Handle design

T

Tin.Man

Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Messages
876
Say i want to make a wide blade guardless belt knife/bowie. 1.5-2" wide blade. Ive noticed a lot of makers will drop the butt end of the handle to line up with the heel of the edge so to speak. Is this pretty agreed up rule?

I prefer straighter handles with subtle curve, and when curving the handle i feel like it changes the feel and dynamic of the blade turning it more into a scimitar or kukri feel.

Love to hear other makers thoughts on this. If this doent make sense think of a winkler field knife or wheeler bowie and how the end edge side of the handle aligns with the edge.
 
Line the handle up with the spine of the blade. That's important for the looks.
Try and have some kind of flowing lines for the bottom of the handle, the ricasso and the rest if the blade.
Many old Sheffield bowies had a straight or almost straight handle
 
Many old Sheffield bowies look like they were designed mostly for ease of manufacture. And example would be the "broom handle" full tang bowies that allowed them to slip the guard over the skinny handle.
Hengelo_77 said:
Line the handle up with the spine of the blade. That's important for the looks.
Try and have some kind of flowing lines for the bottom of the handle, the ricasso and the rest if the blade.
Many old Sheffield bowies had a straight or almost straight handle
Click to expand...
 
Honestly, it is absolutly subjective! While some aspects are cemented, blade/handle design and feel(ergonomics), are largely a matter of personal preference. Some like thick handles, some like thinner. Many people like palm swells...coke bottle shaped handles. I hate them! Always preferring thinner, subtly rounded edges with almost flat sides. Same goes for angle relationship between blade & handle. The “curve”, if you will.

My disposition is to design and make what “I” like! What feels good to ME! What is aesthetically pleasing to MY eyes! I don’t attempt to make what I think OTHERS will find pleasing to the senses.
 
Now this is very subjective, but what i discovered early on when i was trying to do a Bill Moran style handle was that with a "sculpted" handle like that, I could grab it during the shopping process and tell exactly where more material needed to be sanded off, even very small amounts. Don't just trust your eyes because you aren't going to be grabbing that handle with your corneas. How many "cool" looking tactical knife handles have you seen that look like they would definitely require the use of "combat gloves" if you were planing on having any skin left on your hands after using them? ;)
 
I guess im the opposite all the knives ive made for myself or sold or bought usually had ugly handles but to me is just fine as my hand covers it and in the end its a tool meant to be used.

All the user feedback I have gotten people loved how they felt.

Now im going the other way and trying to mske useful designs look better, trying to find my style almost 100 knives later....

I appreciate the feedback all. Please keep it coming.

One armed Im with ya i hate coke bottle grips, mostly because to me they only feel good in essentially a fencers grip. Ill take a squared broomstick style handle any day.
 
God gave us our unique* senses for a reason!:D It wasn't by accident, but by design.....rather, by His plan!!

JDM61 does make a good point, but rest assured....what YOU might feel is ultra comfortable in the hand, feel atrocious to SOMEONE out there! Again, make knifes according to YOU’RE personal flavor. Never sacrifice your uniqueness for what you THINK others may want.

What I have come to find is if you make high quality, dependable knives....you will most assuredly have repeat customers. I have several patrons who have purchased 2, 3...even a couple people with 5 & 6 Knives!

“If you build it, they will come!”

-David
 
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