Article I Wrote On Handle Shaping

[Fiddleback]

I think this article happened during my sabatical from BF. Thought y'all might like to hear my thoughts and reasons WRT handle shaping.

Get a Grip

Pro Tips for Properly Shaping the Interface Between Flesh and Steel Story by Andy RoyPhotos by Andy Roy, Eric Eggly, Fiddleback Outpost and Fellow Makers Photography When I started making knives, I go

www.knife-gear.com

 

[Cypress Creek Knives]

Great article! I haven’t read it before. It’s going in my “knife making” bookmark tab

 

[swonut]

Could you also talk a little about how you sand and finish the handles. I still struggle with the final stages to get them clean and even. Turning me on to the Pops superwheels helped a whole lot, but I'm still missing something. Pops superwheels.

.

Thanks!

-- Blaine

 

[Fiddleback]

WRT micartas, any dry or fuzzy section means you left scratches. Be sure the color and texture are even before progressing. I use scalloped j flex belts up to 600. Then I hand sand at 400 and 600. Then onto the super wheel (ultra fine) and white and pink buff. When you buff start w blade parallel to ground, the turn it vertical and go over that handle again with each buffing compound.

 

[swonut]

I guess I just need to spend more time sanding, then more time on the wheels, and then buff, buff, buff. - Or maybe do more birchbark handles...

Thanks for the info.

Picture, because it's a knife forum, not a word forum:

 

[Fiddleback]

I like that!!

 

[jmgruber]

A good motto for life - make it look sexy, not like poop!

 

[Mistwalker]

A good motto for life - make it look sexy, not like poop!

Yeah the first time I heard him tell someone in the pit their knife didn't pass the poop test I almost choked on my beer laughing

 

[Crag the Brewer]

Yeah the first time I heard him tell someone in the pit their knife didn't pass the poop test I almost choked on my beer laughing

Yeah, I'm not sure What to make of that.... definitely colorful wording
Gets some attention. :0

 

[Mistwalker]

Yeah, I'm not sure What to make of that.... definitely colorful wording
Gets some attention. :0

Don't get me wrong, I've watched and photographed Andy shaping a LOT of habdles. I know all too well how much time and effort he puts into designing and shaping his knife handles. And he takes a lot of pride in his finished products.

I totally get that the broomstick handles can easily be seen as taking the lazy way out. I personally desoned three knives for production companies that have sort of a broomstick pommel shape. And I did it because for one I felt the companies took the lazy way out every chance they got, and it would make it easier on them. And secondly I knew it would make it easier for aftermarket scale makers to make micarta scales for them and keep the price point down for improving inexpensive knives.

 

[Fiddleback]

Yeah, I'm not sure What to make of that.... definitely colorful wording
Gets some attention. :0

I got tired of apprentices bringing me multiple designs with broomstick tangs. I teach that the pommel area is well defined and there are lots of hashed out choices there. Everything from the canoe to the birds beak to a horse head, its all been done. So I came up with wording that nipped that problem in the bud immediately. Poop shaped. It wasn't about getting attention, it was about shaming apprentices to putting more thought into their designs. But then everyone thought it was funny and it went viral...

 

[Comprehensivist]

I got tired of apprentices bringing me multiple designs with broomstick tangs. I teach that the pommel area is well defined and there are lots of hashed out choices there. Everything from the canoe to the birds beak to a horse head, its all been done. So I came up with wording that nipped that problem in the bud immediately. Poop shaped. It wasn't about getting attention, it was about shaming apprentices to putting more thought into their designs. But then everyone thought it was funny and it went viral...

Thanks Andy for sharing your wisdom and experience with so many apprentices over the years. You established a distinct aesthetic style and a proven system for teaching it. It has been fun to watch how many of them retained your core teaching concepts while developing their own unique design style when they become independent knifemakers. Handle design is perhaps the most important factor that separates the ones who succeed vs. the ones who struggle.

From an experienced buyer’s perspective, I have a slightly more nuanced opinion on handle shapes that work for me in both a practical and aesthetic sense.

I totally get your dislike of rounded broomstick shaped handles that contribute nothing in the way of grip security, indexing, or aesthetic beauty. What it does provide on the positive side is more usable handle length and no hot spots.

What I dislike are pommel shapes designed primarily for aesthetic distinctiveness when it either limits usable handle length on the bottom or incorporates sharp edges or points on the pommel that poke me in the side while actively hiking on uneven terrain.

Usable handle length for a comfortable four finger grip is my top priority when considering buying a knife. I made that point ten years ago when I made that post here showing that the Patch, with a more simple pommel shape, has more usable handle length than the Bushcrafter Jr. with a birds beak pommel despite similar overall length. My opinion of the importance of this feature has only gotten stronger since then.

