Making a Japanese Knife Handle. The video I was scared to make.

[@LifeSavingDefense]

It is our imperfections and our search for perfection that help us both succeed and know we are all together in our crazy normalcy…. In other words…. Glad to know it isn’t just me… 😂 I promise I could drop a square block in the middle of 8 foot square table and it would roll off and stop in the middle under my truck…. Great job !!

[@Ukenick]

That is my favourite comment ever! Thanks so much 😂

[@dozukime]

A nice walk through. I had a few fails drilling out for the dowel on the pillar drill. I now use the lathe & let the point of the drill just protrude for the start of the tang.

[@ahikernamedgq]

Magnificent handle, very enjoyable video. Thank you. Subscribed.

[@Ukenick]

Thanks so much Jesse.

[@philochristos]

Nice video. And you are such a gentleman to give credit to those who inspired you.

[@Ukenick]

Thanks so much Sam

[@georgecarlyle4826]

Lovely to get your prompt response. As opposed to so much on KZbin & Facebook, the knife making community seems so helpful and quietly proud of their work. Another tip; I bought some children's plasticine, and find it useful to model what different handles would feel like. Then I use calipers to design the dimensions. My equipment is basic...knives are heated in a charcoal bbq with a pipe from a hairdrier.

[@Ukenick]

The plasticine is another great idea George. Very clever. I use my wife's old hairdryer in the forge as well. Works well I have even reached welding heat in my home made forge.

[@rufusperrottkolk4495]

Bloody great video, so well explained 👌

[@Ukenick]

Thank you so much.

[@amyalex-palli4376]

This video was actually emotional! Such a journey!

[@HieuPhan-bt9ph]

Fantastic ! thank you

[@Ukenick]

Thank you so much 👍

[@milymeow8857]

I've never related to someone like this man ever in my life. The design process can be really tricky and I saw myself in him as he struggled but finally created that wonderful piece of knife. I'm a product designing student and this video helped me gain so much insight. Thank you so much. Keep posting more!

[@Ukenick]

Thank you so much Mily. Your words mean a great deal. I am so delighted this might be of help.

[@malcolmedwards462]

Thanks for taking the time to make these videos. Cheers from Aus. M.e.

[@Ukenick]

Thank you so much Malcolm and thanks so much for subscribing. Means a lot!

[@laylacotton-fiest8451]

Thats amazing Nick , and quite satisfying to watch, make me want to get back to my jewellery bench!

[@Ukenick]

Layla Cotton-Fiest thanks Becky. Do get back to your bench. So good for the soul.

[@aarronroberts811]

Beautiful work

[@Ukenick]

Thank you so much.

[@aarronroberts811]

@@Ukenick what kind of oil did you dip in

[@Ukenick]

@@aarronroberts811 It was a while ago, but pretty sure that was boiled linseed oil. Nowadays, if I haven't stabilised the wood, I would use Tung Oil. You can't beat it in my opinion.

[@aarronroberts811]

@Dadsinhisworkshop about to try my first one . Loved the way it came out so I will follow your lead on that

[@Rsama60]

Thank you for sharing this video, you made an absolutely beautiful knife/knife handle. I appreciate showing your failures. I learned most from my failures. Please allow me to make some comments. I make knives myself and made a couple of Wa handles myself. I agree with you KZbin is a great source of information and I learned quite bit too and to give credit to fellow knife makers id a nice gesture from you. I disagree that all KZbinrs are experts in their field, too many bad videos out there. I am curious if for the handles the nickel silve will stand proud, if not absolutely dry wood shrinks, buffalo shrinks and expands too, metal does not. I will watch more of your videos, I like your approach of making things.

[@Ukenick]

Many thanks Roland. I appreciate your feedback very much.

[@JimmysCanal]

Although the first handle not came as you wanted, you did fantastic work and this was reflected on the second handle. Well done my friend! I think that’s time for you to start designing a logo for a branding iron; after all, a beautiful knife deserves its maker's mark! Dimitris

[@Ukenick]

Maybe you could help me?

[@JimmysCanal]

Yes, I would like that!

