Forged-to-shape out of 52100 these two really are light and quick in the hand with exceptional balance and ergonomics.
Handles like this are not just blazed-out on a machine, but are carefully sculpted by hand over the course of a few days ti'll they are just right.
This handle shape was an adaptation of the Shallot Knife handle that was originally designed for a full tang knife.
It translates to a stick tang well but the fit take care and attention.
I chose to incorporate a Machi, that little notch above the choil-area you see on many Japanese knives, and I generally butt it right to the handle and registered into the wood too.
.....sort of my adaptation of this style, resulting in better balance & energy transition from handle to blade
OAL on these are 13" and 12.75" with blades that are 8" and 7.75" respectively.
African Blackwood or (Grenadilla) that is of a very high quality. I found a nice source of reject blanks from Clarinet Makers...which I love since I play clarinet:)
The top knife has an inlay of a wood called Apitome that is super chatoyant, the bottom with Lemonwood inlay, each knife with detail carving.
I hope you enjoy seeing the images of these two new Special Ladies!
-DON:)
Whew, Don, you're doing some awesome work! I've enjoyed browsing through your blog. I was wondering what method you use to make the handle slot for these hidden tang knives? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your kind words Hillsmithy! These are obviously stick-tang constructions, similar to how the Japanese build their knives. I have adapted this handle from the Shallot knife as stated in the description and it requires some extra tooling on the tang-portion of the blade. I invite you to visit my website, there you will find my email, shoot me an email and I will share some images with you that will help illustrate how I am fitting these tangs to the handles.
ReplyDelete-DON:)