Some handles available

Hi,

when I am working on orders, I always make a few extra handles. Sometimes because a piece catches my eye and I want to see how it will come out, sometimes because I am not quite sure what to make for a customer so I make an alternative, and in rare instances customers change their mind while waiting for me. So, while I am aware that there are still people waiting for their ordered handles - and I am working on those right now - here are a few extras that I have to offer.


All woods except blackwood and ironwood (do not need it) have been professionally stabilized by K & G, one of the top companies for stabilizing wood. Sizes are +/- 1mm. My knife suggestions are, of course, subjective. The best strategy is to hold the current handle you have and then imagine whether the one you are interested in would work for you. All prices are plus $8 insured priority mail shipping in the US (regardless of number ordered); for non-US orders, we will have to figure it out; generally, priority flat rate for around $24 is the best option for up to 3 handles. My Paypal address is customorders@japanesehandles.com. If you don't like what you get, I will be happy to take it back within a reasonable time frame.

I have not tested the 'shopping cart' on my web site enough, so I am offering them here first. A firm 'I will take it' in a PM gets the handle. If you are not sure, I will hold a handle for a bit, but if there is a lot of interest, I will kick your butt to make up your mind



Small handles


1. Octagonal. Spalted Hawaiian signature wood, black horn ferrule. Length: 128mm, Tip: 21mm x 19mm, Butt: 22mm x 21mm. I would put this on a 150mm petty or similar. I actually still have a VG10 damascus petty blade, and if nobody picks this up quickly, I'll just use it for that ;D Price: $130






2. Octagonal. Quilted redwood, spalted Hawaiian signature wood ferrule. Length: 130mm; Tip: 22mm x 20mm; Butt: 23mm x 21mm. Just a touch bigger than #1. Unless you have large hands, this should also work on a 165mm knife, like the standard santokus, nakiris etc. Price: $130







3. Octagonal. Reclaimed American Chestnut, redwood burl ferrule. Length: 129mm, Tip: 22mm x 18mm, Butt: 24mm x 20mm. I like this one, because it is simple but interesting: American chestnut, one of the most common trees, was almost extinct in the US after a bug killed of most of the trees between 1904 and 1940. This piece here is a reclaimed old piece from an old barn somewhere in the East, I think it was PA but I am not sure. The ferrule is from a really nice burl piece. Price: $130







4. Octagonal. Spalted Hawaiian mango, desert ironwood (burl) ferrule. Length: 130mm; Tip: 23mm x 19mm; Butt: 26mm x 20mm. Really nice woods, both of them. This one is a little heftier than the previous ones. Good for something in the 165-180mm range, I would say.






5. D-shaped, left or right-handed. Quilted redwood, African blackwood ferrule. Length: 140mm, Tip: 21mm x 21mm; Butt: 24mm x 23mm. With 140mm this would actually work for a longer knife, but listed it under the 'smaller' ones because it is relatively slim. So, either for a light 210 suji or maybe even a 240 yanagi, but preferably for someone who likes slimmer handles or has smaller hands. Price: $130






Medium to large handles


6. Octagonal. Spalted Hawaiian Norfolk pine, horn ferrule and end cap. Length: 138mm; Tip: 24mm x 20mm; 25mm x 22mm. Not much to say about this one - Spalted Norfolk pine is an absolutely fascinating wood, in certain light it almost looks translucent. Turners make bowls from it with very thin sides and the light shines through it in the most stunning colors. This here is a nice piece from the center of the trunk. Size IMHO is perfect for a 210mm gyuto. With this unique wood, I have to ask for a bit more than others... Price: $145





7. D-Shaped, left or right-handed. Spalted Amboyna burl, horn ferrule and end cap. length: 139mm; Tip: 22mm x 22mm; Butt: 25mm x 25mm. Beautiful piece of wood. Sometimes you find 2-tone amboyna that has red burl and creme-colored sap wood. This piece here has some spalting, so it's more like a 12-colored piece but there are no burl eyes - and you won't miss them. For my size L to XL hands this would be a perfect handle for a 210mm gyuto or a 240mm slicer. Price: $145





8. Octagonal. Dark blue spalted maple, black horn ferrule and end cap. Length: 143mm; 25mm x 22mm; Butt: 28mm x 23mm. Classical gyuto 240 size in my book. The wood came out a very dark blue with a noticeable purple tone to it. The figuring is not very strong, it has a little but of curl and the dark color works really great with the black horn. FWIW, my friend Keith (keithsaltydog) likes this one Price: $135






9. Octagonal. Curly koa, spalted Hawaiian mango ferrule. Length: 145mm; Tip: 24mm x 20mm; Butt: 27mm x 23mm. Also great for a 240 gyuto, but could go just as well on a 270 sujihiki or yanagi. The koa is on the dark side and, of course, the 3-D chatoyance is impossible to capture in a picture. It may look dark from one angle, but when you turn it into the light, the curls come out with a great deep golden shimmer. Price: $140.





