# Wa handle making (learning as I go)



## Gjackson98

So this is purely passion driven. I have ZERO wood working background. 
Like the title said, I am learning everything as I go. Some if not all of my steps might look terribly wrong. 
At this point I am not really trying to do everything the "best way" but more so experiment both "good" and "bad" and have fun with it. Maybe screw up a few things here and there and learn from my mistakes. 
I will happily consider any valuable suggestions and recommendations.

The kick off started about 2 weeks ago during Dream Burls final curtain call. 
I purchased two pieces of beautiful stabilized wood block from Dream Burls, an old sankai yanagiba 270mm from Aframe and a bunch of tools from local store. 

https://imgur.com/mi9Urfi
https://imgur.com/ScugFGs
https://imgur.com/XnpHChb

The method I am currently trying out is in combination of a video from Murray Carter and a post from Reddit. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/knifemakin...andle_japanese_kitchen_knife_handle_tutorial/



Step 1 - marking the wood 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? 
No issues, did not stab myself in the eye with the pencil, survived the first step. 
https://imgur.com/AmOXZ0s
https://imgur.com/F7c2jil

Improvement/ things learned ?
Maybe get a more accurate tool next time, instead of eyeballing everything.




Step 2 - cutting the top wood piece 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? 
No safety issues, but way too many screw ups. 
The plan was to drill few holes in a line, then connect them using a mill bit. It did not go well.
First the holes I drilled wasn't inline, then my drill bit got stuck so I had to go use the one at work, then the mill bit broke off. 
The finish wasn't smooth because the drill holes wasn't in line. I had to clean it up by hand tools. 
I got a jewelry saw(don't know what for) and it didn't work. So I went back on to the files. 
Took me a long time, but did succeed the step. 

https://imgur.com/hv26o6A
https://imgur.com/MTVIBQ4
https://imgur.com/Yoo3d1t
https://imgur.com/9j2LJTD
https://imgur.com/LSMxG47

Improvement/ things learned ?
Better method and experience needed. 




Step 3 - Cutting the center piece of the wood for the tang 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? 
I didn't wanna lose my fingers, so I used the band saw at work. and it did not cut straight. 
I had to grind it down, in general was OK, not too bad. 
To connect the two cuts, I deceived to drill a hole to connect them. There I screwed up again, had to go back to the file. 

https://imgur.com/FL47yZB
https://imgur.com/Dgwptw1
https://imgur.com/30dXXEN
https://imgur.com/1WRWmGl
https://imgur.com/9aXh01O
https://imgur.com/HIB19wC
https://imgur.com/DDCIufZ
https://imgur.com/faHJEpo

Improvement/ things learned ?
Better method and experience needed. 





Step 4 - Cutting the outside pieces
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? 
LOL I purchased some not stabilized wood for the outside pieces, and I made a bad decision while cutting them. First piece broke off (just see the photos) so I had to go with the pink back up pieces. 
And yes It was a safety issue. 

https://imgur.com/IdCZaMH
https://imgur.com/FQ5gpjU 
https://imgur.com/8qNnIP3
https://imgur.com/3QYPMpX

Improvement/ things learned ?
Better method and experience needed. 





Step 5 - Clean up the knife and check see if it fits 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? 
The knife was an Old sankai yanagiba, I had to file it down. 
Overall everything looks ok. 

https://imgur.com/iA6wmnc
https://imgur.com/LSMxG47
https://imgur.com/jwVWQWP
https://imgur.com/gxcaCd7

Improvement/ things learned ?
Need to be careful when purchasing old stock, got many problems.


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## Gjackson98

Currently waiting on fiber liner spacer to arrive to glue the thing up. 
will come back with more updates later.


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## tedg

In spite of a few problems along the way, it looks like it has potential. I would suggest a finer file in the future, it would save some sanding.


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## Gjackson98

tedg said:


> In spite of a few problems along the way, it looks like it has potential. I would suggest a finer file in the future, it would save some sanding.



thank you for the suggestion! I haven’t start on the outside of the handle yet, so I will for sure keep that in mind!


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## PappaG

Great post, especially for an amateur like myself with no wood working skills. I haven't had time to work on my two handles, but hopefully will be posting some new pics this weekend in the work in my progress thread.


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## Gjackson98

PappaG said:


> Great post, especially for an amateur like myself with no wood working skills. I haven't had time to work on my two handles, but hopefully will be posting some new pics this weekend in the work in my progress thread.


 I am excited to see your progress and learn a few things! Make sure you wear safety glasses lol. I forgot about it the first time.


