It’s always hard to remember to catch some of the process in pictures when you’re ready to dive into a project. Here is a broad strokes view of a custom wa-handle and black finish saya for a Hitohira Futana SB Kuro Tsuchime Gyuto 210 mm. The handle is assembled with epoxy and finished with Tung oil.
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 this method has a few advantages for assembly and makes tang fitting a little easier.
I decided to try it on my Tojiro knives that needed some upgrading.
Type: Tojiro Shirogami Gyuto
Length: 210 mm
Steel: Shirogami #2 (white #2)
Handle Shape: Octagonal
Handle Material: Claro Walnut, Wild Apple wood
Handle Length: 135 mm
Ferrule: 30 mm
Ferrule End Width: 18 mm
Ferrule End Height: 23 mm
Butt End Width: 21 mm
Butt End Height: 26 mm
Type: Tojiro Shirogami Petty
Length: 150 mm
Steel: Shirogami #2 (white #2)
Handle Shape: Octagonal
Handle Material: Claro Walnut, Wild Apple wood
Handle Length: 120 mm
Ferrule: 28 mm
Ferrule End Width: 15 mm
Ferrule End Height: 18 mm
Butt End Width: 18 mm
Butt End Height: 21 mm
Saya – Knife Covers: Poplar
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 since the only part that can rust is the exposed cutting edge.
The request for this knife was to make it stand out from the crowd. After some dialogue back and forth the only real request was that I use some funky figured wood. Here is what I came up with.
Type: Fujimoto Nashiji Gyuto
Length: 243 mm
Steel: Aogami #2 (blue #2)
Blade Height: 47 mm
Tang Thickness: 6 mm
Handle Shape: Octagonal
Handle Material: Maple Burl, African Padauk, Ebony
Handle Length: 143 mm
Ferrule End Width: 19 mm
Ferrule End Height: 23 mm
Butt End Width: 21 mm
Butt End Height: 26 mm
I particularly like the size and dual taper on this octagonal handle. It is a good size for a workhorse knife but is still nimble for finer work. The ferrule has been sealed around the tang of the knife with epoxy to prevent moisture from entering into the handle. The blade road was lightly polished out to give the knife a bit more of a refined look. I think the contrast with the hand hammered finish goes nicely. The knife was then hand sharpened on a progression of synthetic Japanese water stones and finally stropped with 0.5 micron compound (30,000 grit).
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.
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 way of tethering the pin to the saya. Not a new idea but it functions well and suits the style of construction.
The method of construction is lamination. For this particular saya there is three layers. Poplar on the outsides and cedar on the inside. The retaining pin is made of Arbutus. All using traditional hand tool methods. The only time a machine came into play was for drilling the holes. The finish is Boiled Linseed Oil.
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 protein, lime and earth or mineral pigments. It is environmentally friendly and non-toxic. It has been used for hundreds of years on furniture and in the past families typically had their own recipe they would pass down through the generations. It is water based so it doesn’t just form a layer on top of the surface that can chip off. It gets into the pores of the wood more like a stain than modern paints.
Handle Dimensions:
Overall Length: 110 mm
Width: 15 mm
Height: 22 mm
Ferrule: 10 mm