Years ago when I was discussing handle shaping with another knowledgeable and experienced forum friend, he made the comment that the perfect handle shape should feel like you took a ball of Playdough and squeezed it into your fist to yield the ideal hand-filling shape with no sharp edges or hot spots. I still ponder that comment every time I look at a new knife…

Phil

 

[Crag the Brewer]

Thanks Andy for sharing your wisdom and experience with so many apprentices over the years. You established a distinct aesthetic style and a proven system for teaching it. It has been fun to watch how many of them retained your core teaching concepts while developing their own unique design style when they become independent knifemakers. Handle design is perhaps the most important factor that separates the ones who succeed vs. the ones who struggle.

From an experienced buyer’s perspective, I have a slightly more nuanced opinion on handle shapes that work for me in both a practical and aesthetic sense.

I totally get your dislike of rounded broomstick shaped handles that contribute nothing in the way of grip security, indexing, or aesthetic beauty. What it does provide on the positive side is more usable handle length and no hot spots.

What I dislike are pommel shapes designed primarily for aesthetic distinctiveness when it either limits usable handle length on the bottom or incorporates sharp edges or points on the pommel that poke me in the side while actively hiking on uneven terrain.

Usable handle length for a comfortable four finger grip is my top priority when considering buying a knife. I made that point ten years ago when I made that post here showing that the Patch, with a more simple pommel shape, has more usable handle length than the Bushcrafter Jr. with a birds beak pommel despite similar overall length. My opinion of the importance of this feature has only gotten stronger since then.

Years ago when I was discussing handle shaping with another knowledgeable and experienced forum friend, he made the comment that the perfect handle shape should feel like you took a ball of Playdough and squeezed it into your fist to yield the ideal hand-filling shape with no sharp edges or hot spots. I still ponder that comment every time I look at a new knife…

Phil

Paraphrasing, but I think it was Loveless who said that a good knife should feel like your**** in your hand.
I've never seen a birds beak or coke bottle shaped looking one.... That would be scary.
Haha.

I don't make many Kephart knives, but I consider that knife style near perfect. My personal style is a bit more shaped, but I see a lot of value in its intent.

Fish, bombs, and turds are all shaped similarly....God made them That way for a reason.....Seems kinda Perfect.

 

[Mistwalker]

Paraphrasing, but I think it was Loveless who said that a good knife should feel like your**** in your hand.

I guess it all comes down to perspective. We used to test a lot of knives at Ethan Beckers gatherings back about 13 years ago. Since I was still writing for magazines back then, I was always interested in what was being tested and their outcomes. In fact during one test in 2012 I offered up my Fiddleback Camp knife as a sacrifice on the alter of heat treat testing, when a lot of other maker's knives were chipping and failing, some in spectacular fashion. And the Camp Knife set the standard as to how the heat treat should be, chopping lots of thick green bamboo with no failures and contuing to cut well after, but I digress...

A year after that, I think, David Anderson was just about to launch Nordsmith Knives, and he brought the first Canteen knife there to pass around and let people check it out. I think the pommel area was a little more pronounced than it is on the production model in the pic. There were mixed opinions, some polar. Ranging from "man that's awesome David!" to "I don't know man, I don't tink I want a knife with a penis-shaped handle". I almost drowned on that one too. But the lesson I learned was it's impossible to please everyone at once with the same design, and you just have to stay true to your own philosophies. Because if they are based in reality in real world use, they will find their niches.

 

[Crag the Brewer]

I guess it all comes down to perspective. We used to test a lot of knives at Ethan Beckers gatherings back about 13 years ago. Since I was still writing for magazines back then, I was always interested in what was being tested and their outcomes. In fact during one test in 2012 I offered up my Fiddleback Camp knife as a sacrifice on the alter of heat treat testing, when a lot of other maker's knives were chipping and failing, some in spectacular fashion. And the Camp Knife set the standard as to how the heat treat should be, chopping lots of thick green bamboo with no failures and contuing to cut well after, but I digress...

A year after that, I think, David Anderson was just about to launch Nordsmith Knives, and he brought the first Canteen knife there to pass around and let people check it out. I think the pommel area was a little more pronounced than it is on the production model in the pic. There were mixed opinions, some polar. Ranging from "man that's awesome David!" to "I don't know man, I don't tink I want a knife with a penis-shaped handle". I almost drowned on that one too. But the lesson I learned was it's impossible to please everyone at once with the same design, and you just have to stay true to your own philosophies. Because if they are based in reality in real world use, they will find their niches.

Those gatherings would have been a Blast...super jealous!