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## Gjackson98

Step 6 - Glue the handle pieces together 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? 
No safety issues, but I did have a hard time making the surface flat.
My first step was to glue the 3 center pieces together. It was easy enough.
The hard part was to grind the top and bottom end of the center piece completely flat, so it lays flat with the top and bottom piece. 
https://imgur.com/zpUVbNM
https://imgur.com/NfP10Ms
https://imgur.com/lFDySax
https://imgur.com/sCZIxbe


Improvement/ things learned ?
Instead of grinding, better method needed to create a flat surface. 
Try using all stabilized wood next time.


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## PappaG

Very cool and very inspiring. I love the construction. After I'm done with my two handles, I will try your style, for sure. Please keep posting pics. hopefully I will get to my handles this weekend.


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## Gjackson98

PappaG said:


> Very cool and very inspiring. I love the construction. After I'm done with my two handles, I will try your style, for sure. Please keep posting pics. hopefully I will get to my handles this weekend.


Thanks! I should be finishing up the general shape of the handle today! Looking forward to see your process! BTW what did you end up using to fill the tang, or have you made a decision yet?


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## Gjackson98

Step 7 - Grinding handle to final shape (part A) 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? Improvement/ things learned ?

So yesterday was a train-wrack. I am going to talk about the issues I had with the improvement needed. 
Took me a long time to taper the handle, as when I am about done, I inserted the blade in to the handle to check for general position to make sure everything fits; somehow the handle got stuck.
I had to use some violent methods trying to get the blade out, and the top piece of the handle snapped off.
https://imgur.com/dnFSVkb

To do figure out what the root cause was, I did some more troubleshooting and was able to conclude that the tang on the blade wasn't straight, and the top piece of the handle probably wasn't glued at the perfect location either. 
https://imgur.com/6qH7Urn

Here I should probably mentioned that now I know the importance of using rods/pins to secure the pieces, so they lay at the perfect location. 

I had to do some more work trying to get the tang to bend straight and to fit perfectly in the handle, and of course I screwed it up again! I accidentally dropped the blade and the tip chipped. Yep I know is my fault. 
https://imgur.com/SHlLDNz
https://imgur.com/IJbDqDu

So here is where I am right now, re-gluing the pieces. 

https://imgur.com/tWSQ46y


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## nevrknow

My first handle broke from a drop. Switched to the dowel method and voila.

Very nice design!


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## Gjackson98

nevrknow said:


> My first handle broke from a drop. Switched to the dowel method and voila.
> 
> Very nice design!


I am about to switch to using dowels as well for my next one. 
What other benefits do dowel method have? What do you use to cut the gap in dowel to fit the tang?


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## Gjackson98

Step 7 - Grinding handle to final shape (part B) 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? Improvement/ things learned ? 
Was able to grind the handle down to the final shape after re-gluing it, and it can fit the tang comfortably! 
Better method needed while grinding, its impossible to grind all sides down to the perfect by just eyeballing. Interest to know what other people use to taper the handle?

https://imgur.com/D7Ui9Cj

Step 8 - Use supper glue to fill grain
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? Improvement/ things learned ? 
No issues, easy step. make sue you put wax paper on the work bench.

https://imgur.com/pbp6EW2
https://imgur.com/fojyaFi


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## nakneker

Great thread. I’ve toyed with do the same thing, I have no woodworking skills at all. This is interesting and helpful.


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## Gjackson98

nakneker said:


> Great thread. I’ve toyed with do the same thing, I have no woodworking skills at all. This is interesting and helpful.



Thanks for the support! I should be wrapping it up here in the next few days. I have learned a lot as I go. I have like dozens of questions that I will post towards the end. Hopefully I will have some of them answered so I can roll them in to the next project!


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## nakneker

Gjackson98 said:


> Thanks for the support! I should be wrapping it up here in the next few days. I have learned a lot as I go. I have like dozens of questions that I will post towards the end. Hopefully I will have some of them answered so I can roll them in to the next project!



I looked forward to your update, observations and questions.


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## nevrknow

Band saw to cut the dowel for the tang. I will add, a LONG dowel then cut to length as needed. 

I cheat on the tapers. I use a taper jig on long pieces then cut to length. I glue a dowel into the long end ( shallow hole ) to keep my precious fingers away from finger cutter offer things like table saw blades. 

Jointer with an adjustable fence for the angles. Free handing sucks!


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## Bensbites

I have tweaked the dowel method to my liking. There are so many different ways to do it. Try each one, see what you like. 

I use jigs/sleds for everything. It makes a huge difference. You should see what my first freehand handles looked like. Now 100+ handles later, they look pretty good.