[@mountbeckworth1]

I dont use the knife blade in the shaping of the wood. I have another piece of steel, with blunt edges, and slightly smaller in dimensions for the interior. I can align things, then take it out before putting in the real blade. This also overcomes the possibility of scratching the blade.

[@Ukenick]

Thank you George. That is a great idea. I will certainly do that in the future. Much appreciated.

[@danielabbey7726]

I'm not a knife maker, but I found the process that you went through to be fascinating. The level of accuracy required was surprising (e.g., using the the Mikron mill for drilling out the purpleheart). The end result looks great!

[@Ukenick]

Thanks Daniel. I suspect someone with more experience and skill wouldn't need the milling machine, but since I have it, it helped me drill much more accurately that my rubbish drill press.

[@carlb401]

I wouldn't worry about copying other makers on youtube, your followers may not follow everyone you do so may not see how they do things, so it's good to share. You may have improved loads now with the WA handles, however Simple Little Life has excellent videos on making/ fitting WA handles. 🙂

[@robg109]

Just finished my first wa style handle. From Apple wood and teak. I had the same learning curve as you. I tapered the octagon so it was thinner at the blade end. This is the first of your vids I've seen I'll defo watch some more.

[@Ukenick]

Well done. I find them a challenge I won’t lie. How did yours turn out?

[@robg109]

@@Ukenick turned out great. Blade was o1 tool steel filed in the bevels by hand. Since that knife I've made an 8 inch chef knife which I'm quite happy with too. Might look out for some purple heart colour looks very nice. I have some greenheart but it looks very similar to mahogany when it's polished up.

[@Ukenick]

@@robg109 are you in the UK?

[@robg109]

Yea up near Preston lancashire

[@Ukenick]

@@robg109 Try exotichardwoodsukltd.com/ if you don't already know them. Excellent.

[@SOOONJE]

Hello sir I want you to know that I very very much enjoyed your video and also learned,You are polite and explain great and there is no music digging into the minds of the viewers so you can really concentrate on what you are doing,Your video is just a pleasure.Of course I voted and subscribed to your channel.Huge thanks About the video you brought us.

[@Ukenick]

Thank you very much for your kind comments. I am glad you enjoyed it and thanks so much for subscribing. It all means a lot to me.

[@racheltyrellcorp9694]

Great work and video, thanks ! This is going to help a lot for my Wa handle project ! And it actualy is an Octagon and not an hexagon ;)

[@Ukenick]

😂 you are totally correct and I only noticed after I posted. Thanks for your comment.

[@RipWanWinkle-vg8ld]

Pentagon will get ya

[@victorfranca85]

how do i make one that is not traditional but still japanese? do i need to go to japan?

[@kenos01]

How long do you soak the handle in the linseed(?) oil for?

[@Ukenick]

Hi there, I've realised over time, that the soaking in the oil isn't any more effective than coating the handle. I am not sure how effectively the oil soaks into the wood. I left it in for about 1 hour I think. I have now switched from Linseed oil to Tung Oil. Fabulous stuff. Needs longer to dry but very tough and protective. Either oil, I recommend applying a good coat with a rag, wait half an hour then wipe off excess. After a few hours repeat, then again a couple more times. Finally buff it up and you will have stunning, well protected handle. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[@DynamicJon]

Great video, thanks for showing the mistakes, tends to be hard to find these days on other videos, question about the burning/install process, I couldn't quite follow in the video, did you do the burning in process as the very last step before oiling the handle or did you do it midway and finally once more at the end?

[@Ukenick]

You are right. I rewatched the video and that is a little confusing in the edit. I do not reburn at all once the handle is finished, only when fitting the tang into the handle. Once you have done it once, it should then fit very snugly. good luck and thanks for the comment.

