Where to get Wa handle material?

G

Garret Israel

Joined
Jul 26, 2018
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3
I am starting to make my first gyuto style knives and i am trying to find online stores to get handle material to make the Wa handles. For my normal knives (full tang) I buy from the normal places like Jantz, US knife maker and instagram. I have already purchased a couple blocks but most of those come in 1.5"x1.5"x6" dimensions. That produces a lot of wasted material which equals wasted $$. Are there any special places that i can find blocks more suited to Wa handle dimensions?
 
Woodcraft is a good source for 1.5X1.5" ebony and blackwood, as well as many other nice woods. Really low price in most cases. They stock wood in lengths from 6" to 24".

You can buy wood from exotic wood suppliers and cut your own. A small 4/4 or 6/4 board may give dozens of handles.

Ben, at Greenberg Woods ( member here with sales in The Exchange) , has, or will cut wa handle blanks.

There have been several threads on making and mounting wa handles that yu can find with the Google Custom Search Engine in the stickys.

Many of the sellers in The Exchange sell "Oversize Blocks", which will usually cut into two wa handles. Most will rip them down for you if you don't have access to a table saw.
 
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Long dimension in a Wa can be 25mm. Don't feel it is all that wasteful to use a 1.5" block. I use standard 6 quarter lumber, 1.5 and 2" squares regularly for Wa handles. It is also nice to be able to subtlety adjust the angle of the handle once it is mortised for the tang. Totally worth an extra dollar or 2 worth of material.
 
Thank you for the suggestions. Ill do a bit a searching later tonight. Im sure pics will be posted later. Fyi, my instagram is garretisrael if you are interested in what i have already done!
Thanks again
 
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