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Thread: Part Deux - The Gennou BTS

  1. #61
    Stanley, all this information has got me really wanting to try my hand at this. I have piece of zebrawood that could easily be made into a handle. How do you feel it would hold up? I have a 245g and 125g funate genno head that I could use it for.

  2. #62
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Kirkland View Post
    Stanley, all this information has got me really wanting to try my hand at this. I have piece of zebrawood that could easily be made into a handle. How do you feel it would hold up? I have a 245g and 125g funate genno head that I could use it for.
    Dan,

    I have zero experience with zebra wood. I suggest you examine the pieces you are considering using and determine a few characteristics:

    1. Can the handle be cut to provide a high percentage of continuous grain through the tenon and at least 3/4 the length of the handle?

    2. Is this piece likely to shiver ( crack) under the vibration of tens of thousands of impacts?

    3. Is this wood likely to shrink and swell with seasonal atmospheric humidity changes enough to cause the head to loosen?

    4. Is this wood oily? Does it have a high enough coefficient of friction to hold the head in place, or will it encourage slipping?

    5. Is this wood strong enough to resist impact loading on the tenon without yielding?

    6. Will this wood transmit vibration to my hand like a tuning fork?

    Stan
    Last edited by Stanley Covington; 07-25-2016 at 8:07 PM.

  3. #63
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    Here are some pics of a small wooden box finished in cherry bark in the traditional Japanese fashion. This is a toothpick box at the restaurant where I took the little lady for dinner last night.

    Notice that the bark is not perfect. The variety of bark used for this craft is this color without any staining or applied finish. It is fairly durable in that it does not dry out and crumble. But since, at least in the case of furniture and boxes, it is essentially an applied veneer, it is not especially tough. However, it would probably be OK for a tool handle attached to the tree limb where it grew.

    StanCherry Bark Box1.jpgCherry Bark Box2.jpg

  4. #64
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    Nice Stanley!

    I believe hickory "twigs" are often used in the N. Georgia mountains. I think the bark on young hickory is relatively stable compared to many other barks. I tried to find pictures but what I found is for sale, in houses for sale... so I don't think I should post links. A search for Twig Furniture should provide plenty of examples. Some of the furniture made from twigs is several thousand US dollars and more. Young green wood can also be bent without steaming.

  5. #65
    Stanley, thank you for the info. I have a new/old head coming from Japan that I'll make a zebrawood handle for. We'll see how it turns out.

  6. #66
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    I translated a statement written on Mr. Hiroki Aida's homepage (http://aitoyo.net/aida.html) you might find interesting. It reflects precisely the way I feel about the best tools.

    "Handtools are an extension of the hands, and must function as part of the body in order to do good work. I want craftsmen to be able to work comfortably and enjoyably."

    The more a tool can be adapted to fit the user's hands and function as a part of his body rather than something he is manipulating, the more efficient and pleasureable will be the process of working with that tool. After all, more than half the fun of working with tools is the experience of the tool doing exactly what we want it to do without conscious thought or struggle.

    There are limits to how much you can adapt a tool to your hand and body. Wooden bodied planes: Somewhat. Chisels: Not much, but perhaps a little. Squares: Nada. Marking gages: Yes. Saws: Yes, quite a bit. Gennou and hammers: A lot. Gennou and hammers are the only high-velocity tools in the Neanderthal workshop.

    Mr. Aida uses the name "Hiroki" on his products. He does excellent work, all freehand forging. So good in fact that he has orders backed up for three years.

  7. #67
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stanley Covington View Post
    There are limits to how much you can adapt a tool to your hand and body.... Chisels: Not much, but perhaps a little.
    IMO you can adapt Western chisels (esp socket chisels) to your body quite a lot. You don't hear so much about people re-handling Japanese chisels though.

  8. #68
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    People re-handle them.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  9. #69
    So here's my attempt, I haven't ever made a tool handle before so this was a new experience for me. Zebrawood handle and tung oil finish. 126g head. Any thoughts? What could I do better?

