JAPANESE KNIFE - How To Make A Japanese Wa Knife Handle!

Howdy folks!
Thanks for tuning in, always a pleasure to have you! We're pretty excited about this video, please drop a comment down below to let us know if you like the lighting better in this video, or our usual brighter lit ones!
In todays video we're going to show you guys how we make our custom wa handles for our knives. We arent going into specifics on a tool list, or exact measurements but if you have any specific questions feel free to leave them below and well get back to you as soon as possible.
You can find all of our available knives and accessories at our website:
www.sharpknifeshop.com
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[@michaelbereny6783]

Nice video on how its done. All i need now is a real shop with real tools, The handle looks beautiful

[@fredrichnietzsche777]

You can do this with hand tools, just a bit harder.

[@jadebeaule6394]

I’ve always been amazed by custom handles, wow this is beautiful

[@etherdog]

I've seen a bunch of vids on how the knives are made but this is the first on handle making. Very interesting! Love the cute little animations you dropped in, too.

[@SharpKnifeShop]

Glad you liked it!

[@jeronimomacias481]

Very interesting seeing how it’s done. It came out beautiful. Good job

[@SharpKnifeShop]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@beard_behind_the_lens]

Great video as a blacksmith who makes a lot of Japanese kitchen knives this video is super helpful

[@Aaronyavcm]

That spacer you're using is called trustone 👊

[@SharpKnifeShop]

Thank you for clarifying!

[@robg109]

Nicely done. I've just made my first handle similar to this. Mine is brass at the hilt, then apple wood, then teak. Made mine with a slight taper. Smaller octagon at the front getting wider at the end.

[@12346unkown]

Idk if you just put it up for the shot, but the arm your saw-blade comes out of, you can drop that down, should improve the straightness of the cut, a fence also helps a lot. Just recently found your channel, subscribed right away, keep it up!

[@SynergyGamingTV]

Awesome work man. No idea what your channel doesn't have a larger following. Great content!

[@jeffmacrae4633]

Very interesting to see how you make the handles

[@j.craigh.3480]

Beautiful Wa handle! Hair check, crack me up🤣

[@guzmangil5476]

Cool piece man. I am interested in the coloring of the wood, would you share the way that thing is done? Txs!

[@MrNicovdw]

where did you get that spacer material from ?

[@joshuaanderson9972]

Yeah that looks pretty sick. Great walk through

[@iamfcon]

I'm late to the conversation for this video, but I believe that black insert you have with the gold accents is actually a synthetic stone called Tru-stone. Made in Arizona by one company, and they have a ton of different types of patterns. Source: I'm currently shopping for Tru-Stone blanks myself.

[@putschanowski]

Handle looks very very beautiful, nice job.

[@SharpKnifeShop]

Thank you very much!

[@adamcox5209]

Awesome vid! Like to see how it's done. A very nice handle indeed😍

[@SharpKnifeShop]

More to come!

[@bjmsharp]

Handle looks great! Good video!

[@joeldube3887]

Drop down the guide bearings on the bandsaw to just above the height of the wood and it will cut much straighter ;)

[@SharpKnifeShop]

We appreciate these tips! Gunna try that!

[@williambloomberg8760]

Also, clamp your handle and other parts in a wooden two-screw clamp when drilling the larger hole at the drill press. I was actually cringing when I saw you holding those pieces in your bare hand. It’s just a matter of time-as your drill bit dulls-until the bit catches the workpiece and gives it a spin, most likely taking a few chunks of skin off the fingers of your left hand.

[@mrbeebop304]

Ayy sharp knife shop

[@oldjoeclarke.]

Great job, looks beautiful.

[@fightingusik4265]

SHARP Folk! A bit of a different question, but how do you like that sander you're using in the video?

[@lz_377]

I want to put a nice new handle on my first ever Japanese knife that I bought! It’s a Misuzu VG-10 Bunka. I absolutely love it! It sharpens up so easy and hold its edge fairly well for VG-10. The only thing is it has the ugliest, gap having, plastic and fake wood handle you could imagine! It looks like a 1st grade art project 🤣! It’s special to me though and I would love to do it justice! Great vid as always brother. Take care.

[@SharpKnifeShop]

Glad you liked it! A lot of the customs we do at the shop are exactly that, sentimental knives with sub par stock handles! Thanks for watching !

[@crazies2816]

Hi I'm Everett and a 46yr old beginner knife maker. I would like to see an in depth video on how you line up and cut the slot of the dowel and how long it should be and how long the OAL of the WA handle should be? Thank you for the info without the fast forward. I can't learn anything with FF.

