Wa Handle Deminsions

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Diamond G Knives

Well-Known Member
Was wondering if anyone knew if there were any "Traditional" deminsions for Wa type handles.

I understand that the handle is shaped to the knife, but as far as cross sections, is it taller from top to bottom? Does it taper from butt to collar? If so by how much?

On construction, is the collar just glued to the main portion of the handle or is it secured with internal pins of some type.

Just curious before I get started.

Thanks and God Bless
Mike
 
Mike, I have made a few of these and there are a few ways to get it done. First off, how long and heavy is the knife? How thick is the tang? How high is the Machi?

As for the construction, there are three main ways that I've done it and seen it done:

1: Butt Jointed using slow curing epoxy then drilled out for the tang
2: Butt Jointed using slow curing epoxy, drilled larger than the tang, a piece of oak dowel inserted to act as a dowel pin and then drilled
3: (the best IMO) square both the pieces (ferrule piece and handle) on all sides then drill a hole ( at least 1/8 larger than the widest part of the tang) in the ferrule piece to form a "mortise" and then cut a "tenon" onto the handle piece to fit into ferrule. After, you fit and glue together. Once you've done this, you finish like the other two.

Handles can be burned in if you like but I've had bad luck with trying to burn into stabilized woods and hardwoods harder than say, oak. Thus, I like the epoxy or Gorilla Glue route.

If you need any more help shoot me an email.

If done right they look something like this: (these have a half Mortise and Tenon joint)

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Thanks Mike, I definatly like the idea of having a mechancal bond on the cap.
You mentioned the height of the Machi, this is a term I dont recognize. Can you eleaborate on this?
Also, is it an issue gluing the handles? From what Ive read this was traditionaly a pressure fit, or as you said a peg friven in to keep things tight.

Beautiful work you posted. What are your favorite woods and combinations?

Thanks again!

God Bless
Mike
 
Mike, the machi is a bit like ricasso. It is the area between the that transitions into the tang ... such as a hidden tang knife shoulder. This area where you'd traditionally fit the guard, you'll fit the ferrule. The ferrule should be the same size or slightly larger than the machi but not by much.

As for how it is attached, a friction fit is great if you can achieve a good one, and run a removable pin through the handle and tang to hold it in place more securely. The only issue you'll have with this is excess water rusting your tang out. Using a water resistant / proof adhesive will keep your tang longer. If you use a truly dense hardwood or stabilized wood, then you can expect a pretty good battle to have it fit right. A nice broach will come in handy as well as longer thin bits.

Thank you for your compliment on my work. I honestly don't have a favorite combination but by far my favorite woods are Lace Maple Burl, Spalted Tamarind Heart, Old growth Redwood Burl, Pollyanna burl and Golden Hopea Burl. My least favorite has to be Snake wood due to its insanely fickle nature.

If you need anything else just ask. I always have a few pieces of wood laying around for this purpose, just ask A.W Stoval. :biggrin: and if you don't have access to lathe, send them over to me and I'll turn your tenon, just cover the shipping.

Regards,
Mike

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You are welcome, Mike. I'm glad I could contribute something here since you all have helped me out so much in one way or the other.

Regards,
Mike
 
I did my first Wa style handle on an old refurbished blade this weekend. Mine is straight, ie no taper from machi to butt. I did laminate the ferrule out of mahogany. 3 pieces ripped parallel to the grain, turned 0, 90, 0, and epoxied together. I had trouble with splitting on my first attempt at a wa handle, and this was my solution. The rest of the handle is mahogany too, just cut like a normal block. I was aiming for about 1.125" by 0.75", but it's more square than that. I took of extra trying to get the facets even. The end grain on the ferrule makes it look darker after the Tru-Oil was added. Since this is my first, I'm soliciting opinions/criticizm. I have another blade like this one to do.

How long are the tangs supposed to go into the handles? This one is limited, as the blade came from a 10" chef's knife my friend found outside. The tang's total length is about 3.25".
 

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Me2, not bad for a first attempt. Just a few suggestions: 1) if you are not using an oily, water/ rot resistant wood, you may want to have it stabilized, 2) investing on a granite reference plate is a great idea for finishing the handle true and flat, 3) melt bee's wax in a double boiler and add mineral oil in equal parts in a double boiler, use this mix generously to protect unfinished wood.

Special consideration has to be given to finishes that will be around food, thus my suggestion.

As for the tang length, you want it go at least 1 1/2 to 2" past the joint where the ferrule meets the handle body. Kitchen knives don't take the same punishments that a camp knife chopper or the like would take so a shorter tang is fine as long as you use a good adhesive. I like to cut grooves into tang to help the epoxy anchor it.
 
Thanks for the advise. What woods are considered oily/rot resistant? I likely won't have it stabilized. These are just repair/refurbs for me and a buddy who salvaged matching blades. Is there anything wrong with linseed oil in the kitchen? I have plenty of that, but it never seems to dry.
 
Off the top of my head I'd say, cocobolo, lignum vitae, camel thorn, honduran rosewood, macassar ebony, brown ebony, african blackwood, texas ebony, persimmon, chinese jujube, purple heart, teak, and a few others that I don't recall at this moment. Be ware when you buy these as they are often still green or partly green and need to dry anywhere from a few weeks to a year. You can purchase from places like bell forest products as they carry some kiln dried stock.

Hope this helps.

Linseed is fine just make sure you use the boiled variety as it dries faster. Walnut oil works well too but some claim that it will go rancid but I haven't had any issues with this yet. The best part of walnut oil is that it dries hard... also, mixing your own shellac from flake shellac helps. Good shellac when applied right is pretty tough and water resistant.
 
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