Making a Wa Style Handle for a Kurimuki Blade

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me2

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Oct 11, 2003
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I have a Kurimuki blade made from high speed steel I want to finish with a Wa style handle with a wood ferrule and using a different wood for the main handle. I’ve tried drilling the ferrule hole close and burning the hole with a heated tang. This gives a tight fitting hole but causes cracks in the wood (Ebony).

Should I try a different wood? How close should the hole be before burning? I haven’t chosen a handle wood as I’ve tried a few times and haven’t gotten past the ferrule stage yet. I have mahogany and cherry available but I used the piece of ebony in failed attempts.
 
I never did burn in tangs, but I think you should drill and file the ebony to fit. Color your epoxy black and the gaps will be invisible. I dont think the burn in works well with dense and oily woods.

If you try it again, have the tang almost entering completly, and burn im only the last 0.2-0.5mm and tell us how it goes.
 
First - NEVER burn in ebony ... or get it hot.

use a jewelers saw and small files. Drill the starter holes with small drill bits. Use a ball burr in a Dremel or flex shaft to open up the slot from the back side of the bolster block larger than the tang. That way you only have to snug fit the front of the bolster block.
If you use the Custom Search Engine in the Stickys you will find dozens of treads on fitting a wa handle.

Here is a detailed thread on a custom yanagi-ba I did years ago. The bolster fitting is on page 3
 
When I do Wa handles with ferrules, I use a 3/8" to 1/2" diameter wood dowel (I try to get it close to the tang size) as a tenon between the ferrule and body of the handle (and through any spacers). I drill the small pilot hole in the center of the ferrule all the way through the ferrule block from the front, then drill the hole for the dowel into the ferrule from the back of the ferrule block and leave around 1/4"-1/2" or so of the solid ferrule in the front. You can fit up the front of the ferrule to the blade before the handle is shaped and stuff, too.

Many people cut down the middle of the dowel to leave room for the tang to go in to or burn in the tang into the dowel itself, not the regular wood handles. I usually leave the dowel whole, but make it so it doesn't go fully to the end of the hole in the main handle body. This way I can drill through the dowel, and then use broach/needle rasps to file the tang slot, but I don't need to go all of the way down. The cavity at the back of the dowel is open, so I only have to fit the first couple inches of the tang and the rest goes into the cavity.

The handle and ferrule are the 2 black rectangles. The dowel is the red rectangle and the blue rectangle is the open space at the end of the dowel:
OEMeGXJ.jpeg
 
I ruined the last of my ebony, which prompted this thread. I tried again and used some old cherry I had left over from some other project.

I am now the proud owner of a tight fitting ferrule after drilling with a new bit 5/64” wide and cutting the slot with a dremel cutter chucked into my drill press. I burned in the tang after that to get the little bit of material on the sides removed. Now just need a wood that will go well with the cherry wood. I’m leaning toward Poplar.
 
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Poplar is a general term for several trees. If it is poplar from Home Depot, it is the wrong kind. Use the fingernail test to see if you can dent it. If so, it is too soft for a knife handle. I use stabilized holly for some light color wa handles but mainly use stabilized curly maple. Pretty much any hard tight grain wood will work, though.

I'd be glad to send you a nice piece for your knife if you would like. Send me an email - sapelt@cox.net
 
me2 said:
I ruined the last ebony, which prompted this thread. I tried again and used some old cherry I had left over from some other project.

I am now the proud owner of a tight fitting ferrule after drilling with a new bit 5/64” wide and cutting the slot with a dremel cutter chucked into my drill press. I burned in the tang after that to get the little bit of material on the sides removed. Now just need a wood that will go well with the cherry wood. I’m leaning toward Poplar.
Click to expand...
Invert the wa handle and use the dark wood for the handle. Could also be a piece of niece dark walnut, a dark rosewood, kingwood or cocobolo would work good as well.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Poplar is a general term for several trees. If it is poplar from Home Depot, it is the wrong kind. Use the fingernail test to see if you can dent it. If so, it is too soft for a knife handle. I use stabilized holly for some light color wa handles but mainly use stabilized curly maple. Pretty much any hard tight grain wood will work, though.