[@SharpKnifeShop]

Hey Everett, at the shop we mark the centre with an x and drill a pilot hole, then we route it out with a dremel for the slot by hand, leave it a little tight then hand file it to size for the specific tang as they usually wont be perfectly uniform unless you're doing a stock removal build on a CNC. The dowel should be a little longer than the tang of the knife to give you some play room for where you want it to sit in the handle to help with the balance, and the OAL is personal preference and will effect the weight but requires some trial and error with different handle widths, lengths and materials to balance the length and weight of the blade.

[@sanyok7777]

Beautiful handle I was wondering what’s the size of the inner whole or tung Is it a specific size of the knife still has to fit this handle?

[@MrRune2506]

What type of glue is used? I'm wonderkng what will stick to both metal and wood

[@fdmhobbychannel1808]

Just discovered this video because I was looking to replace the magnolia handle on my nakiri with something nicer (and with a wood that doesn't act like a sponge). I'm also in Canada and wanted to know where did you buy the wood blocks that you used for the handles?

[@matthewdouthitt322]

What kind of oil are you using?

[@mightymax3791]

Thanks for the great video. Would you be able to post a link for where to buy the gemstone that you used? It looks like reconstituted stone but I can't find anything that nice online!

[@vashichino7]

What glue do you use for this?

[@krisp970]

great video

[@howwanpeng8753]

Great Handle! May I know how long does it took you to process to cut and

[@sk8rboy5104]

If I may ask a couple questions, what size drill bit are you using? And where do you source your materials.

[@blufordbirdsong1834]

Hi, how do you cut the slit in the dowel? Thanks

[@jonomcglashan]

can you please make a video showing how you cut the slot in your dowel

[@SharpKnifeShop]

We could, and we will eventually, but until then we used the bandsaw to cut out a slot and then knock it out with a chisel!

[@howwanpeng8753]

Sorry accidentally touch the send button..would like to know how long does it took to complete the handle until completing with Tung oil finish. Thank you.

[@SharpKnifeShop]

Its a two day process due to letting the epoxy set but while making the handle and again when installing the handle to the knife. With that said it takes maybe 2-3 hours per handle if you batch your work.

[@user-gr3lj6qu8q]

英語はわからないけど、日本の包丁を広めてくれてありがとう✨ from Japan

[@ianmorton5409]

great video handle looks nice if I wanted custom handles on my knives is that something that can be done at some point

[@SharpKnifeShop]

It certainly is! The original handles can always be removed (not always in one piece) and then we clean up the tang and then were good to go. Well have a video on how to install handles coming some time next week!

[@ianmorton8047]

@@SharpKnifeShop sweet can’t wait for that video. The knives I have from you are amazing and hoping to add a few more

[@jchan0425]

Which drill bit did you use to make the tang hole?

[@SharpKnifeShop]

We started the pilot hole with a small bit and we got it to final shape using a round tip dremel bit! Since every tang is a little different we get it to a rough shape like that and then we hand file the hole to the perfect fit.

[@nubnub9635]

Hi, what is the length of the meat of the handle and the ferrule length?

[@SharpKnifeShop]

That's a great question, I no longer have this handle in my possession so unfortunately I can't tell you.

[@nubnub9635]

Hey no problem, it's an older video. Thanks for the reply. Is there sort of an avg. length you use for handles? I know it's subjective whether custom or not. I just have some 1.5x4" blocks I'm wondering if those would be long enough with the ferrule added?

[@MattCasal]

Damn this makes me want to make a handle

[@robinsharkey6658]

There has been no comments from Sharp, who's the winner??

[@SharpKnifeShop]

We're giving the video one week to let everyone get their entry, we'll be drawing for the two from the unboxing tomorrow. There will be a separate giveaway for this handle on the refurbished Ittetsu coming soon!

[@robinsharkey6658]

@@SharpKnifeShop oh nice! I think my order will be delivered today, cheers.

[@johndonahue4777]

These gauges need to buy a handmade Japanese microphone eh?

[@billk4019]

Thank you for getting rid of that horrible music, nice video!

[@SharpKnifeShop]

We're listening! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@terkelscholar6253]

This is my favourite video ! Can I get a gift please?

[@robinsharkey6658]

Holy shit, I made a custom handle comment, did I win???

[@LukasAusDE]

It feels like there has been left out a ton of info. Beautiful handle, but I just can't understand why every video leaves out a ton of info

[@SharpKnifeShop]

Great point! Because I suck at making video's is the short answer, lol.