K&S Special Handle: Octagonal Ebony Handle with Square Mosaic Pin

Measurements

NOTE: the figures provided are for reference only, handmade products do vary individually. 

Knives and Stones may not (and probably can't) stock all the options listed below, particular for more expensive models. 

The story behind K&S Handles

Prologue

This dates back to when I was still a crazy knife nut wanting to buy all the exotic knives and would probably do it if I hit the jackpot. I saved for quite a long time to finally pull the trigger on a very high end Yanagiba (by Keijiro Doi, initally set to 100 units then ballooned to whatever, you get what it is). It was a very nice blade, the fit and finish was exceptional even I pull it out today, after coming a vendor, it is still amongest the best quality knives available. Problem was, the quality of octagonal ebony handle is subpar: the handle was not symmetrical when viewing from the back of the handle, one pair of short sides were much longer than the other pair when in theory they should be (close to) identical. (Disclaimer: I am in no way suggesting that all Sakai handles are like so, just sharing my story).

Well I was just an average consumer and I really love the knife, so I kept it. However this type of mediocrity should not occur on a knife that is over US$1000. I looked into the option of changing the handle for a custom one, yet apart from the long waiting queues and a rather costly handle, the shipping is something not to be ignored as well. Adding the risk of knife being damaged during transportation, I just gave up. I might have given up at that time, it planted a seed for the fruiting of K&S custom handles. 

The brith of K&S custom handles

After I started K&S, I naturally wanted to offer more handle options to my customers because of the above mentioned case, and more because I have drooled long enough on those super exotic custom handles that members on KKF (kitchenknifeforums.com) showed off: handles by Stefan Kellar, Mike Henry; using burls, desert ironwood and shiny spacers. Again, the cost of these custom handles and the prohibitively long lead time prevented me from using them in a larger scale. Therefore the only option left for me was to take things in my own hands. Lucky for me, there are plenty exotic timbers and experienced woodworkers (getting a degree in Engineering certainly helps) here in Australia. I was able to come up with a way that produces these octagonal WA-handles in a relatively cost effective and consistant manner. After a few months of trial and error, I was finally satisfied with the quality of my handles, and decided to commit to the idea of manufacturing the K&S custom handles in-house:)

INSTALLATION PROCEDURE