How to Make and Polish Wooden Knife Handles

Although it is easy to purchase a knife that already has a handle, you can customize a handle of your own using a few basic woodworking skills. Making the handle yourself allows you to choose the type of wood as well as a specific shape and design. Once you've made the wooden knife handle, you can quickly give it a treatment that will polish it, nourish the wood and strengthen it to protect it from damage.

2 blocks of the wood of choice
Knife
Pencil
Chisel
Epoxy glue
Rough file
Smooth file
Wood oil
Soft cloth

Instructions

- 1
  Place two blocks of the wood side by side.
- 2
  Lay the exposed tang of the knife -- the metal extension of the blade that will go into the handle -- against the middle of the top plane of one of the blocks of wood and trace the shape with a pencil. Trace the shape again in the same spot on the other block of wood.
- 3
  Use a chisel to remove the outline of the penciled areas on both blocks. You should remove enough wood to cover half of the exposed knife tang.
- 4
  Cover the top planes of the wood blocks with a thick layer of epoxy glue. Place the exposed tang of the knife in one of the indentations and put the other block directly on top so that the indentations align.
- 5
  Clamp the blocks and allow the glue to dry for 12 hours.
- 6
  Shape the blocks around the tang using a rough file to create the general dimensions of the knife handle you wish to make. Be sure to leave enough wood so it will be at least 1 inch longer than the tang.
- 7
  Go over the handle again with a smooth file or sandpaper to complete the design you chose, to soften any hard tips left by the rough file and to make the handle smooth.
- 8
  Apply a wood oil to the handle using a soft cloth to polish it and give a finish. Wipe away excess oil with another soft cloth and allow to dry for the length of time indicated by the directions that came with the oil.

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