    The curve of the handle isn't as steep as some of the ones that are shown previously in this thread, not sure if that's a bad thing? and the handle wasn't as flush in the eye as I'd like, but it stays on and you'd have to really hammer it off to remove it. I did use kigoroshi to fit the head.



    Last edited by Dan Kirkland; 08-05-2016 at 6:35 PM.

  10. #70
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Kirkland View Post
    So here's my attempt, I haven't ever made a tool handle before so this was a new experience for me. Zebrawood handle and tung oil finish. 126g head. Any thoughts? What could I do better?

    The curve of the handle isn't as steep as some of the ones that are shown previously in this thread, not sure if that's a bad thing? and the handle wasn't as flush in the eye as I'd like, but it stays on and you'd have to really hammer it off to remove it. I did use kigoroshi to fit the head.



    Dan:

    Looks very nice!

    Its different than what I would make for myself, but what fits me may not fit you. I suggest you use it and see how it performs.

    Don't forget to try the ink test and the blind swing test after you get used to it. These will help you determine if adjustments are necessary.

    Stan

  11. #71
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stanley Covington View Post
    Dan:

    Looks very nice!

    Its different than what I would make for myself, but what fits me may not fit you. I suggest you use it and see how it performs.

    Don't forget to try the ink test and the blind swing test after you get used to it. These will help you determine if adjustments are necessary.

    Stan
    The head / handle angle on this hammer looks very odd. It's like the intended purpose of this one is for use as a tack hammer since that is the side which is perpendicular to the he handle shafts at the head. This also places the grip in a seemingly poor position for use on either face of this hammer. I wonder if this is the handle form that is typically used with this hammer head.

  12. #72
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    Nice! Thanks for the quote from Hiroki Stanley, well said.

    I may be about to start on phase two of my handle making experiments. Now that I have all this additional information from Stanley. After fitting a few heads I think I can estimate the required size better now, not needing to do as much test fitting to get the size correct.

    I have been saving a piece of Gumi wood I got from So and I have been drying more apple wood limbs as well. I like the apple wood handles in terms of the texture, appearance and strength of the wood. My Hiroki head will eventually get the Gumi handle but it may get another "test" handle first.

  13. #73
    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Barry View Post
    The head / handle angle on this hammer looks very odd. It's like the intended purpose of this one is for use as a tack hammer since that is the side which is perpendicular to the he handle shafts at the head. This also places the grip in a seemingly poor position for use on either face of this hammer. I wonder if this is the handle form that is typically used with this hammer head.
    It may very well not be the typical one. But I did hammer about 25 short brad heads with it and it went fine. If I'm not mistaken the Funate style of genno (which this type is I think) has one face intended for driving nails and the other elongated section is for use as a nail set. I'm sure Stanly or Brian can correct me on that.

  14. #74
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Kirkland View Post
    It may very well not be the typical one. But I did hammer about 25 short brad heads with it and it went fine. If I'm not mistaken the Funate style of genno (which this type is I think) has one face intended for driving nails and the other elongated section is for use as a nail set. I'm sure Stanly or Brian can correct me on that.
    The funate style often comes with an eye oriented to rotate the face of the hammer, and so may not benefit from a curved handle. It typically has a slightly domed striking face. Therefore, the geometric guidelines I wrote for the ryoguchi (two-faced) gennou may or may not be entirely applicable.

    The funate is a handy tool, originally preferred by ship carpenters. Great for nails and trim work. The nailset end is also very handy for tapping out the hollows of plane blades. While it works for striking chisels, and can do kigoroshi, it is a compromise tool for these operations, intended to do a great job with nails.

    More popular in the Kansai area than the Western Kanto area.

    I think Dan will need to decide what works for him and what doesn't. The key is to be prepared to make a new handle when you decide the current one can be improved on, and you realize how to improve it. This is also why I do not encourage using expensive exotic woods for your first gennou handle.

    Stan
    Last edited by Stanley Covington; 08-06-2016 at 11:23 PM.

  15. #75
    Stanley, I would've preferred to use cheaper wood as well, but the Mrs was getting at me for keeping all those "extra bits" and I had to use it for something

    I have another larger funate head that I'll experiment a bit more with

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