When I first started making handles for Japanese knives I didn't have access to many product examples to compare so I searched the internet for a sizing chart of sorts. It turns out there wasn't a very detailed one. The best I could find was mainly just "length of...
You can go ages without it happening, but eventually one of your knives will lose its tip. Whether it's during dinner service and someone (definitely wasn't you...) knocks it on the floor, or mysteriously you come back to your station from grabbing a coffee and no one...
I discovered some Japanese style handle makers out there use a method of construction involving a dowel insert. Essentially the handle and ferrule are drilled out to receive a matching size dowel with a slot cut from the dowel to fit the tang of the blade. I found...
Fujimoto Nashiji knives are made exclusively for Knifewear, a Canadian importer of high end Japanese knives. The core of the blade is Aogami #2 (blue #2) carbon steel clad in stainless steel. This gives all the benefits of a carbon steel knife with less maintenance...
Shun knives are quite popular in commercial kitchens. They're very durable and usually treated as such. This early model Shun Classic 10 inch chef knife has seen hard use and better days. The blade is pretty badly curved and has seen frequent sharpening. The resin...
This Poplar saya is for a Shun Kiritsuke 8 inch. I was playing around with thicknesses on this saya to dial in exactly how thick will give good protection but not look too bulky. This is an example of the Poplar sayas I will be offering for sale. [gallery link="file"...
Saya is the Japanese term for a scabbard or sheath specifically for a sword or knife. While researching the design and construction of these I discovered the main complaint about them was losing the retaining pin that keeps the knife locked inside. So I came up with a...
This is the Tojiro 150 mm petty that I purchased along with the 210 mm gyuto. I decided to go with a slightly different handle configuration using the same woods. The saya is constructed of Poplar and painted with black milk paint. Milk paint is made using milk...
This plane is made in the Taiwanese style. The body is 25cm long and made from a solid piece of White Oak. The wedge is Soft Maple. Put to use it glided over the stock surface and easily produced fine shavings. I am quite pleased with how it turned out! Plane...
On my exploration of wood joinery I stumbled across a simply constructed Japanese style bed. I believe tatami refers to the mats that a traditional tatami bed utilizes. I would be using a western style queen size mattress so I decided to design my own using the...
The Collection: This complete workshop set includes the Wa-Handle Guide and the Custom Saya Guide.
The Blueprints: Follow step-by-step technical drawings for the handle and wooden knife sheath.
The Workflow: Master the hand-tool methods for a custom wa-handle and saya using my workshop standards.