[@blufordbirdsong1834]

Hi Thanks for the great video. On the second attempt, was the dowel split prior to burning in? If so, how did you split it? I have limited tools and was wondering how to get a split down the dowel that was centered and the same width as the blade. Right now, my best option is a router table, and some sort of jig. Wondering if I even need to bother? If it's possible just to burn in the slit in the dowel, as I would a solid handle. Thanks

[@donaldwirtz4731]

We are using 1/4 wooden dowel

[@RipWanWinkle-vg8ld]

I want to make a suprise for my mom a japaneese style kitchen knife and i hope this will help me

[@Ukenick]

Good luck. She’ll be so happy.

[@RipWanWinkle-vg8ld]

Thanks it will take a couple tries but it will be worth it

[@holmes230536]

Oh dear, please please be more careful when you are holding the blade at 15:17 I saw you with the cutting edge in your palm, I had to hold my hands up to my face and turn away it frightened the life out of me, other than that it was an interesting video, Edmund........Alberta

[@Ukenick]

Walter Maisey 😂😂 thank you so much for your concern. To make you feel better the blade was very blunt at that point. I hadn’t yet formed the final bevel. But again thank you for your feedback and concern.

[@Watford4321]

Very good job. And a lovely end result. I do think you are trying to "math it" far too much, and not willing to fill tiny gaps with glue, and yet you ended up with a blade that had about 1 mill gap between the bolster and the handle. Far better to have that gap in the hole you put the tang in, fill it with glue, and then you have some options to align the blade as well. Basically doing it by eye after practicing with just making handles and not commiting to attaching to a blade is worth it. These kind of things are easier when you just trust your eyes and use 280 grit to adjust by eye. I use a flat sander with various grits to shape the octogon by eye. It works, takes some artistry not measurements and precision tools. But it's an organic process not a math one. There are too many angles, lengths, variables to get it 100% right with measurements alone, doing it mostly by measurements means that one tiny discrpancy will screw up the fit. By eye and adjusting by .5mm with sandpaper works better. Basically trust your eyes.

[@Ukenick]

Thank you so much for this. I have made a good number of Japanese style knives since then and you are 100% correct. I have learnt to trust my eyes but I think that my total lack of confidence made me rely on maths. In fact, the joy of making these types of knives is that it is or should be an organic process. Thanks again for taking the time to comment.

[@Watford4321]

@@Ukenick thank you for considering my feedback as constructive rather than negative. I found your attention to detail fantastic. Especially the finish. And i only meant to share my journey in realising for myself that you cant make a perfect jig, or get f a bit of wood to be perfectly flat and square, and instead you have to relax, have confidence that if you can go with your gut more and only consider the lines you put on the piece to be guides tather than hard lines that if crossed mean you ruined the piece, then you have 'happy accidents' as Bob Ross would say, you see the mistake and go with your gut and your eye to adjust it organically so it looks right to you. If it looks right to you, the guy analysing right up close, every imperfection, it will look amazing to anyone else. Math.. Measures... Lines... Can restrict you. Bob Ross was right, and more importantly a machine can make perfect exact handles, it's the human mistakes, if adjusted to look good, that are what makes the diffefence between art and fabrication.

[@Watford4321]

As an example when i first started I screwed up the angle on the top of the octogon on one handle. I used a flat electric sander and curved the top as it was easier. It's my perfered handle design now. You get a smooth rounded top, with hard diagonals and a flat thinner bottom to grip on the underside. (coffin shape with smooth rounded top) That is now my signature handle design. Never would have happened without that happy accident.

[@muhammadumarrosyadi9104]

Looking for some tutorial videos about "how to make WA handle" Not expecting a 24 min video for that 😂

[@bencutts2339]

When doing your front slot in your ferrule, use your file guide to stop yourself going too far.

[@Ukenick]

Absolutely. Thanks

[@bencutts2339]

Also, if you use a drill bit just big enough for your needle file, you can drill holes starting at bottom and top of your slot as close to the edge as possible (a tiny bit too far won't hurt) then one or two holes in the middle, you can eat out enough material to fit your needle file in or a jigsaw blade to rough out the rest. Make sure your drill press is super slow so your fingers remain attached if the piece grabs. That is if you don't own a mill

[@laylacotton-fiest8451]

Oops ,its Becky not layla replying !!!

[@neutronshiva2498]

Did you end up making the knife for your wife? 16:55