What I'm Up To

Knocking out two beautiful sayas for some gorgeous Shigefusas. Mark Farley provided me with the saya wood that you'll see in a day or two.



Stay tuned, folks.

 

Sayas are so cool

Looking forward to the finished product.

 

Alright, one more pic, so you can see the wood, in an unfinished state.

 

Thats funny, those don't look like nursery base boards or crown molding.....does your wife know you are doing this

 

Yes... sayas... very nice!

 

I'm all done the nursery other than a frame I'm making, and then hanging a few shelves. To be honest, she keeps telling me to make sure I "get knife stuff done". Haha

 

You should listen to her then!

Hurry up already...

 

I know that voice. You'll be glad I have taken my time. You should have seen the last five attempts at anything good, last month. It's all come back to me, now.

 

Looking forward to how that comes out!

 

I can't imagine you having problems considering the gorgeous stuff you turn out! What kind of wood are you using for these?

 

Thanks, man. I went through a spell of wrecking lots of stuff. My mind had switched from finishing to building, and as a craftsman, that's a recipe for disaster. I was busy redoing my upper level, at home, and then doing the nursery. After demo, floors, moulding, trim, bathroom, and working a full-time job around all of that, I think I was just flat out spent. I did a little project for my wife last week, and rediscovered my hands. I have two new pieces of equipment that I'm using, as well and there's always a learning curve with something foreign. BUT, I'm back, so this should be fun.

 

Wish I was that handy! I guess I need to find more time somewhere haha. Easily done right? Glad you're getting back in the shop. And if you ever decide to turn metal and make shaving brushes, I have one I'd love to commission you for! Definitely excited to see what you start cranking out!

 

I plan on making a few Canada themed brushes, next. I had to send back 80% of my knots, because I caught some shedding issues. I test the crap out of my knots, because there is nothing worse than buying a piece only to find out you end up with more hair on your face post-shave than you had before it. Haha

 

Especially when they're not yours... Or even your species for that matter...

 

I'm loving this wood from Mark, from BurlSource.





Big and little brother Shiges. This is a bit of a WIP for you guys.

 

Looking forward to seeing how these turn out.
A lot of people ask about other woods for sayas, but for my taste I really like the blonde-ish maple.
This thread reminds me that I need to make sayas for several of my knives.
If you weren't keeping yourself busy I would probably try to bribe you since your sayas always turn out looking so good.
Keep up the great work and post lots of photos.......please.

 

Please, bribe away! Haha. Rader and I were talking about how desperately low my stock of wood has become....

 

To have your handy skills! Looking great!

Have you ever use actual ho for sayas? I'd love to try some, but it seems from what I've read it's hard to get. Any other suggestions for simple, beautiful wood aside from poplar? Mark mentioned maple as well, but it doesn't quite have the simple beauty of ho.

 

You need to get Michael to break out his stash of spalted blackline maple burl.
If he gives you that deer in the headlights look.....it's just an act.

 

Here's a little update. This is for the Shigefusa Gyuto. It's not totally finished, but you can see the quality of the wood, here. Mark, I need more...and some handle material. Seriously....