Japanese style handles

[ghost squire]

Where do some of you guys get your supply of rayskin? Mind letting me in on the secret?!

Also, are there any quick tips and tricks of working it? I want to create a fat wooden handle, layer it with rayskin and cover that with a Japanese style cordwrap. Is there a guide somewhere to wrapping?

Thanks!

 

[Ripper]

....Is there a guide somewhere to wrapping?

Thanks!

http://pages.prodigy.net/tlbuck/tsuka/tsuka.htm
Regards,
Greg

 

[ghost squire]

Excellent.... Thank you so much!

 

[ghost squire]

Found a source of stingray skin:

http://www.exoticleather.biz/large_views/stingray_leather/stingray_skin_round_black.htm

http://www.exoticleather.biz/large_views/stingray_leather/stingray _skin_long_black.htm

 

[Burchtree]

That place has some decent stingray. Adam Unlimited has great pieces.

What type of wrapping are wanting to do? The more traditional style with bamboo pins and such, or something simpler?

This one is great, but tough reading. http://www.n-p-s.net/tsukamaki01.cgi

 

[gator68]

If you want to do a japanese style wrap, be sure to get the rawhide, not a tanned leather stingray skin. The tanned version is soft and won't be what you're looking for.

 

[Burchtree]

Depending on what you're going to do with it. I use the tanned stuff quite a bit, but my handles aren't traditional either.

 

[dfarmerknives]

Ebay, freedomforbigearl, he posts frequently. I have also used Ben Kreiser in San Antonio TX. He does samauri restoration.

 

[ddavelarsen]

Fred Lohman might have it too, can't remember. That tsuka-maki site is great Michael, hadn't seen that one before. I snagged all the knot pics, gotta figure out how to do that... But clear as they are I'm still confused. I'll get there one way or another.

A valuable thing to notice is that the same does not go all the way around the handle, it's just panels. I made that mistake once and couldn't figure out why my handle looked so off.

 

[howiesatwork]

Burchtree, thanks for the link. There's more on their other pages that are of interest.
Pictures do make a difference when explaining this.
ddavelarsen, when you do panels that are proud of the surface, aren't those little triangles of paper supposed to be used? I forget.
I've got four that I have to do in traditional wraps: A Slobodian Koto Tanto, an Engnath Tanto, an Engnath Katana, and an old Shinshinto Wakizashi.
Fun projects.
Stingray Products, a subsidiary of Mother of Pearl Company, also has stingray rawhide skins, among other skins.

 

[Burchtree]

A lot of great info on that site. Wish I could read it.

The paper wedges are used to get the "crisp" triangle-shape in the fold.