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## Gjackson98

nevrknow said:


> Band saw to cut the dowel for the tang. I will add, a LONG dowel then cut to length as needed.
> 
> I cheat on the tapers. I use a taper jig on long pieces then cut to length. I glue a dowel into the long end ( shallow hole ) to keep my precious fingers away from finger cutter offer things like table saw blades.
> 
> Jointer with an adjustable fence for the angles. Free handing sucks!



lol I will for sure get a taper jig for the next run. 

How do you clamp/stabilize the dowel when cutting with the band saw to keep it going straight?


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## Gjackson98

Bensbites said:


> I have tweaked the dowel method to my liking. There are so many different ways to do it. Try each one, see what you like.
> 
> I use jigs/sleds for everything. It makes a huge difference. You should see what my first freehand handles looked like. Now 100+ handles later, they look pretty good.



Thanks for sharing! Do you have any recommendations or places I can go watch some videos or read some articles about the dowel methods? So far I know none lol


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## Bensbites

Gjackson98 said:


> Thanks for sharing! Do you have any recommendations or places I can go watch some videos or read some articles about the dowel methods? So far I know none lol



I would google “make wa handle” watch some videos. 

The instructions below are not what I currently do, but I think they are a good start. 

I suggest making 4-5 handles. This lets you adjust as you go. 

1) Get a dowel , 1/2 inch longer than the tang. 
2) cut a slot down the middle of the dowel for the tang. 
3) drill 1/2 inch hole in the wood for the handle. Dry fit the dowel in the woods with the knife in place. Personally I would recess the dowel 1-2 mm below the surface of the wood so you can seal everything with beeswax/meltglue/epoxy. 
Epoxy the woods together with the dowel inside. 
4) shape the handle. I suggest jigs. 
5) install. 

Let me know how it goes. If I miss this thread, reach out.


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## Gjackson98

Bensbites said:


> I would google “make wa handle” watch some videos.
> 
> The instructions below are not what I currently do, but I think they are a good start.
> 
> I suggest making 4-5 handles. This lets you adjust as you go.
> 
> 1) Get a dowel , 1/2 inch longer than the tang.
> 2) cut a slot down the middle of the dowel for the tang.
> 3) drill 1/2 inch hole in the wood for the handle. Dry fit the dowel in the woods with the knife in place. Personally I would recess the dowel 1-2 mm below the surface of the wood so you can seal everything with beeswax/meltglue/epoxy.
> Epoxy the woods together with the dowel inside.
> 4) shape the handle. I suggest jigs.
> 5) install.
> 
> Let me know how it goes. If I miss this thread, reach out.


Thank you so so much for this detail instruction. I really appreciate it. 
I will for sure do this for my next project, and yes I will do a few at the same time, so I can learn as I go.
Again, thank you so much.


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## Bensbites

Gjackson98 said:


> Thank you so so much for this detail instruction. I really appreciate it.
> I will for sure do this for my next project, and yes I will do a few at the same time, so I can learn as I go.
> Again, thank you so much.


You are very welcome


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## nakneker

Gjackson98 said:


> Thank you so so much for this detail instruction. I really appreciate it.
> I will for sure do this for my next project, and yes I will do a few at the same time, so I can learn as I go.
> Again, thank you so much.


Ben is a good guy. He’s helped me before too, he offers solid advice.


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## nevrknow

And he makes incredible handles. For sure ask him any questions. Straight up gentleman.


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## nakneker

nevrknow said:


> And he makes incredible handles. For sure ask him any questions. Straight up gentleman.


Agreed!


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## Bensbites

nevrknow said:


> And he makes incredible handles. For sure ask him any questions. Straight up gentleman.



Thank you, You make pretty nice ones yourself.


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## JoBone

Thanks for the write up. I recently started on the handle making journey and appreciate hearing other people’s way.


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## Gjackson98

JoBone said:


> Thanks for the write up. I recently started on the handle making journey and appreciate hearing other people’s way.



My pleasure! 
The way i am doing it, is by all means not the best(hopefully not the worst). 
I am hoping to continue post more details as I go, while learning from the community. 
In the future maybe this will do some goods to people who are new to making handles, so they won’t make the same mistake as I do. Lol


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## Gjackson98

Step 9 - sanding the handle 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? Improvement/ things learned ? 
I used 240/600/1200/1500/2000/2500 sand papers to finish the job. 
I had a hard time removing some of the glue "spots," seems like those are the deep spots in the wood that got filled, and I still don't know what to do to fix it. 
I have tried to use some lighter fuel, it helped but didn't fully remove the spots as well.

https://imgur.com/k6W98zz
https://imgur.com/1coGPuO



Step 10 - Oiling 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? Improvement/ things learned ? 
No issues. I followed the instruction on the bottle. 
It actually look and feel really nice.

https://imgur.com/LJP1Bvu
https://imgur.com/IY3iHld
https://imgur.com/Fue7nFK

I got two more steps to go from wrapping up the first project, waxing the handle and install the blade.