I'd be glad to send you a nice piece for your knife if you would like. Send me an email - sapelt@cox.net
Click to expand...
I don’t want to turn down such a generous offer but maybe my second handle in this style isn’t the place to use it. There is a decent chance I’ll ruin it. I’ll save it until I’ve had more practice.
 
i use a mimni mill and 3/32 endmill to make the front slot. i mark where the tang needs space and flip the front block and switch to a 3/16 end mill (the 3/32 slot is normaly only about an 1/8 deep) i relieve the back of the front block at 3/16. next up i get the rear block in the mill and drill lit out best i can. the tang along with epoxy are plenty to keep the 2 blocks together. one trick i also do is when i drill for the tang pin i make the hole for the pin slightly behind where the tang hole is i taper part of the pin then when i drive it in the pin can pull the blocks together. when done right you can even do about 90% of the handle shaping before epoxy is even in the handle
 
Got your email Chris. I'll get a goodie box together for you.

BTW, I get asked regularly why they are called "wa" handles. Wa is the word for "Harmony" and is applied to things that are intrinsically "Japanese". What in its long form would be a " Harmonious Japanese style handle" is simplified to "Japanese handle".
Wagyu beef is literally "Japanese cattle".
Western is "Yo", and western style handles on Japanese blades are called yo-handled (Gyuto).

There are several types of wa handles. While everyone thinks of the traditional octagon, the shield and oval are probably more popular in daily use. Shinogi is very good for precise cutting like in preparing sushi. To be honest, plain wa is sort of clunky in the hand.
Here is a good description of the four shapes/styles (styles are a description of the cross section):
  • Octagonal (wa): Very popular with a firm grip and great control.
  • Oval: Features the most comfortable design with fair control and grip.
  • D-shape (shinogi): The only non-ambidextrous wa-handle, D-shape has the firmest grip with excellent control.
  • Shield (hinoura): Perfect for cooks with small hands, the shield wa-handle has a comfortable grip with good control.
 
I had to put this one down for a while. I found some maple for a ferrule and plan to use the mahogany for the body of the handle. I got the maple ferrule fitted today. Next step is to fit the body and glue it up. The slot is just a tiny bit bigger than the thickness of the blade and fits right to the taper. When this knife is done, I'll probably have to give it away. If I keep it for myself, I'll just keep tinkering with it until I ruin it. I've seen me do it before.
 
I''ll have to try that D-Shape Wa handle - my wife and I are both right handed so the D-shape would be good. I've always built the Octagonal shape handle.
 
Give it a try. Shinogi tsuka is very comfortable to use.

Here is how I grind a shinogi handle for a kitchen blade:
Start with a rectangular handle block and a front bolster block. Fit the bolster to the tang as normal and drill out the handle block for the tang.
Use just a drop of CA on each side and attach the bolster to the handle block with the tang in place to assure alignment. Remove the blade and start shaping the handle on the ura (off-hand or back) side. Grind it as if the handle will be oval, but don't grind the top section on the omote (strong-hand or front) side yet. Once roughed in, start grinding the top of omote side. Bring the top down in a slightly curved angle to about 25-30% down the side. Then adjust the bottom curve to meet it. Refine the shinogi until the handle feels right for your hand. Lower the shinogi as needed to feel right, but never more than the mid-line. Leave the handle a bit fat to allow for finer grit sanding and slight adjustments after assembly. The handle should taper from butt to bolster, BTW.
Put the handle in the freezer for a few hours and take out. Give the joint of the bolster and handle a sharp rap with a mallet and the bolster should fall off. Assemble the handle as normal and finish the handle after the epoxy is dry.

"D" is a misleading term. It is more of a lopsided oval. Here is an image of the end and placement of the shinogi for a right-handed person:
1734458458032.png
 
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