Thought I'd share some "firsts"- yanagiba project

pwheeler

pwheeler

Joined
Dec 30, 2013
Messages
282
This knife is my first traditional Japanese style knife, first Wa handle or hidden tang of any kind for that matter, and first asymmetrical grind. It has a 36" hollow grind on the back done by hand with a curved sanding block. The back and blade face/ricasso are 800 grit hand finished, the bevel is scotch-brite satin over 1000 grit hand finish. Handle is cocobolo and gaboon ebony with copper accent. Of course being something new and different there are a few things I would like to get even better, but overall I am very happy with the results. Not sure what its fate will be yet, might keep or sell or sell/beta test with someone. At any rate, had a great time doing something different. It was one of those projects that kept me thinking about my next move, which are always the most fun for me. Thanks to Stacy and the others that chimed in with advice when I started the knife!

nXe7O8Kh.jpg


AEP2jZeh.jpg


vtOU9MBh.jpg
 
That is really a classy looking knife. Great lines and choice of materials.
 
Phil, really nice job!

Fit-up of the ebony bolster and handle looks perfect.





Make a simple blade case ( shirasaya) from soft white wood ( Ho, Alder, Magnolia, Tupelo, or Bass wood will be fine.) Use an ebony peg ( mekugi) to retain the knife in the saya. It should look like a short cribbage peg. (Tip- you can turn the peg on your drill press) The hole in the saya for the peg ( mekugi-ana) is at the curve behind the blade's heel. For a really neat flair, add a small ebony kurikata to the saya and have the peg on a loop of thin silk cord that goes through it.
Complicated as all this sounds, it will take about half an hour to do, and adds a lot to the look and value of the knife.
 
Thanks gents! Saya is already underway in curly maple, glued it up yesterday, about to go brave the cold shop to shape it. I'll throw up a picture of the back of the blade and the saya when it's done.
 
Wow, very nice work. I bet it was a chore grinding that urasuki by hand..What steel?
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Phil, really nice job!

Fit-up of the ebony bolster and handle looks perfect.





Make a simple blade case ( shirasaya) from soft white wood ( Ho, Alder, Magnolia, Tupelo, or Bass wood will be fine.) Use an ebony peg ( mekugi) to retain the knife in the saya. It should look like a short cribbage peg. (Tip- you can turn the peg on your drill press) The hole in the saya for the peg ( mekugi-ana) is at the curve behind the blade's heel. For a really neat flair, add a small ebony kurikata to the saya and have the peg on a loop of thin silk cord that goes through it.
Complicated as all this sounds, it will take about half an hour to do, and adds a lot to the look and value of the knife.
Click to expand...
Do you have a picture of this Stacy? I'm not sure if I am seeing right in my mind or not.
 
Better pics with saya, I'll still add a retention pin. I was finish-sanding S90V blades today, I've had it with knife stuff for the day. The steel is 52100 heat treated by Peters. I will probably do more of these, but switch to S35VN.

yNIFwLqh.jpg


Hj6pDpth.jpg


mWOxOg0h.jpg


NdhhYMEh.jpg
 
Brock47 said:
I'm curious how you will sharpen this one. On the chisel side, sharpen the full bevel?
Click to expand...

I was curious about this too. I took the whole bevel down to 0.002" or so, then there is a very small convex micro bevel. On the flat side I just quickly knocked off the burr with the strop. It was very much an experiment figuring out how to make it work with what I have.
 
pwheeler said:
I was curious about this too. I took the whole bevel down to 0.002" or so, then there is a very small convex micro bevel. On the flat side I just quickly knocked off the burr with the strop. It was very much an experiment figuring out how to make it work with what I have.
Click to expand...

Your design looks really good Phil. I don't envy you the hand sanding the urasuki. Your blade is a great shape though.
I have roughly the same design with mine on the bevel, but yours is much wider. I'm sharpening mine now, and it's a real challenge.

I'd be very interested to hear more of your thoughts on this one. It was a real challenge for me to make, but very interesting too. Are you going to make another?

Good sharpening video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg7hpa75tuA
 
Thanks for the video Brock. I don't have stones, hence the making it up as I went, some on the machine and some with 1500 grit paper on the granite, although frankly I couldn't get that to work the way I wanted it. It was ruining my crisp grind line and leaving a very streaky finish. I'm pretty settled on keeping this one and continuing to play around with it, I have plans to go use a friends stones this week and see how that turns out.

I have another blade rough ground and hardened in the same design, it was the better of the two so I saved that one for after I've made my mistakes:-). I'll probably use, and fool with, this one a bit and see if there are any lessons to be learned, then I'll come back and finish that one up for sale.
 
Saya came out nice.

Randy,
Normally the retention pin ( mekugi) is a friction fit in a tapered hole (ana). The kurikata is a little exposed lug with a hole through it near the mouth of the saya. It normally has a braided cord ( sageo) used to tie the saya to the belt ( obi) and keep it in place. I was saying that a thin silk cord or lace could be run in a loop through the kurikata and mekugi. That way the pin does not roll off the counter or get lost in a drawer if it falls out. I have done this once, but don't have a photo. I will try and remember to do it on the next yanagi-ba saya and post it.
 
pwheeler said:
Thanks for the video Brock. I don't have stones, hence the making it up as I went, some on the machine and some with 1500 grit paper on the granite, although frankly I couldn't get that to work the way I wanted it. It was ruining my crisp grind line and leaving a very streaky finish. I'm pretty settled on keeping this one and continuing to play around with it, I have plans to go use a friends stones this week and see how that turns out.

I have another blade rough ground and hardened in the same design, it was the better of the two so I saved that one for after I've made my mistakes:-). I'll probably use, and fool with, this one a bit and see if there are any lessons to be learned, then I'll come back and finish that one up for sale.
Click to expand...

I hope you'll post your progress on the new one as well. It is hard to come by maker info on the Yanagiba, I think because there are not a lot of folks making them. (They are so challenging and so much work to get just right).
You've probably seen Ian Roger's WIP? http://www.haburnknives.com/blog/2014/7/2/yanagiba-work-in-progress
It's not incredibly detailed but has some interesting points to it. He is a pretty amazing knife maker as well.

I'll be roughing out another one for HT and try and take it to the next level. I'll probably post a WIP, for what it's worth.

Thanks again for posting your experience with this one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top