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## Bensbites

After I assemble the handle I shape and sand. That removes all the excess epoxy. After that epoxy can be removed with acetone.


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## Gjackson98

Bensbites said:


> After I assemble the handle I shape and sand. That removes all the excess epoxy. After that epoxy can be removed with acetone.



Thank you! 
Did you have to use super glue to grain fill before oil? 
How did you get the accurate angles when shaping?


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## nakneker

Gjackson98 said:


> Step 9 - sanding the handle
> Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? Improvement/ things learned ?
> I used 240/600/1200/1500/2000/2500 sand papers to finish the job.
> I had a hard time removing some of the glue "spots," seems like those are the deep spots in the wood that got filled, and I still don't know what to do to fix it.
> I have tried to use some lighter fuel, it helped but didn't fully remove the spots as well.
> 
> https://imgur.com/k6W98zz
> https://imgur.com/1coGPuO
> 
> 
> 
> Step 10 - Oiling
> Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? Improvement/ things learned ?
> No issues. I followed the instruction on the bottle.
> It actually look and feel really nice.
> 
> https://imgur.com/LJP1Bvu
> https://imgur.com/IY3iHld
> https://imgur.com/Fue7nFK
> 
> I got two more steps to go from wrapping up the first project, waxing the handle and install the blade.


 It’s coming along nicely, I applaud your efforts. Makes me wanna try.


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## Gjackson98

nakneker said:


> It’s coming along nicely, I applaud your efforts. Makes wanna try.



haha, thank you! It’s really fun, if you have time for sure give it a try!


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## Bensbites

Gjackson98 said:


> Thank you!
> Did you have to use super glue to grain fill before oil?
> How did you get the accurate angles when shaping?


I will use superglue to fill gaps in the epoxy if they exist(rare). 

Acurate angles... jigs. I can’t give away all my secrets on the first date . Try some of your own.


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## Gjackson98

Bensbites said:


> I will use superglue to fill gaps in the epoxy if they exist(rare).
> 
> Acurate angles... jigs. I can’t give away all my secrets on the first date . Try some of your own.



hahah, well do. Thanks again!


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## nakneker

Bensbites said:


> I will use superglue to fill gaps in the epoxy if they exist(rare).
> 
> Acurate angles... jigs. I can’t give away all my secrets on the first date . Try some of your own.


 I should have known you use jigs. Your angles are perfect, literally.


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## Bensbites

nakneker said:


> I should have known you use jigs. Your angles are perfect, literally.



I will take that as a compliment. Jigs make for faster, reproducible results. I recently moved my collection of mistake handles, including my first round of freehand handles. Comical... one of these days I will post a photo of that pile.


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## nakneker

Bensbites said:


> I will take that as a compliment. Jigs make for faster, reproducible results. I recently moved my collection of mistake handles, including my first round of freehand handles. Comical... one of these days I will post a photo of that pile.


 Definitely not anything but a compliment. Your angles were perfect you fit the tang amazingly well. One of the best I’ve seen. I like this thread. Gjackson is generous in sharing his journey. I think most of his would like practice a bit before we shared our results.


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## Bensbites

nakneker said:


> Definitely not anything but a compliment. Your angles were perfect you fit the tang amazingly well. One of the best I’ve seen. I like this thread. Gjackson is generous in sharing his journey. I think most of his would like practice a bit before we shared our results.



Tang fits vary by blade, some forged blade tangs are not straight or the thickest point is sometimes in the handle. Basically, yours were the best case scenario, they fit perfectly.


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## Gjackson98

Step 11 - Wax the handle 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? 
No issues, easy stuff. I used Johnson paste wax.

https://imgur.com/OBNsAMX
https://imgur.com/I096CDZ

Improvement/ things learned ?
N/A 

Step 12 - Installation 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? 
I used pencil sharpener to cut the hot glue stick into small shreds, then I heat the tang and pushed it in for installation(video link below). 
Problems I have faced in this step includes:
1. I did not have enough hot glue shreds in the handle, so the neck of the tang wasn't covered after pushing it in. I tried to go back and used glue gun to drip in more hot glue to seal the neck and that got really messy.
2. Due to issue#1, I had to used a lot of acetone to remove the extra glue, and that I believe took off some of the wax and oil on the handle. So now I have to redo steps 10 and 11.

https://imgur.com/t5SVVRD


Improvement/ things learned ?
1. Hot glue is very strong (maybe just the kind I used) that I couldn't knocked the handle out. Be careful when using it, when its dry, its pretty hard to disassemble. 
2. Do step 10 and 11 after 12.


