Working in a kitchen, I get to play with knives quite often. I also tend to buy more knives than I will ever need… This Tojiro 21cm Gyuto (Japanese Chef Knife) and 15cm Petty were my latest purchase from the friendly bunch over at Bernal Cutlery down in San Francisco. Originally I planned to treat the blades, oil the handles and put them work. That was the case for a short time… until I was inspired to try making a Saya. Saya is wooden sheath with retaining pin.
In typical fashion for me I decided hey why not make a Saya and rehandle it! I have been wanting to try rehandling a Japanese knife for a while and decided to go for it. I use the 15cm Petty more often at work so I decided to start with the Gyuto. In the next week or two I will give the Petty knife the same treatment.
The woods used are White Oak and Ebony. The Ebony is the keys from a decommissioned piano so I’m not sure what species it is. Everything is finished with boiled linseed oil.
Handle Dimensions:
Length: 135 mm
Width: 18 mm
Height: 26 mm
Ferrule: 36 mm
Ebony: 4.5 mm
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- Tojiro Gyuto (21cm) and Petty (15cm)
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- The blades after a citric acid bath. This helps kickstart a patina that resists rust.
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- White Oak that has been cut down for the handle.
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- Three Ebony piano keys planed down and ready for glue-up.
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- The resulting Ebony block.
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- Mock-up of the White Oak handle with Ebony spacer.
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- Ferrule is drilled. I also drilled the remaining piece of the handle. Just seemed easier to do in two pieces.
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- Handle assembled.
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- I freehanded the chamfered edges to create an octagonal shape.
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- Traditionally the tang would be heated red hot and fitted to the handle that way. I don’t have a torch so I opted for epoxy.
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- Ripping 7cm thick Oak for the sheath. The handle and sheath are from the same piece of White Oak.
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- Piece two of the sheath. I carved out the knife profile before lamiating the two pieces together.
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- The laminated sheath and Ebony retaining pin.
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- I finished the knife handle and sheath with boiled linseed oil.
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- Tojiro White #2 Carbon Steel Gyuto – 21cm. Rehandled with White Oak and Ebony.
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- Tojiro White #2 Carbon Steel Gyuto – 21cm. Rehandled with White Oak and Ebony. Saya made with the same woods.
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- Tojiro White #2 Carbon Steel Gyuto – 21cm. Rehandled with White Oak and Ebony. Saya made with the same woods.
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- Tojiro White #2 Carbon Steel Gyuto – 21cm. Rehandled with White Oak and Ebony. Saya made with the same woods.
