing the ones I have. I've got the black Mac the hand American glass and the small ruby rod. I would probably destroy all three in the process.


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## Matus

You know, the world is aout that that 'you can' - I do nto think you will be short of knives to rehandle 

That is a fantastic idea with the diamond file and a drill - I will five it a try!


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## jimmy_d

Hey Rick, I have to say after reading through this thread and seeing your pictures, i t really makes me want to get out the old woodworking tools and give it a go! These look incredible for your first handles. Can't wait to give it a shot now - thanks for the inspiration!


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