Part Deux - The Gennou BTS

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks Brian, that helps (sort of--have lots of 4/4, not so much 6/4...). I doubt that your use of rift sawn will ever be an issue given the forces involved, even when mortising...

Stan-will let you know when it arrives and will indeed post pics.

[Christopher Charles]

Hello all,

With many thanks to the guidance and enthusiasm of Stan, Brian, Ken and others here, I've slipped down the Japanese tool slope.

Today a package arrived from Stan:
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Naturally, I reread Stan's guidance at the beginning of this thread and grabbed some red elm for a prototype handle. I cut it a bit long, sketched out a shape that was straight for the first 2/3rds of the length before curving. I left the tail long and perpendicular to the head to facilitate pounding the handle on. I roughed out the shape on the bandsaw and then used a block plane and spokeshave to fit to the head. I left it a bit fat, but it went on relatively easily (the elm is medium hard, but has the advantage of interlocking grain). Right now is the driest time of the year here, so I do hope it does not slip. Then again, this was intended as a pilot.

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[Christopher Charles]

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Initial test drive was very favorable and led to some tweaking. Need to sand and seal the handle, but will say that it is all very straightforward--total time start to (not quite) finished was less than 1.5 hours, including rereading Stan's guidance (though I did use a bandsaw...). Definitely recommend giving it a go, and again thanks to Stan and company. Now, off to make some stuff!

Best,
Chris

[Brian Holcombe]

Very nice work! And the genno is beautiful as well!

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks! I'm pleased with it for a prototype. The head probably deserves a finer piece of wood, but the elm does match the base of my workbench, so that's nice.

[Zuye Zheng]

Getting in on the action. Found a Hiroki funate gennou on the action site around the time of this thread so decided to to try a lighter, more traditional chisel hammer and fitting a custom handle.

The funate came with a black locust handle already fitted (a little loose so glued a shim and reattached), so based the 225g Hiroki daruma handle on it. It was from a catalina ironwood branch from the backyard that had been drying for a couple of months. The curve was a little too much (I think) since it was based off of the longer head of the funate, but will see how it feels.

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[Brian Holcombe]

Nice work Zuye, but you may want to simply continue the original curve without the return. I think you may find that bothers your wrist in use, but time will tell.

[Stanley Covington]

Getting in on the action. Found a Hiroki funate gennou on the action site around the time of this thread so decided to to try a lighter, more traditional chisel hammer and fitting a custom handle.

The funate came with a black locust handle already fitted (a little loose so glued a shim and reattached), so based the 225g Hiroki daruma handle on it. It was from a catalina ironwood branch from the backyard that had been drying for a couple of months. The curve was a little too much (I think) since it was based off of the longer head of the funate, but will see how it feels.

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Very nice results! Please let us know how the daruma works for you after you have driven it around the block a few times. As Brian pointed out, you may find the reversed curve at the butt a bit counterproductive since it may tend to rotate your hand, but that of course depends on how and where you hold it.

Stan

[Brian Holcombe]

Continuing this experiment (all of life is an experiment, right?) I had made the original handle for this genno from kingwood, well....the kingwood handle was a bit to thin and causing me to overlook this genno too often. I had to put an end to that, such a wonderful genno should be in regular use, just like its big brother with the white oak handle. The kingwood was safely removed and set aside for future repurposing and more appropriate white ash was chosen. I have spent a portion of the previous day cutting white ash into rift sections and so what remained was perfect for a genno handle, flat sawn material with the spine perfectly straight grained and quarter sawn.

Considering a few people commented on the grain direction of the handles I've been making, I decided to orient the flat sawn sides as recommended. The ash in question is quite strange looking and so it made for a great looking result (IMO).

[Stanley Covington]

Continuing this experiment (all of life is an experiment, right?) I had made the original handle for this genno from kingwood, well....the kingwood handle was a bit to thin and causing me to overlook this genno too often. I had to put an end to that, such a wonderful genno should be in regular use, just like its big brother with the white oak handle. The kingwood was safely removed and set aside for future repurposing and more appropriate white ash was chosen. I have spent a portion of the previous day cutting white ash into rift sections and so what remained was perfect for a genno handle, flat sawn material with the spine perfectly straight grained and quarter sawn.

Considering a few people commented on the grain direction of the handles I've been making, I decided to orient the flat sawn sides as recommended. The ash in question is quite strange looking and so it made for a great looking result (IMO).

Turned out beautiful, Brian!

As you wrote, the wood is a bit strange looking. It almost looks as if it is laminated.

What did you finish it with?

Do you find that your index finger gets a blister when using it?

Stan

[Brian Holcombe]

Thanks Stan! I had a couple boards of ash that are just so cool and bizarre looking, I'm glad to cut this out if and feature the grain.

I haven't used it enough to say, but so far this and the white oak have felt like an extension of my own arm. This one I carved a little heavier on the left side to see how it would affect the grip.

[george wilson]

I'm having a hard time getting much ash around here for some reason. But for hammer handles,I manage to get some pretty nice cut offs from the museum's millwork shop when they replace or repair parts of the under carriage on coaches.

I have a young lady silversmith friend who has some trouble with her wrist(I have warned her that she is not built for heavy duty hammering). She wants her hammers to have the "pistol grip" type shape. I find them a lot of trouble to make with my aches,and wonder if the Japanese style downward curved handles would be a decent substitute for the downward drooping bulbous type handles that are more traditional for smaller silversmithing hammers.

Re kingwood: I made a copy of an 18th. C. embroidery frame from kingwood on order. I'd think it too hard and brittle for slender handles.

[Brian Holcombe]

Certainly could work out nicely, these are very comfortable for a lot of hammering.

Stan attempted to talk me out of using kingwood, but I was sort of bent on it. In hindsight it was a goofy decision, but gave me the opportunity to do it right the second time.

[Stanley Covington]

That old-style Kosaburo head with the ashwood handle is so elegant... It belongs in a museum of art!

What did/will you finish it with? Or will you leave it nekid?

[Brian Holcombe]

Thanks Stan! Much appreciated! I finished it in shellac, just a pretty light buffing to keep it from getting dirty.