Handle design

L

LaMess

Joined
Nov 24, 2001
Messages
120
I recently went to the Badger Knife Show in Janesville WI and was priveleged to look at many fine knives. I soon stopped looking at the grinds etc. because I already knew I have a long way to go and I started looking at handle designs. Almost all where flat slabs with rounded corners and little other third deminsion.

So the question. How do you work out a good handle? I figure the priorities are safety, comfort, flexibility and some compromise with the desired materials (I like wood so I am not limited to rounds or slabs). All, of course influenced by the knife and its' porpoise.

I read Mr. Fowler about chopping through railroad ties so I understand testing prototypes. It is getting to a good prototype to test that I am interested in.

I've been squeezing the daughters clay with various grips and making profiles and fondling them a lot.

Suggestions?

ALso my hands are short fat and stubby so how do you scale results to long and slender etc.?

Any help at all is welcome but I love pictures; especially of blisters.
Regards

Lynn
 
Oh Yeah. Squeezing clay led to finger grooves and fondling with different grips led to expanding them. I supect grip versatility and finger grooves are contradictions. Opinions?

regards

lynn
 
You should start by reading and looking at a lot of pictures. There are certain handle designs that just go with certain blades. Second look at your wood. Different woods have different strengths. Work with the good points and try to minimize the bad.
Try to decide what you want the knife to do. The strongest grip I know of is tape. Looks like He!! but holds up well and is a snap to replace. Do you want a period piece, fighter, camp knife, skinner or what. Use materials and a design that will withstand what you are doing and allow you to grip it properly.
I design my knives to fit my hand. If it doesn't fit the end user, change it for them. Try to make them attractive but unless you are doing an art knife remember that form follows function
 
I am actually pretty good at this, I'd post pics but i dont think Mike would be happy with me>

Get knives that you think have a good grip. I like the AFCK and its derivitive the Commander, i also enjoy the Ken Onion Vapor (mine's from kershaw)

Look at these knives and decide what you like and dont like about them, trace them on paper, and start with some small modifications. Take silly putty and fill in certain parts of the handle and imagine what it would feel like with out other parts.

In general.

Thin at index finger, swell at ring finger, flat spot for little finger, gentle curve (banana shape) to the over all handle. cross section should be hour glass shaped. Consider thumb ramps and how they change the knife.

Consider the uses, simple handles are good for utility a la the MT LCC (also Vapor) But more elaberate high retention handles are good for tactical work (AFCK)

Look at how different handles make the knife present its self in a different way. Look at how the AFCK and the MT Socom Elite have similar aspects but when held are very different.

Brian Intoccia
 
Jerry Hossom posted here a while ago that the way he designs a handle is to hold your hand as you would when gripping the knife, and wherever there is empty space in your hand, that should be handle. Makes sense to me.
 
Maybe somebody has worked out the statistical norm for a hand.

Given how clothing and shoe manufacturers interpert what I assume is a 'standard' size, wherein every brand fits differently at least on me, the hand norm would have many versions indeed.
 
:confused: I don't know RR it just keeps getting softer as I squeeze it. Must be gettin old.

Otherwise - Thanks all I'm larnin stuff

Lynn
 
Always remember , a persons hand is not flat . Gently close your hand and look at the curve in the palm . The less a person has to flex his or her wrist to reach the cutting angle the longer they will use the knife without discomfort . Think drop butt . I know I'm not a maker but I sure use the hell out of my fixed blades on a daily basis . Make a flat handle and drop butt knife and give them to someone to use for an extended period , I bet they go back to the drop butt . Just my opionion as a fixed blade addict .
 
I have large hands so my norm is to rough grind the handle to fit me, then when I finish sanding the handle is just a tad under size for me. This seems fit most people.

If your looking for a handle prototype, I'd go with a block of readily avaliable hardwood(read cheap but strong), forget sealing and make a rough blade and several difarnt handle styles to fit the test blade. Even then, difernt' blades will need differnt handles, but it should give you a good idea of where to go from there.

Some things I like in a handle in general is a palm swell, a little bit of a hook at the back for the pinki, and a little narrower at the forfinger with a cross section something like a Coke bottle. I think it was Jerry Hossom who said something like even if you dipped a knife handle in motor oil you should still be able to hang on to it.

One thing I hate on a knife handle is any sharp edges or even squared edges.

Hope this helps
 
When making handles,The first thing I think about is comfort,And this includes how well it will fit when being held in any position.If it doesn't fit correctly in a reverse grip or upside down grip then I modify it.Curves are definately better than straight lines.Squared edges are definately a no-no...
You want to have flowing lines from riccasso to handle this way you have no unpleasing lines to look at,Just make all transitions from blade to handle even and flowing with no straight lines (gentle curves are better to look at..The most beautiful thing God created was the Female form,and there is no straight lines on a woman just gentle flowing curves.And a good looking woman is never hard to look at or to hold ;) If you keep that in mind when making a knife you will never go wrong..
Now there is a exception to this rule and that is if you are re-creating and antique knife and the design didn't have these general rules.Which allot of the older Bowie knives and hunting knives didn't...But allot of these can be modified to look like the original but feel like they should in the hand...
If you are wanting to see what will work good for other people,either get some buddies to stop by the shop as you are grinding out some handles and get there opinions on the fel of the handle,or cut and grind some complete knives from a piece of pine shelving material (like a 1X2) and take them around and have your buddies hold them in all positions and give you there honest opinion on how they feel,This will also let you see how it will look with different blade shapes..
Getting a litle long here,hope this helps out some..
Bruce
 
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