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## Bensbites

If you have gaps at the tang seal then with superglue aka CA glue. I don’t like the thick gel stuff as much as the thinner glue for this purpose.


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## Gjackson98

Bensbites said:


> If you have gaps at the tang seal then with superglue aka CA glue. I don’t like the thick gel stuff as much as the thinner glue for this purpose.



good idea.. well.. I am already done redoing step 10 and 11. I will for sure do that for the next handle!


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## Gjackson98

So my first handle is officially done! Wah wah!!
Thanks everyone for the support and quality advice!
Like I have mentioned before, I will like to post a bunch questions and take on some advise for my next handle.
Questions:
1. Do I need to use the fiber liner spacer (the white paper looking layer)? If I glue wood to wood or wood to metal would it stay?

2. Should I use Epoxy to glue the tang? I have seen debates on pros and cons with Epoxy and other materials like melting glue, beeswax. I am not sure what to use.

3. How to keep a precision cuts on all sides and edges? I know many have suggested using jigs, some suggested using a scroll saw, I have even seen people using traditional Japanese Kanna before.
I am not sure how to operate those tools yet especially jigs, is there a beginner friendly ones with instructions that you guys will recommend?

4. I am taking Bensbites suggestion to use a dowel this time for my next knife. How do I cut the tang gap/slot on the dowel? To my minimum to none knowledge about wood working, keeping the dowel down and cutting a straight line down the middle is like mission impossible.

5. And last question for now, how to I remove the current handle on my knife if the method in link below didn't work? lol


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## Gjackson98

Trying to take the handle off the knife. Following the above process. 
Just want to add that, people please be careful when you handle knives. Don’t be like me. I accidentally drop the knife, probably close to 1 inch of blade got into my foot lol.


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## Bensbites

Oh man. I hope you are ok. 
Preface: did you let the handle sit in a hot (180-200 F ) waterbath to soften the glue? 


1) tape off the blade. This will provide some protection against small cuts. 
2) lay the taped off blade against wood as in that video, wrap your hand around the wood. Fingers on the blade, wood in the plam of your hand like you are making a fist around it. 
3) press the whole thing into your leg parallel to your body. You will hit the wood with a hammer and the handle will fly away from you.


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## parbaked

Unless the handle was epoxied in which case you may have to saw it off...


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## Gjackson98

parbaked said:


> Unless the handle was epoxied in which case you may have to saw it off...



I don’t think it is. I will try again later lol


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## Gjackson98

Bensbites said:


> Oh man. I hope you are ok.
> Preface: did you let the handle sit in a hot (180-200 F ) waterbath to soften the glue?
> 
> 
> 1) tape off the blade. This will provide some protection against small cuts.
> 2) lay the taped off blade against wood as in that video, wrap your hand around the wood. Fingers on the blade, wood in the plam of your hand like you are making a fist around it.
> 3) press the whole thing into your leg parallel to your body. You will hit the wood with a hammer and the handle will fly away from you.



Gotcha thank you! 
Water bath? Should I have the blade in the hot water too? 
My foot should be alright, just stopped the bleeding lol


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## Gjackson98

The next round of Victims are selected! 






Project 2 & 3 
Munetoshi petty & Shiraki Deba 

Munetoshi is currently suffering a bending issue due to an impact to my foot last week. It will need to be straighten first.


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## Bensbites

Let’s do it!


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## nevrknow

Why the glove during the burn in?

A: if the blade gets to hot to hold with your bare fingers, you're getting that Tang WAY to hot.

B: tape up the edge with thick tape ( think layers ) to prevent an injury.


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## Gjackson98

nevrknow said:


> Why the glove during the burn in?
> 
> A: if the blade gets to hot to hold with your bare fingers, you're getting that Tang WAY to hot.
> 
> B: tape up the edge with thick tape ( think layers ) to prevent an injury.



Got it, I will keep it in mind for the upcoming projects!


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## Gjackson98

So I made the decision to stabilize/dye my own wood this time for the project. Here’s the equipment I am going to be using, will upload more pictures this weekend. 
I have also purchased some wood, few are stabilized most are not. 

