Wood Knife Handles

Saving a usable item from the trash can be rewarding, especially if the item can be improved from its original form. It also can create an opportunity to try something different.

This is how I came to save a set of ceramic knives and create new handles that look and work better than the original plastic ones.

The Blades

I was given two ceramic blades that had accidentally been placed in a burn barrel, which completely melted the plastic handles. This left a blade handle that had an easy shape to cut and would help retain the blade in the new handle.

Milling the Wood

I found a couple pieces of 3/4" scrap walnut that had some nice grain and I cut the pieces in half on the bandsaw to make four 3/8" pieces. Since I have resawn the wood, it will allow the blade to be buried inside.  This will give the appearance of a solid handle after gluing the halves back together.Next, I removed material on one side of each half to allow the ceramic blade to be flush, which would allow the halves to come together again. I traced the outline of the blade handle and used a router with a 1/4" straight bit to remove material. I removed material until the handle fit in the recess and was flush with the wood.

Gluing and Shaping the Handles

I glued the blades into the wood blanks with epoxy and glued the wood together with wood glue. While waiting for the glue to cure/dry I had to decide what shape the new wood handles were to be. I decided on copying a knife handle from our kitchen as it was comfortable and a similar size. I traced the outline onto the blanks and cut then shape on the bandsaw.

Refining the Shape

After cutting to a rough shape, I began to sand and refine the shape. I used an oscillating spindle sander and a 1" belt sander. To further smooth the shape, I continued to sand by hand using 120, 220 and 320 grits.

Finishing

For a finish, I used a semi-gloss spray lacquer. I chose this because I wanted a very durable finish.  Applying several coats of the spray with light sanding in between accomplished this.I am very happy with the feel and look of these handles. It was a fun project and the results are knives that can be used and look better than the originals.