# It's been a minute, but I still get down!



## NO ChoP!

Last couple of months worth of projects. 

We got a wa converted Opinel parer, a little parer I made of 52100, a couple fish spats, an ITK bread rehandle with saya and some cheese knives of Honduran rosewood.


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## aboynamedsuita

love the wa handled fish spat, I have a ho handle I was gonna use for a citrus zester lol


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## daveb

You're still king of the sexy saya:thumbsup:

Now about that green spacer.... Is it my monitor or Never mind it's got to be my monitor, no one makes radioactive spacers.


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## NO ChoP!

Thanks DaveB! It's actually clear green acrylic. That was a project in which I used a bunch of random stuff around the shop.


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## ThEoRy

Supa fresh.


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## NO ChoP!

I found this vintage Japanese stamped chefs knife at a flea market. I converted the partial tang western to a wa with a simple ho and horn handle. The saya is a two piece magnolia. I refinished the blade as well.


This is the lightest knife I've ever used and is a tomato slicing machine. I use it for an heirloom carpaccio dish. All in was less than $10.


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## Johnny.B.Good

Awesome stuff. 

The dark wood fish spat is my favorite.


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## chinacats

Excellent work on all but the cheese knives are my personal favorite.


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## Mucho Bocho

Great to see you posting again No Chop. Your knowledge and voice have been missed. The forum definitely has a softer tone these days. I still drop bombs now and then, call BS. I think the BS levels have definitely increased. Everyone is still and expert so that's still the same. [emoji38]


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## NO ChoP!

Thanks everyone!

Here is a heavy Itinomonn cleaver wearing stabilized birdseye maple. It's a beast! Largest saya I've ever made.


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## daveb

@Dennis, Can I borrow your Carnegie book? hehehe


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## Chuckles

Good to see you posting again, and nice work!


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## NO ChoP!

Recent Project. Vintage Russell butcher sporting a chunky rosewood and rosewood burl hybrid octagon wa. Matching saya in which I am really digging the shape.


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## NO ChoP!

This was an old plastic handled salmon slicer. I was able to grind off the fibrox handle and work with the tiny hook tang.

Single piece roasted maple burl octagon wa. Two piece saya.


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## Mucho Bocho

LOL, I had that knife for years, gave it to mom. Kinda hard to sharpen as its so flexible but a steel really woke it up. Nice woodwork Chris.


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## Bill13

Dark fish spat is my fav, great idea.


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## NO ChoP!

Mini offset sporting acid etching, a lacewood, red spacer, stainless tube, real Russian bakelite handle.


When you run out of knives, nothing is safe!!!!


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## milkbaby

Totally cool refurbishing work! Very inspiring... :doublethumbsup:


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## NO ChoP!

Thanks! I do enjoy bringing new life to old or forgotten tools. Not everything has to be a $500 gyuto with super exotic burls...(not that I don't enjoy that, too!)

This is a massive cimiter conversion. Handle is 6.75", and the blade is now a hair over 13". Bottom block was picked out of a clearance bin for thirty cents!!!! The light weight let me make the handle long and massive.


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## marc4pt0

Love that scimitar. Fun stuff all around. One of these days I'll have , my own little work shop. One of these days


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## scotchef38

NO ChoP! said:


> Mini offset sporting acid etching, a lacewood, red spacer, stainless tube, real Russian bakelite handle.View attachment 33142
> 
> 
> When you run out of knives, nothing is safe!!!!


I put a silky oak(lace wood)handle on a palette knife as well but drilling a hole through it as you have done was a *****- so curious what drill bit you used?


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## NO ChoP!

I use Milwaukee brand bits from Home Depot. It wasn't really a problem.


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## NO ChoP!

This is a wa converted Forgie. I thinned it, and it's a cutting machine.


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## NO ChoP!

Here we have a 190mm ginsan Tanaka.


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## daveb

Groovy . And I mean that in a good way.


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## Mucho Bocho

Chris, did you make this handle like this so nobody would steal that knife [emoji23]


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## NO ChoP!

Yah, its a bit intense. I was really happy with shape of the western, but it is super duper bright.


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## Mucho Bocho

It's a Jerry Garcia tribute handle. You might be on to something. HA

Does look very comfortable too.


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## milkbaby

I totally dig both those handles! Is that shokwood on the forgecraft cleaver?


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## NO ChoP!

It's a similar product from a maker on Etsy.


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## NO ChoP!

After spending the day with theTanaka, I think I may nock the front of the handle and spacers off and replace that with some simple black micarta, keeping the back handle intact.


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## NO ChoP!

Yep. That 5 piece spacer had to go...was just too busy. I think this is more subdued and as elegant as a bright red and blue handle could be? Maybe.

African blackwood ferrule.


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## merlijny2k

Lookin good


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## NO ChoP!