Big thanks and good luck to Myron from Dream burls.


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## milkbaby

Wow, that handle came out awesome looking! Great job!!!

Looks like you're addicted with that stash of wood and vacuum chamber. You may want to consider Cactus Juice or Gator Venom stabilizing resins instead of Pentacryl. Pentacryl is designed to help keep green/wet wood from cracking and checking while it is drying. Stabilizing wood for handles like what K&G, WSSI, and Wood Dynamics do is typically impregnating dried wood with a heat curable resin by vacuum (and pressure for greater penetration of stabilizing solution).

If you're only making wa handles, just using Pentacryl might work just fine depending. You might consider that company's Wood Juice product if your wood is air or kiln dried already.


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## woodworkcan

That's very interesting to document how you do it to show the Dos and Don'ts to others.

I have a few comments regarding the tang installation. I have done a few hidden tang handles myself.
Why put glue inside the handle if you use the burn-in technique? It should be sufficient to hold it inside if performed properly. If you only want to seal the opening, you can put a small amount of silicone in the gaps once everything has cooled down.
When the tang is fully pushed by hand, I recommend to tap several times the handle with a soft mallet (wood or rubber) to lodge the tang a bit deeper and secure.


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## tedg

Even kiln dried, isn't dry enough. The wood needs to be put in an oven at 225, I leave mine in over night to be safe. You can also hold the end grain against a mirror for a few seconds, if there's moisture you'll see it. Put it in a plastic bag (so it doesn't take on moisture again) and let it cool to room temp.. Then do the vacuum thing. I would stay away from pentacryl and use either of the other two products mentioned.


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## Gjackson98

milkbaby said:


> Wow, that handle came out awesome looking! Great job!!!
> 
> Looks like you're addicted with that stash of wood and vacuum chamber. You may want to consider Cactus Juice or Gator Venom stabilizing resins instead of Pentacryl. Pentacryl is designed to help keep green/wet wood from cracking and checking while it is drying. Stabilizing wood for handles like what K&G, WSSI, and Wood Dynamics do is typically impregnating dried wood with a heat curable resin by vacuum (and pressure for greater penetration of stabilizing solution).
> 
> If you're only making wa handles, just using Pentacryl might work just fine depending. You might consider that company's Wood Juice product if your wood is air or kiln dried already.



Lol, thank you so much! 
I have been playing around with it over the weekend, I was wondering why didn’t it work! 
I guess I purchased the wrong stuff. 
Lesson learned.

Can I use pentacryl for something else? It’s pretty expensive to just leave it alone.


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## Gjackson98

woodworkcan said:


> That's very interesting to document how you do it to show the Dos and Don'ts to others.
> 
> I have a few comments regarding the tang installation. I have done a few hidden tang handles myself.
> Why put glue inside the handle if you use the burn-in technique? It should be sufficient to hold it inside if performed properly. If you only want to seal the opening, you can put a small amount of silicone in the gaps once everything has cooled down.
> When the tang is fully pushed by hand, I recommend to tap several times the handle with a soft mallet (wood or rubber) to lodge the tang a bit deeper and secure.



Haha to be honest I had no idea what I was doing, I saw the video, and I was told to use melt glue, so I figure they might go well together lol.
Thank you for the suggestion, I will take in your recommendations for my current project!


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## Gjackson98

tedg said:


> Even kiln dried, isn't dry enough. The wood needs to be put in an oven at 225, I leave mine in over night to be safe. You can also hold the end grain against a mirror for a few seconds, if there's moisture you'll see it. Put it in a plastic bag (so it doesn't take on moisture again) and let it cool to room temp.. Then do the vacuum thing. I would stay away from pentacryl and use either of the other two products mentioned.



gotcha, brilliant idea on the mirror! I purchased the wrong stuff, I was wondering why didn’t it work lol


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## Gjackson98

Project 2 Munetoshi petty

Step 1 - straighten the blade 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? 
I don't have the skills to bend the knife by hand, so I went a different route.
link: 
After following the instruction above, the blade still wasn't straight enough so I thinned the blade down.
I will say the result is in between fair to good. 

https://imgur.com/VWBAOBM
https://imgur.com/pv4IPoA
https://imgur.com/fRXRGOK


Step 2 - Stabilize my own wood 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? 
So I spend the past weekend playing around with the tools, I though I was doing everything right but somehow it wasn't turning out correctly.
https://imgur.com/cUW7jAt
https://imgur.com/bShRA48

Then thanks to Milkbaby I realized that I purchased the wrong juice.. 
I have reorder the Cactus juice, hopefully this time is correct.








