Introduction of a new Neanderthal

[Phil Cyr]

Hello! I'm Phil Cyr, and I would like to introduce myself with a recent project to cement my Neanderthal status.

Until a bit over a year ago I had been away from woodworking for about five years, since I last had access to a shop. I used to put all my focus on the design of the project and considered the construction basic application of skills associated with operating machinery. Well, about a year ago I felt the need to make something out of wood. Without access to a shop I reconsidered my stance on hand tools. Well, I'm sure glad I did! I'm having a blast with my very small shop space (less than 50 square feet) and don't have any desire to return machine focused work.

This time around I decided to put a primary focus on Japanese tools. After a year using a mass produced gennou, I decided to upgrade. Below you will find some pictures of what I got. It is a Hiroki head attached to my first shot at making a handle. I had to cut a compass plane block for one of my plane blades to cut the curve.

There are a few things I know are "wrong". As I understand the grain orientation is wrong and the wood is not recommended. So far it is holding tight. I'll see what the future holds.


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[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Phil and welcome to the Creek.

Nice looking handle even if others might say it isn't correct.

jtk

[Scott Clausen]

That's the beauty of hand tool work, you figure it out. I like getting back to how it was done before machines. I need exercise anyway and the best part is the lack of noise and need for protective gear.

[Tony Wilkins]

Welcome to the dark side!

[Jason Buresh]

There's plenty of room in the rabbit hole we call hand tools. Welcome!

[Prashun Patel]

Beautiful. I’m partial now to riven handles. Yours should be fine, but if you ever need to make a new one, consider riving it .

[Michael Bulatowicz]

Hi Phil, and welcome! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the hand tool side.

That handle should be fine, at least for a while. There's little grain runout, so strength shouldn't be an issue as long as you're using it properly. The head might loosen more quickly than if the growth rings were parallel to the long axis of the head, but it looks like you have room to pound the handle further in to tighten it back up.

It looks good for a first gennou handle, but more importantly, how does it feel?

[Frederick Skelly]

Welcome Phil!

[William Fretwell]

Welcome Phil, you have a’rivened.
My Japanese hammer has a big curved handle also, love it! Great the way they sell those overheated hammer heads cheap on eBay so us westerners can dabble. Even the old masters have bad days!
As was mentioned the rabbit hole is very deep! Just remember it’s really an art form; treesandental remeditation.