A cool curly maple handle with g10 spacer, bocote and curly maple saya with handmade pin. Knife is a 240mm migaki ginsan from my boy Shigeki.


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## NO ChoP!

180 chef wearing stabilized koa with micarta, g10 and a mosaic. Nogal saya.

150 petty wearing swirled blue acrylic and glow spacer. Canary saya.


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## NO ChoP!

Zebrawood
Wenge
Chakte viga


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## cheflarge

Amazing stuff, Chris.


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## merlijny2k

Wow did you do all this on your own knives? Must be quite a unique looking collection by now. Family photo?


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## NO ChoP!

I'll work on it. I usually do a year end photo.

I do keep most of the knives for myself. I sell off many to friends and coworkers after a while of playing. Funny how a kitchen can be full of Shun and Wustof, and within a year of me being their, everyone has baller jknives.


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## NO ChoP!

190mm sporting C-tek, g10 and micarta with toasted sycamore saya and matching c-tek pin.


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## Mrmnms

I love your handles, but this last one is really slick!


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## NO ChoP!

Thanks man! Sometimes it's fun to stray from tradition. Im kinda developing my own hidden tang hybrid style right now. Rather fond of it. The fitment is easy to precisely execute, and the shaping is a bit more organic in nature.


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## guari

Wonderful handles


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## daveb

The Tanaka. Like.


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## mhenry

Wow!! Really cool work, Chris.


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## Danzo

Real inspiring work. Do you have any WIP pics of that little opinel?


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## NO ChoP!

Last couple. First is a 40+ year old Chinese cleaver I did for a friend. Second is an estate sale find; a heavy Mac that I reprofiled into more of a honesuki.


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## NO ChoP!

Here she is with a saya in burnt curly maple with matching Ctek pin.


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## Mucho Bocho

Chris that blue scale handle is killing it and in the saya... oh my


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## NO ChoP!

Alrighty. Although I've tried many a cleaver, only to move them along, I've decided to give the Shibazi large cleaver a go.

This one is sporting blue dyed stabilized curly maple, g10 and paper micarta spacer and a vintage Westinghouse linen ferule. Walnut saya is still in glue-up...


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## valgard

cleaver looks handsome


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## LoneRiderAndFriends

That handle is stellar.


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## NO ChoP!

Thanks guys! LoneRider, good to see you around!

Here she is with a walnut saya and maple/ carbon fiber pin.


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## valgard

Oh my that saya!


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## Nemo

Nice looking cleaver. Very pretty handle.


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## malexthekid

Great rehandle and saya work. Love the wood choices.

How does the shibazi go?


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## NO ChoP!

It's not pretty. The steal is passable; reasonably easy to sharpen. It has zero taper, but gets relatively thin behind the edge. It's big; almost 9" x 3.75", yet light. For $30 shipped, it's got to be, pound for pound, the best value in knives out there. Kiwi knives have made a big splash at my job lately. I think for a few extra bucks, the Shibazi is light years better.


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## NO ChoP!

Vintage Chinese meat cleaver. This sucker is huge! The handle is quite chunky to match. Black dyed curly maple, g10 and linen micarta.


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## NO ChoP!

Fish spats are always fun, and a good way to utilize cutoffs. Black dyed curly maple. White g10 and black micarta spacers.


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## NO ChoP!

A family photo from maybe 6 months ago...missing most of this recent stuff, though.


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## daveb

You definitely still get down.


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## merlijny2k

Damn that is a ton of saya's you made.


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## NO ChoP!

I think I've made a few hundred now. 

Latest project; 270 suji wearing toasted maple, linen micarta and ctek spacers.


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## milkbaby

That handle is fancy pants but still classy, nice...


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## NO ChoP!

Another from my favorite maker.
210 Tanaka ginsan gyuto. 
Saya with flamed rock maple, black walnut spacer, black dyed maple and carbon fiber pin.


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## MontezumaBoy

Awesome work there Chef Chris!


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## milkbaby

I love it... Great contrast between the dyed handle and the saya.


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## NO ChoP!

Thanks guys!
This is a solution I came up with for a small parer that had a full bolster. I ran the zebrawood to match the grain direction of the olivewood handle.


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## NO ChoP!

A 12+" vintage carbon chef. Reprofiled, thinned, etched and wa converted. Left some of the deeper scratches for character. 

Rosewood with glow spacer. Had this handle sitting around...


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## NO ChoP!

Saya work.


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## NO ChoP!

This little stainless clad kurouchi white #2 is a beast! Thoroughly impressed.

Cocobolo, g10, dyed maple, linen micarta


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## milkbaby

NO ChoP! said:


> This little stainless clad kurouchi white #2 is a beast! Thoroughly impressed.
> 
> Cocobolo, g10, dyed maple, linen micarta
> 
> View attachment 37472
> View attachment 37473



Badass! I already said on IG but worth repeating here, that first pic is really cool! :doublethumbsup:


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## NO ChoP!