I agree, I find it very interesting that we all like so many Different things... It's almost like our hands aren't the same....

It's important for makers to think differently, because we are all different. I guess.

 

[Fiddleback]

Thanks Andy for sharing your wisdom and experience with so many apprentices over the years. You established a distinct aesthetic style and a proven system for teaching it. It has been fun to watch how many of them retained your core teaching concepts while developing their own unique design style when they become independent knifemakers. Handle design is perhaps the most important factor that separates the ones who succeed vs. the ones who struggle.

From an experienced buyer’s perspective, I have a slightly more nuanced opinion on handle shapes that work for me in both a practical and aesthetic sense.

I totally get your dislike of rounded broomstick shaped handles that contribute nothing in the way of grip security, indexing, or aesthetic beauty. What it does provide on the positive side is more usable handle length and no hot spots.

What I dislike are pommel shapes designed primarily for aesthetic distinctiveness when it either limits usable handle length on the bottom or incorporates sharp edges or points on the pommel that poke me in the side while actively hiking on uneven terrain.

Usable handle length for a comfortable four finger grip is my top priority when considering buying a knife. I made that point ten years ago when I made that post here showing that the Patch, with a more simple pommel shape, has more usable handle length than the Bushcrafter Jr. with a birds beak pommel despite similar overall length. My opinion of the importance of this feature has only gotten stronger since then.

Years ago when I was discussing handle shaping with another knowledgeable and experienced forum friend, he made the comment that the perfect handle shape should feel like you took a ball of Playdough and squeezed it into your fist to yield the ideal hand-filling shape with no sharp edges or hot spots. I still ponder that comment every time I look at a new knife…

Phil

I hear you. Your concept of Usable Handle Length changed how I make and design knives Phil. Many of my knives have open handle concepts since you introduced that to me years ago, and they are not broomstick shaped. You can do an open handle design without sacrificing an open ended handle for big handed people.

 

[Mistwalker]

Those gatherings would have been a Blast...super jealous!

I agree, I find it very interesting that we all like so many Different things... It's almost like our hands aren't the same....

It's important for makers to think differently, because we are all different. I guess.

The gatherings were awesome, all of us from Tennessee in the grou hated to see Ethan move out west.

I guess I'm the odd guy out here when it comes to handles. I can deal with almost any style of pommel as long as it clears my hand on a larger knife and isn't painful to use.

After years of T&E for TK Magazine, and years of R&D for RMJ Tactical and TOPS Knives, ... and testing stuff at Ethan's, I am far more concerned with the execution of the guard end of the handle than the pommel end. I just can't deal with an exposed entegral guard that my forefinger rubs on when doing tip work, or that my pinkie impacts in overhand thrusts.

But then I'm also not a "Bushcrafter" per se, I'm into fieldcraft and have mostly studied it from a soldier's perspective since my dad started training me to live off the land when I was 9 and 10, and started training me in other military type maneuvers and endeavors from 11-13 when he had an accident at work that ended our training. I'm also not overly fond of multi-fit or universal fit pouch sheaths. Another reason I like guards is that I prefer sheaths with retention made specifically for the knife. Either with retention straps or that snap in, for the knives I field in deeper darker places.

The two knives I field the most these days are a Randall #11-5. and an EMK Ranger, heavily influenced by the Randall #14. I carry Ed''s Ranger more than any lately since I'm usually in some pretty deep woods for a while and never know what world I'll come out in. A lot of crazy stuff going on around here regarding trafficking.

 

[Comprehensivist]

I hear you. Your concept of Usable Handle Length changed how I make and design knives Phil. Many of my knives have open handle concepts since you introduced that to me years ago, and they are not broomstick shaped. You can do an open handle design without sacrificing an open ended handle for big handed people.

Thanks for the kind acknowledgement Andy. I received several messages from forum members over the years thanking me and saying that understanding this concept helped them make better buying decisions on knives. I wasn’t aware that my thoughts on handle design influenced you that much.

I have to credit you back and say that it was only after a deep study of dozens of your trendsetting designs that I owned that I was able to identify subtle feature differences that yielded the best handle fit and performance for me. I recognize how you applied some of those thoughts in the design evolution of more recent models like the Boudreaux and Evangeline to name just a couple. With well north of a hundred models in your design catalog, you certainly have many design options, old and new, to please just about everyone.

Perhaps I’ll have to try to schedule a 2-Day Fiddleback University class sometime in 2026 to learn the knifemaking process first hand. I would like to try to remake my old 3/32” CPM 154 Gaucho and I have long had an idea for a tweaked version of one of my favorite of your older designs that I would like to run by you and see if we could bring it to life.

Thanks my friend!

Phil