Which came first, the handle or the blade?

Tai Goo

Tai Goo

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… Kind of like, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

..... You could think of this as a scientific experiment…………………….......

Customarily, I always used to start with the blade and fit the handle to it, but lately I’ve been trying starting with the handle and fitting the blade to it. How much good is a blade without a handle, right? So,… I figured get the handle out of the way first, then concentrate on the blade.

I’m not really sure how or why it makes a difference (or if it really even does),… but it seems to somehow?
 
I don't use anything for layout (yet) so I just go by looks and feel. I really try to work on both at the same time until I'm happy with the overall shape then I start my bevel.

So I guess I'm handle first even though I thought I did it the other way around. :D Then again I do everything but sharpen the blade before I put the scales on.

I still leave my handles a bit oversized to allow for final grinding so they are the last thing done before sharpening.
 
Ty
i hope there will not be a "Test" to see if anyone gets it right :confused:
personally i do both ,the majority of the time i do the blade shaping/grinding etc first then put a handle on that "Fit's" the overall size/shape/grind of the knife,after i get it all pretty close to where i am "Happy" with it i begin the sheath so it has a little time to dry as other things are being done ,like hand sanding.
i do agree it takes a little more "Vision/ Creativity" to start with the handle first and can provide a nice "Change" from the "Normal" i guess i'm just a little "crazy"because i try to listen to the knife as it is being made and try to make "Adjustments" as i go . size/shape/balance must all "Jive"
 
I usually have a blade shape/knife type in mind to start with. Easier for me to adapt a handle/hardware to the blade than the other way around. But that is surely because don't have your talent with the hammer Tai.
Thanks for trying to make us think outside the box. :thumbup:
 
I think sheath first... then blade.... the handle is simply insurance, should the blade get stuck in the sheath.:p


Rick
 
I generally start with the basic concept and then decide my priorities from there. What properties should the handle have for the jobs I intend for the knife? What about the blade? Materials....
Often the exact order between handle and blade comes down to which flows out of me the easiest when sketching. I draw the whole thing at once but then start erasing, redrawing... which end I start with first is pretty random as well, mostly depending on the curves and which way I'm holding the paper. I do tend to start with the top of the knife, whether I want a nice gentle curve or a compound shape or a flat line lets me create a foundation to work from for the rest of it. The lower half tends to be a more complex shape and the upper line gives me a reference point.
 
99% of the time its the blade first. Must be the caveman that's is still in me. I wonder how many years it was before our ancient ancestors started adding handles to their tools.
 
A) Blade
B) Handle
C) Both A and B
D) None of the above
E) Both C and D
G) And/OR C and D

I think I go with "G" on this one. Sometimes I know right were I want to go, and get it done, sometimes I wonder around trying to figure it out.

Case in point, I have a custom order, it's on my list but am using spare time to fine tune it. I was provide a rough sketch of what he wanted with sizes, I'm on cardboard cutout number 4 trying to tune it in. I will decide tomorrow if there will be a number 5 or if I will roll with number 4 and adjust as I go. so I guess I'm a work though the problem guy "G".
 
Unless I am working with a handle material that has a shape that is predetermined by its makeup; its blade first, always.
Working from the ricasso out; toward the tip and back through the tang.

A blade is a complete tool, without a handle attached to it.
I can't say the same for a handle. That would be a handle in search of a tool.

Fred
 
I would say I start with a style of knife then draw the blade. Then fit the guard and handle and then back in reverse order tweaking the lines and proportions. Sometimes I like the handle idea and alter the blade to suit or the reverse or even the guard becomes the center point, literally and metaphorically.

But, also as mentioned above, handle material may be the starting point so that would probably fall under the heading of handle.
A particular feature or grain in the wood may spark the whole knife. I have a couple pieces like that. Also with a nice stag taper I have... that size and shape will be the beginning of the knife and everything will be made to complement it.
 
Interesting topic Tai , for me right now any how because I just profiled out 2 blades that will not get any handle material . Just got tired of reading from folks that state it is not a knife without a handle .
 
I make all the blades first - than the handles. :)

BUT! - I have to think about what the hadle will be? To make the blade? :confused::rolleyes:

So if I want to make a sway back knife? I just can't make a clip point blade? :)

TA




733AB.jpg







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Raymond Richard said:
99% of the time its the blade first. Must be the caveman that's is still in me. I wonder how many years it was before our ancient ancestors started adding handles to their tools.
Click to expand...

Ray,
This really made me laugh, I have thought about this many times.
I too make the blade first. In fact I usually don't even think about the handle material until the blade is hand finished. Forging damascus gives me a lot of time to think, and I have spent a considerable amount of time thinking about the uses our ancestors had for sharp edges. Everything from the evolution of the axe from the earliest stone axes that were held in the hand to knives and even swords.
Del
 
FWIW, I start with a vague idea of the knife I want. Then I look to see if I have a piece of steel that looks big enough to forge the blank I have in mind. After forging, I clean up what needs to be cleaned up at the grinder or the drawfiling stage.

By necessity, I do the blade first because I primarily make hidden full-tang knives, and I use the heated tang to burn a tight-fitting channel through the center of the wood I'm using for the handle.

So the process starts with a general idea of what I'm looking to make, and that includes some forethought of what material I want to use for the handle. But the construction, for the way I do it, has to start with the blade.
 
Dangit Tai, you're making me think again. Why do you always have to do that?

With fixed blades I usually start by drawing a blade then I design a handle to fit. When I make folders though, I start with a handle then I come up with a blade that fits it.
 
I'm sure not too terribly long ago someone busted a rock or a piece of bone before
(and after runnig it thru their hand) deciding to wrap it in something so that wouldn't
Happen.
Ken.
 
kc custom said:
I'm sure not too terribly long ago someone busted a rock or a piece of bone before
(and after runnig it thru their hand) deciding to wrap it in something so that wouldn't
Happen.
Ken.
Click to expand...

I think IF you go way back???? :confused:

The handle may have came first?......


Inflatable-Caveman-Club---Cavemen-Cavewomen-Fancy-Dress.jpg





But than they started adding the blade? Uh? (didn't have grinders?) so added uh ? ya? SPIKES! :D:thumbup:


0330_1_lg.jpg
 
The handle may have came first?
I've got a hunch they didn't gut Mastodons with clubs
Ken.
 
I like handles. It is not uncommon to hear of folks' forged blades that never get handled. I also have handles that haven't got bladed. I like to look at, sketch and model hands and handles...and look at other artists' drawn and sculpted hands.

picture.php
 
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