Blade fell out of wooden handle. How can I repair?

sygyzy

sygyzy

Joined
Apr 29, 2003
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I have a set of kitchen knives from http://www.watanabeblade.com and while they are my favorite knives in the world, one of them (the sashimi) fell out of the handle. That is, the blade came out of the wooden handle. There is no breakage. In fact, the knife is hardly used.

Anyway, how can I repair this? These are handmade, forged knives. I suspect the blade was originally just friction fit to begin with. There are no bolts or studs that go through the blade, at least that I can see form the exterior of the handle. Though there is a hole on the end that goes into the handle. Could I pour glue into the wooden handle and push the blade into it? What sort of glue would I use?

Thanks.
 
fill the hole with some 24 hour two part epoxy, shove the tang back in, clamp it in tight,and call 'er done.:D

DO NOT use Super Glue, or anything fast drying-it makes a hard, brittle, easily shattered seal, The slower drying the better. I'm not a huge fan of the expanding stuff either.

Hope this helps!
 
This is pretty normal for traditional Japanese knives. Just push it back in. One issue may be that the handle has dried out. Push it in then soak it with a little water. The handles on Japanese knives are supposed to be replaceable.
 
I suspected the handle may have dried out as well. Are you saying that if I soak it with water and put the blade in, it'll be stiff again? How is this possible?

Runs With Scissors - I will look into the epoxy. Sucks I have to go buy glue just for this one task :(
 
sygyzy said:
I suspected the handle may have dried out as well. Are you saying that if I soak it with water and put the blade in, it'll be stiff again? How is this possible?
Click to expand...

No, you put the blade in (tightly) and _then_ soak the handle. The water will cause the wood to swell, and it'll hold the tang tightly. This is why our Opinels stick like crazy if they get wet. :D
 
Ok, great. I will try that first thing tonight. Then I will use it to slice sashimi.

What are Opinels and what do they stick to? (Serious question).

How often am I going to have to do this? Will it fall out everyday?
 
Opinels are inexpensive wood handled folders from France. Very simply made, but excellent knives for the money. You can view some of Ragnars here: http://www.ragweedforge.com/opinel-set.jpg

They work great, but if they get very wet the handle will swell tightly around the blade, and badly inhibit opening or closing movement.

Didn't know about the traditional Japanese thing with the swollen handles. That's real interesting. It seems like they would just dry up and get loose again pretty regularly though? do you just soak it in water a bit every week or so?

(That's the longest it's taken for the axe, pick, and hammer handles I've dealt with to shrink back down after being soaked)
 
sygyzy said:
What are Opinels and what do they stick to? (Serious question).
Click to expand...

:D

This is an Opinel:
http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=OP6

They come in a few different sizes and styles, but that's your basic Opinel no. 6. They're no-frills folders (the lock requires both hands to open and close), but they perform beautifully (the thin carbon-steel blades cut unbelievably well).

Thing is, the wood handles have no liners whatsoever. If they get wet, they tend to swell and grip the tang pretty hard, making the blade "stick" open or closed.
 
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Sorry to revive an old topic but I was wondering if I wanted to purposely replace one of my handles, how would I get the current one separated from the blade? Would I just leave it out so it can dry? That seems like it might take a very long time.
 
You could use a heat gun to dry it out, or perhaps even a oven set on warm(just make sure to watch it)
 
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