Haven't had the chance to chop with her yet, but the handle feels good despite some unevenness between the tang and the wood handle pieces. Can anyone suggest what I can do to smooth out the uneven transition between the tang and handle?
It's a beauty. I have one that looks identical, down to the shape and proportions of the handle. However, mine is the older style with the very thick tang, and weighs 37 oz. At that weight it's quite a handful, but the balance feels great.
If you can get some clear photos of the uneven transition between tang and handle, some people might be better able to advise you on possible fixes. It's easy if you just need to file away a little of the wood, but more often it's the wood that shrinks slightly, leaving the edges of the steel tang exposed.
One possibility is to fill any gap with epoxy. Mask off the wood with tape and after the epoxy cures file down any excess or roughness. If it's clear epoxy the fix will be barely noticeable, or there are ways to make the epoxy match the color of the wood.
If it's just a slight protruding edge of the steel tang you can file that down. Again, mask off the wood and use a small, fine file -- available at any good sized hardware store. The steel is soft and can easily be filed or even sanded. The tricky part is to make sure you don't scratch the surrounding wood.
