Thank you for allowing me to upload this long overdue post! I appreciate the effort Mark has put into the making this forum awesome, and the guilt of not posting enough is starting to weigh heavy.
I know I get a lot of credit for making custom sayas around here, I mean, yeah, it's the name of my sub-forum, but I thinks fair to say that handle making represents a significant portion of my efforts. I do custom wa and western styles, and occasionally have been asked to do wa-conversions. Most of of the custom work is a mutual design effort between me and a client, where we discuss ideas and materials. I'll often be approached with a cool block of wood or a set of scales that someone found, and be asked to do my thing with it, while other times its offering for sale some of the custom handles I've roughed out and ready for finishing. Sometimes it's making a handle and saya combo, which just sends the options factor soaring. Whatever the case, I find that more often I'm being approached by you guys because you like my style, my design, or my artistic sensibilities (prices might something to do with it, but if I blow up, you know whats gonna happen to the prices right?
), and it makes it all such an amazing experience, especially when you are happy when your knife arrives back home.But to get the idea across, I think some pictures are in order. I hope you enjoy!
240 Kurosaki with an Ebony handle, house stabilized Maple burl, black and white Ebony collar and silver spacers.
These four are a set for a sushi chef in New York who has just been great at pushing me outside of my comfort zone. He provided me with the bulk of the blocks and scales, and I filled in with the rest. He gave tonnes of great design queues, but ultimately entrusted me to just do it right. It was kind of like a mystery box, where the main ingredient was to be used in each course.
Takeda 210: Purple heart saya with house stabilized claro Walnut, black dyed black Ash burl and copper spacer handle
Takamura Cromax petty: Spalted maple saya with a house stabilized spalted Tamarind scales lined with red and black fiber, and mosaic pins.
This was a custom commissioned project for newly wed family members who took a liking to my work and treated themselves to some good knives.
Carter Cutlery funayuki with Bocote saya and special dark Bolivian Rosewood handle with a water buffalo horn spacer.
Thanks!!!