10. Octagonal. Tri colore fusilli pasta in acrylic, horn ferrule. length: 146mm; Tip: 25mm x 22mm; Butt: 29mm x 24mm. I made this for fun, could not resist when I saw the material. Maybe in the same category as my 'Hello Kitty' handle, something to talk about at your next dinner party But, it should work great as a handle on a heftier 240 gyuto for someone with larger hands or even on a 270 gyuto. Price: $130





11. Octagonal. Premium curly koa, spalted myrtle burl ferrule. Length: 151mm; Tip: 26mm x 22mm; Butt: 28mm x 24mm. Beautiful curl on all sides in this koa piece, lots of 3-D effects, and the picture does not come anywhere close to showing how nice this handle is. It's long, so I would use it on a 270mm gyuto or even a 300mm, if you don't mind a bit of heft, a 300mm suji would work also. In fact, with the D-shaped amboyna handle my favorite of this whole batch and I have my own eyes on it for a 330 suji, which means you have to make me an offer I can't refuse... Price: $160





12. Octagonal. Spalted pink ivory, African blackwood ferrule. Length: 152mm; 25mm x 22mm; Butt: 28mm x 24mm. Not sure anymore why I left this so large, maybe I have to sand it down a bit if nobody picks it up. As it is, it works for a heftier (think: Watanabe kuro uchi) 270 gyuto or a 300mm gyuto. The wood is interesting, I had never seen spalted pink ivory before. After stabilizing it lost a little bit of the pink note and in this piece here it is not visible. But I trust the seller, so I just assume it is what I paid for... Price: $130





13. Octagonal. Stabilized bog oak (dated to 5460 years IIRC), curly koa ferrule. Length: 146mm; Tip: 23mm x 20mm; Butt: 24mm x 23mm. Pure understatement, perfect for a 270 yanagi. Price: $140





14. Octagonal. Spalted curly koa with sapwood, African blackwood ferrule. Length: 154mm; Tip: 23mm x 20mm; Butt: 25mm x 20mm. 330 mm yanagi/takohiki/fuguhiki anybody? Beautiful koa piece - if you like the more rustic ones. It is nice and vurly without the regular stiping, sapwood covers approx. 1/4 of the surface. The koa is relatively dark, which usually means it comes form an older tree, and the slittle bit of spalting gives it a great range of colors. Another one I have my own eyes on for a 330mm takohiki that I have but never use... Wanted to give someone here a chance, but I'll keep it if nobody picks it up. Price: $145







"Seconds"


15. Octagonal. Kingwood, black horn. Length: 150mm; Tip: 25mm x 21mm; 29mm x 24mm. Large handle for a 270 or a 300mm gyuto. Personally, I find it to thick in circumference for a slicer, but if you have vary large hands that may work for you. Nothing at all wrong with it, but I had this for a while without takers, so I keep offering it reduced price until someone takes it Price: was $130, now $100.





16. D-shaped; right-handed. Red mallee burl (stabilized), spalted Hawaiian Norfolk pine ferrule. Length: 143mm; Tip: 24mm x 23mm; Butt: 27mm x 27mm. Nice and solid D-handle for a 240 gyuto, probably not for a laser but one with a little bit of substance. It's a nice burl piece with a few small grooves and lines, and it turns into the sapwood area toward the butt of the handle which makes it look a little more rustic than elegant. Again, nothing wrong with it and IMHO a steal at $100.





17. Octagonal. Lightly spalted Hawaiian signature wood, NZ kauri ferrule. Length: 151mm; Tip: 25mm x 22mm; Butt: 26mm x 23mm. Perfectly fine handle for a 270 gyuto. The spalting is not dramatic in this piece as in other signature wood pieces, but it is also far from boring. The ferrule is a nice kauri 'whitebait' quality with a bit of depths and shimmer to it. Had offered it before without success, so let's try again for $100.





18. D-shaped, left or right-handed. Redwood burl, African blackwood ferrule. Length: 140mm; Tip: 21mm x 21mm, Butt: 24mm x 23mm. Nice handle, a little bit of an off size: It is on the slimmer side, so I would use it on a slicer like a yanagi or - even better - a fuguhiki, 240 or 270mm should work. It has a small void in the blackwood that you can feel when you go over it and it's not perfectly smooth toward the butt, but If I fill and re-sand it, the handle will come out too slim for anything useful. So, I'd rater leave it as is and offer it for $100.