Thanks man!


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## NO ChoP!

First is a Moritaka petty sporting a curly maple, g10 and burlap handle. The saya is made of curly maple with a handmade dyed curly maple and carbon fiber pin.

Second is a Kato Suminigashi sporting an aromatic red cedar saya with handmade flame acrylic and carbon fiber pin.


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## tripleq

Always good stuff in this thread. Thanks for sharing!


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## Birk

NO ChoP! said:


> Thanks guys!
> This is a solution I came up with for a small parer that had a full bolster. I ran the zebrawood to match the grain direction of the olivewood handle.View attachment 37118




I am really impressed by all your work and also by your way of using cord to keep the knife in place. 
Is there any technique to make this? Or just utilising a double hole in the saya to pass through the cord? If this is a trade secret, i ofc respect that!

Edit: i think i figured it out. Thank you for the inspiration!


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## NO ChoP!

This thing was the epitome of PITA! It came with a cracked walnut handle. No worries, it was getting replaced anyways. Well the tang is extremely thick, and to top it off, it was bent and warped like a cork screw. No wonder the original handle cracked, right?





So, its sporting roasted curly maple, blue g10, blue maple burl and buffalo horn. The saya is Carolina gum with matching maple burl pin.

The Kohetsu is a great value for a stainless clad carbon, but I probably wont be rehandling one again anytime soon.


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## milkbaby

Really good looking handle and saya, the material choices contrast each other nicely. :doublethumbsup:

Did you end up grinding down the irregular tang?


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## NO ChoP!

I did not. I also didn't want to try and bend it either. I made the tang slot straight, and before glue up, I had it all clamped together, and switched from burning to filing until it slid in smooth. I actually had a failure with the original handle body, which was olive wood. I had to start over with the maple.


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## NO ChoP!

In hind sight, the olive is temperamental and prone to micro cracks; probably not the best choice for the overworking required for this handle. Well, I have another 18" of it...will be going on a shelf for another year or two.


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## pd7077

Love that saya!


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## NO ChoP!

Thanks! 

Here is a Kurosaki wearing roasted maple and cocobolo.


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## NO ChoP!

This is what I do when I have no real projects going in the shop...

A $1 thrift store find. I ground a k-tip, and a wa conversion.

The handle is a recycled octagon ho with horn ferrule. The saya is crosscut (offcut) walnut, with a handmade pin I had laying around. Kept me busy for a few hours.


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## milkbaby

NO ChoP! said:


> Thanks!
> 
> Here is a Kurosaki wearing roasted maple and cocobolo.



That's purdy! I really like that saya and the colors you chose. What is the red spacer material? It really pops nicely!


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## NO ChoP!

Thanks! The saya is quarter sawn red oak and the spacers are red g10 and burlap micarta.


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## NO ChoP!

We have a Masakage Mizu petty sporting walnut, micarta and dyed curly maple

A Goko nashiji nakiri with a stock walnut handle

Both fitted with matching walnut sayas and handmade dyed curly maple pins.

I use carbon fiber for the pins because, unlike brass or copper, it's not slippery smooth, which helps it stay tight.


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## LoneRiderAndFriends

Those are looking killer Chop.
Love that blue maple.


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## milkbaby

I love walnut, great looking work! That blue curly maple really pops. :doublethumbsup:


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## NO ChoP!

Alright, without divulging too much, this is a recipe done just for me. It's nashiji, kurouchi, stainless clad blue steel. I ground the profile (wip...), the final grind and etch.

The handle is maple burl, my favorite roasted maple, jade g10.

Saya is hickory with matching maple burl pin.


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## LoneRiderAndFriends

That looks super awesome.

What's the length on that blade if I may ask?


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## NO ChoP!

Thanks man! It's 165mm.


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## cheflarge

DAMN dude!!!


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## NO ChoP!

So, this sakimaru arrived to me rusted with multiple chips and a rotted ebony handle. Apparently left in a sink...

The splitter received a wa conversion.

Both handles kept simple to compliment the vintage look of the splitter and classy look of the slicer.


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## NO ChoP!

A couple kurouchi sporting koa, micarta and blackwood.


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## cheflarge

Awesome looking packages!


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## NO ChoP!

Bringing these in from Japan and finishing the profile, polished spine and choil, etch...

This is a 165mm funayuki profile (unique to me) in blue #2 clad in nashiji stainless.

The handle is Rosewood, ctek, g10, and spalted tamarind. The saya is red gum with matching tamarind pin.

Probably one of my favorite combos yet.


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## milkbaby

That's freaking great! Totally dig it! :doublethumbsup:


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## NO ChoP!

So this little Dojo chef received one of my first rehandles years ago. Thought is was time for an update. 

Also, a few in for sanding, refinishing, sayas, pins, etc....

Oh, and a Jolly Rancher fish spat.


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