Comfortable handles for old hands

[Quadra]

After a lot of experimenting , trial & error I have finally came up with a knife handle that is comfortable to use for long periods of carving and never seems to get slippery. (at least for me and a couple of other guys that tried it). I wrap the handle in wet rawhide thonging utilizing grooves in the bottom of the handles at the stop & start points. The grooves reduce the hump that occurs if you don't groove the handle. See pics for starting & finishing the wrap. As the rawhide dries it shrinks tightly on the handle.and hardens resulting in a nice grip. I realize that these handles are certainly not as pretty as most are that are made of wood with great grain but for me it is function over form. I will continue to admire the handles of exotic wood and have a few myself but the rawhide handles are the ones I mostly carve with.

Keith

[BrandantR]

That's a great idea Keith. There are a lot of carvers out there that have problems with their grip or with fatigue. It's a great solution.

[Robson Valley]

I confess: I'll never see 65 again. The bigger, rougher handles seem to take far less effort to hold, to squeeze, to direct and to finish a cut than the skinny factory stuff.
Two questions:
1. Where do you buy the thong?
2. Any way of estimating the length needed?

[Quadra]

Hi Brian (Robson Valley)
I use the 3/32" rawhide from Tandy Leather in Surrey. My handles are pretty fat and the thong covered area is 4" long. It takes 9 feet of thong. (Soak foe a couple of hours before using)
Still winter in McBride? It was 10 deg. cel. in Keremeos today.
Keith

[Inadv]

Keith,

That is a very interesting approach to making the handle more comfortable. I may give a variation of the concept a try myself. Thanks for sharing!

L.P.

[Robson Valley]

Thanks, Quadra.
I am in the middle of making a 2-handed, west coast planer knife. The handle wood is fat enough so I can replace a bit of that with thong. Want to thin the corners for some kerf-bent/bent wood boxes in western red cedar.
Yeah, still winter, you ghoul. Near freezing every day with a little snow. Another day closer to Spring. I figured I'd need another ton of wood pellets for the stove by Dec 25, maybe like a week from now?

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

Very nice handles Keith.

Dave

[Quadra]

Brandant , Brian , Larry & Dave. Thanks for your interest & kind words. I really appreciate this site & all the people on it.

Keith

[Eddy-Smiles]

I can see that working very nicely. I like the straight shape of the handle itself and then adding the wrap would provide for a more secure grip. I'll bet you could take a flat straight handle like a Mike Shipley designed knife and even wrap it in thin pig skin and obtain similiar results.

Anyway, you ought to send this suggestion into WCI Tech Tips and see if BobD can use it.

[steve brown]

As we get older, anything that gives us a better grip works. Great idea.
Steve Brown Woodcarving