Step 3 - Cutting the dowel 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? 
I didn't want to slow the project down while waiting for a week for the Cactus juice, so I went ahead and cut the dowel with a hacksaw. 
Overall I was shocked by how straight it ended up, very happy that I succeed during the first attempt. 
https://imgur.com/sNQLnur
https://imgur.com/TWIy3Iw
https://imgur.com/jTYQDK3
https://imgur.com/ryc6xCG

Step 4 - Line things up 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? 
Basically prepping all the parts I will need for this handle and lining them up to see how things look. 
I made a decision to try metal, I know its not beginner friendly and I probably should get some rods in there. 
But anyway here we go, if it falls apart then I will go with something else later lol, the point is to experiment. 
https://imgur.com/XzDZ1KL
https://imgur.com/dHOz63I
https://imgur.com/LvFfNar


Step 4 - Glue the bottom piece of the handle 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? 
I am planning on drilling the dowel hole after this is completed, hopefully it won't fall apart lol. 
https://imgur.com/mZafJBX


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## tedg

Unfortunately, unless you turn or carve green wood, Pentacryl doesn't have much use.


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## Gjackson98

tedg said:


> Unfortunately, unless you turn or carve green wood, Pentacryl doesn't have much use.



Lol good to know, thanks anyway


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## Gjackson98

Step 5 - Cutting pieces to the right width & Drill holes 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups? 
Everything are going pretty smooth. No safety issues and no screw ups. 
Pictures below are pretty self explanatory. 
https://imgur.com/q86Cdmu
https://imgur.com/MEyxJHi
https://imgur.com/xTURMeV
https://imgur.com/9aMVE0k
https://imgur.com/1jVb19d
https://imgur.com/bpYtTgk
https://imgur.com/1H5eZuZ
https://imgur.com/ibU0eGN
https://imgur.com/e7F4WKz

Step 6 - Cutting pieces to the right length 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups?
No issues, just parts being too long had to cut some length off. 
https://imgur.com/SFRDAbc
https://imgur.com/8cDizOa
https://imgur.com/bUea8cH

Step 7 - Line up everything making sure things are straight 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups?
No issues, everything line up correctly so far. 
I am planning on adding 4 more metal spacers before and after each black spacing material.
Once that is done, I will start glue everything together before shaping. 
https://imgur.com/k92sWEe
https://imgur.com/gvOChZm


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## Gjackson98

Step 8 - Glue everything together 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups?
very smooth gluing process this time. Everything came out good and straight. 
https://imgur.com/6040bU4
https://imgur.com/Ww2Ec4M


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## woodworkcan

At what temp did you heat the blade for the petty straightening process? 
Or did you just clamp it down without heating?
I am thinking it might have screwed up the original tempering, meaning your carbon steel has lost hardness.

To be sure to straighten a blade without interfering with the temper, I bend the blades using 2 wood sticks that have notches sawed into them. There are plenty of videos that show how to do it. Best way is to bend in a conservative way, check straightness and repeat as many times as necessary.


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## Gjackson98

woodworkcan said:


> At what temp did you heat the blade for the petty straightening process?
> Or did you just clamp it down without heating?
> I am thinking it might have screwed up the original tempering, meaning your carbon steel has lost hardness.
> 
> To be sure to straighten a blade without interfering with the temper, I bend the blades using 2 wood sticks that have notches sawed into them. There are plenty of videos that show how to do it. Best way is to bend in a conservative way, check straightness and repeat as many times as necessary.



Thank you for the advice! I forgot what temperature I used, but its the same as the guy doing the demonstration. I have tried to bend the knife, didn’t work as well so I figure I give it a try. Lol


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## Gjackson98

woodworkcan said:


> At what temp did you heat the blade for the petty straightening process?
> Or did you just clamp it down without heating?
> I am thinking it might have screwed up the original tempering, meaning your carbon steel has lost hardness.
> 
> To be sure to straighten a blade without interfering with the temper, I bend the blades using 2 wood sticks that have notches sawed into them. There are plenty of videos that show how to do it. Best way is to bend in a conservative way, check straightness and repeat as many times as necessary.



Went back and checked, I believe I used 375F or 400F


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## RDalman

While 350 should be "fine" it's hotter than I temper many blades. A safer temp to use not to interfer with temper is using 150 c(300f) or 160c as a max. (unless you can ask the actual maker what temp was used.


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## Gjackson98

RDalman said:


> While 350 should be "fine" it's hotter than I temper many blades. A safer temp to use not to interfer with temper is using 150 c(300f) or 160c as a max. (unless you can ask the actual maker what temp was used.


