Sometimes you have an interest in creating your own knife. You may want to customize the handle shape and size or you have a special piece of wood that you think will make an especially attractive handle. Crafting a blade is a job requiring a special skill so, if you’re like me, you can purchase a blade that has already been shaped and tempered. That means it’s ready for you to add a handle. I am a big fan of Helvie knives and although they can make a knife perfectly suited for me, I have ordered blades without handles so I can add my own. I know the blade will be high quality and my efforts will produce a highly effective knife.

I will show the steps I took to prepare the wood for the handles and how I combine the wood and blades to create knives I am proud to own. My first attempt was with a special piece of Walnut. I selected and purchased a small piece that had been commercially prepared from an abnormal growth on the side of the tree. The grain pattern was unusually attractive. I capped the ends of the Walnut with small pieces of American Holly. This completed knife is shown in the pictures along side the latest selection of wood. The wood for this project was from a Box Elder tree. Box Elder is in the Maple family. It has a tendency to absorb minerals from the ground as well as bacteria. This can be seen in the grain patterns. I sliced the raw wood to expose the grain pattern and coloration that occurs naturally. The pictures show the pieces I selected with all four faces displayed. This includes the inside faces that will be glued together in the final product. I show the inside surfaces because they are as attractive as the outside surfaces.

I use a product called True Oil as a final finish. I always use several coats and lightly sand between coats.