# Wa Handle Attempt #3



## James (Jul 23, 2016)

This one is for the gf again. Wa handle pre-mount. The handle has a blonde buffalo horn ferrule, stainless steel spacer and natural koa.


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## rick_english (Jul 23, 2016)

Gorgeous. Don't know if I'd call that an "attempt."


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## Johnny.B.Good (Jul 23, 2016)

I love dark, tightly figured Koa like that. 

Great job.


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## Matus (Jul 23, 2016)

rick_english said:


> Gorgeous. Don't know if I'd call that an "attempt."



+1


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## James (Jul 23, 2016)

Thanks for the kind words! My first one had a reverse taper and I ended up throwing it out. #2 wasn't too bad, but it was pretty bulky right at the handle. This is the first one that doesn't have any functional issues.


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## Marko Tsourkan (Jul 23, 2016)

James said:


> This one is for the gf again. Wa handle pre-mount. The handle has a blonde buffalo horn ferrule, stainless steel spacer and natural koa.



Just a small suggestion. I would suggest to try to come up with proportions for a handle that fit a particular knife well - length, width, height at the ferrule, height at the butt. A way to do it is to size the handle to your own hand, and do a few checks while in a process of making it - does it feel too long for a knife, too thin, too thick, etc? If the knife is thin and light, a handle can be thinner, if it's heavy, you need to make it slightly oversize. It's particularly bad when you see a massive workhorse with a tiny handle. 

I think this handle could be a little shorter, and a little taller at the the butt, otherwise, a very good result for a third attempt. I like this style and I like natural Koa. How did you finish it?

Marko


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## James (Jul 23, 2016)

Hi Marko, thanks for the tips. To me, it feels a little oversized for the blade (Tanaka VG10s being the lasers that they are). I agree with you on the dimension changes; another mm off the ferrule area and shortening the handle by 10-15 mm would've been a good way to go. As for finishing, I gave it 3 light coats of pure tung oil followed by shellac as a sanding sealer and then a little more tung oil. Post mount, I'm currently putting on a few more coats of tung oil. It's not quite as water resistant as I'd like. I'll report back in a few days.


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## Miles (Jul 25, 2016)

Nice work sir!


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