Gotcha, Thank you much for the advice! If I use 150C or 160C, would this process still work?


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## RDalman

Gjackson98 said:


> Gotcha, Thank you much for the advice! If I use 150C or 160C, would this process still work?


You actually don't need such a super safe way for a laminated blade. They're super easy to straighten, one of their big benefits. I typically put them on the anvil and straighten with hammer, but that takes a bit of care. I would recommend three brass rods in a vice, or a straightening stick as described. heating the blade to 150 before bringing it out for the straightening is a little safer, but actually not 100% necessary on a san mai blade, as it will take the correction no problems even cold.


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## Gjackson98

RDalman said:


> You actually don't need such a super safe way for a laminated blade. They're super easy to straighten, one of their big benefits. I typically put them on the anvil and straighten with hammer, but that takes a bit of care. I would recommend three brass rods in a vice, or a straightening stick as described. heating the blade to 150 before bringing it out for the straightening is a little safer, but actually not 100% necessary on a san mai blade, as it will take the correction no problems even cold.


Thanks again! Hopefully I will never have to do this again, but if I do, I will for sure take your advises as guideline!


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## Gjackson98

Step 9 - Shaping the handle, sanding the handle 
Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups?
No problem. 
https://imgur.com/KaD4PUQ
https://imgur.com/JHlkjKM


Step 10 - Oil the handle and wax

Issues/ Safety issues/ Screw ups?
No problem. 
https://imgur.com/CBQUYZ7


Overall I followed the same process as handle 1 for these two steps. The result was much better than the last run. 
Thanks to everyone's suggestions! Shaping the handle after installing the blade is for sure much easier and accurate.


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## nakneker

Haven’t checked in on this thread recently and just caught up. It’s a great thread, interesting to watch the learning process. I’ll be giving it a try soon enough. Thanks again for sharing the journey.


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## Gjackson98

nakneker said:


> Haven’t checked in on this thread recently and just caught up. It’s a great thread, interesting to watch the learning process. I’ll be giving it a try soon enough. Thanks again for sharing the journey.


Thank you! Hopefully you will find some of the stuff helpful when you give it a try! Let me know how it goes!


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## Gjackson98

Handle #3
I guess I got the bug. Woke up Saturday morning at 6 and finished handle #3 in a day.
Very happy with the result, follow the same process as handle #2.
Thank you all very much for the support and suggestions. 
As for now all three project knives I listed have all been completed. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BneeY2YgRLk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link


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## Kippington

I like the way it became "no problem" towards the end, good stuff!


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## Gjackson98

Kippington said:


> I like the way it became "no problem" towards the end, good stuff!


Hahahah Thank you thank you. 
Its probably just me being lazy. 
There are many improvements I need to work on; but at the moment I don't have much obstacles keep me from just making it work lol.


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## nicestslice

great read! reminds me of all my trial and error. thanks for sharing and it looks like you picked it up pretty quickly! way to go on such an analytical mindset


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## Gjackson98

nicestslice said:


> great read! reminds me of all my trial and error. thanks for sharing and it looks like you picked it up pretty quickly! way to go on such an analytical mindset



Thank you! I am glad you had fun reading it. 
It’s more fun to learn while sharing it with the big family here. Got a lot of help and advices from everyone, that’s why things are actually getting done fairly smoothly!
Big thanks to everyone again!


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## ForeverLearning

Read all of this, very interesting. I am trying my hand at a WA handle too.

For slotting a dowel I did the folllwing:

Got a piece of wood wide enough to push through a band saw without worrying me
Viced it up in the pillar drill against another scrap piece
Drilled a hole the diameter of my dowel down the centre between these two pieces
You end up with a slot, half the size of your dowel
Place dowel in wood
Line centre up in band saw
Cut
You have a simple jig to get consistent slots every time.

This really helped me after I tore 3/4 dowels trying to do this by hand.


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## Gjackson98

ForeverLearning said:


> Read all of this, very interesting. I am trying my hand at a WA handle too.
> 
> For slotting a dowel I did the folllwing:
> 
> Got a piece of wood wide enough to push through a band saw without worrying me
> Viced it up in the pillar drill against another scrap piece
> Drilled a hole the diameter of my dowel down the centre between these two pieces
> You end up with a slot, half the size of your dowel
> Place dowel in wood
> Line centre up in band saw
> Cut
> You have a simple jig to get consistent slots every time.
> 
> This really helped me after I tore 3/4 dowels trying to do this by hand.



Good read! Thanks for sharing!


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## tongas

Thanks for the write up ! great work


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