19. Octagonal. Tulip wood handle, purple heart spacer between nickel silver, interior mammoth ivory ferrule and end cap, mosaic butt pin. Length: 142mm; Tip: 22mm x 19mm; Butt: 24mm x 22mm. O.k., this is a special case. I had this forever, originally it was an order but there was a misunderstanding about size, so I made another one for the customer. Unfortunately, I kept fiddling with it, and in the end I produced a few flaws, so that I decided to keep it and put it on one of my own knives, a 255mm slicer for which I thought it works great. However, I just don't like the colors, they are just not my thing. If nobody wants it, I will probably use it as planned, but I thought I'd see if anybody out there has a different taste and likes it. As I said, there are a few flaws which is why I offer it at a reduced price: 1) It is pre-drilled and opened to about 11.2mm x 6.3mm to take a large tang, so it will only really work well with a knife that has a thicker welded tang. 2) The metal spacers are smooth but not perfectly flush, you will feel them a little bit, but I do not want to sand it again because it would just become too thin for anything in the end. 3) Next to the nickel silver spacers are dark lines which may be taken for thin black spacer, but in reality they are burn marks - purple heart burns very easily and I overheated the spacers on the sander. I showed this to people who said I was crazy because nobody would notice these flaws, but I know they are there... So, here is the deal: I am asking for $140 for this handle. This includes the rehandling by me and the return shipping. The ivory alone would cost close to $100, so that this price covers the material costs an the return shipping - all my work is free (and I don't think any handle has cost me more hours than this one...). But please keep in mind that this only works if you have a knife that comes close to 11mm x 6mm at the point where it enters the handle. I would also suggest inspecting it first before I glue it onto your knife




That's it for now. There are 3 or 4 more that I may add within the next couple of weeks. I will reply to PMs in the order I receive them - assuming any of these find your interest.
Mahalo,

Stefan

 

Wowsers! :cool1

 

I am going to have to start buying knives again so I dont look crazy for just buying handles...

 

Wow. Stephan, are these handles pre-drilled?

 

Yep, these are all pre-drilled and if you give me the measures of the knife tang at the point where it enters the handle I can file the opening to that approximate size before I ship it out.

Stefan

 

At this point, #6 is SPF and #19 is on hold until some measurements are confirmed. A few others are being considered but not claimed, yet.

Stefan

 

#s 3 & 8 are SPF, thanks!

Stefan

 

Spaghetti handle is super awesome
I mean how often have you got a handle made from food? Hopefully it's still will be available by the time I get new job.

GLWS, Stefan, nice work!

 

Thanks Anton. Wanna trade handles? I could use one for a 330mm takohiki and am not in any rush...

Stefan

 

At this time, #3 is sold, #s 16 & 17 are SPF. Thanks everyone for your interest!

Stefan

 

Another batch of home runs Stefan! That Norfolk pine is freakin gorgeous. I bid on one block on eBay from IsleWoods...hopefully I win it. Kinda weird colors with ONE big huge round orange eye in it lol...but I think it'll be cool.

 

By the way, the koa with the silver sapwood is probably my favorite type of wood on the planet right now. That handle is gorgeous

 

Thanks Cris, they are simple compared to yours, but almost all the wood pieces have some nice characteristics. I agree with the koa, it's amazing what variation this wood comes in, and almost all the shapes are interesting. I was thinking about doing a video on these handles, especially the koa ones, because these quick phone snapshots just cannot capture how nice they are. Actually, every handle is much nicer in reality than in the pictures. Gotta follow your lead and step up my game in presenting them...

Good luck with the auction, Danny has some really nice pieces and puts lots of work into presenting them (well, his helpers do ). I gotta visit him to have some wood cut on his large band saw, but I hesitate because it always costs me when I go there

Stefan

 

Let me know if 17 falls through

 

Ok, I will do that.

Hard to keep up but I am not complaining #s 9 and 12 are SPF.

Stefan

 

Beauty isn't a matter of complexity my friend...it's inherent in your craftsmanship and choice of materials! Many people actually don't like my handles because of that complexity, lol. I'd be quite proud to have one of mine on a knife sitting next to any one of these .

 

4, 12, 16, & 17 are sold now. Thanks!

Stefan

 

Change of mind with number 8, so that is available again; #11 is SPF.

Stefan

 

Just to catch up on the status of the handles above

#s 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 16, & 17 are SOLD.
#19 is SPF.
#1 is a bit unclear right now but I think it is still available.

I have packed up most of them but fell asleep again before printing the shipping labels, planning to do that tonight.
Thanks,

Stefan

 

I'll take the other 2 handles Stefan. Handles 1 and 8 if I am correct. Send me a message, and I'll send you the money.