Whether woodworking is your hobby or your job, you can face physical challenges in the shop that stop you from doing your best work.  Chronic pain, soreness or loss of mobility are things we will all face, especially as we get older.  I have battled arthritis, tendonitis and hemophilia, exacerbated by my work as luthier and musician.  Basically, my hands are worn out (for a 45 year old) and I have had to make adjustments to carry on.  I started this process by looking more closely at the handles of my tools.  In this blog I will be going over some ideas about knife handles, including modifying existing handles, making your own and selecting suitable stock handles.

As a luthier, I probably use knives more than other trades.  The marking knife is important, but utility knives, carving knives, scalpels and craft knives are in my hands every day.  The normal craft knife has a small handle that is painful and difficult to use for long stretches of time.  The blades are held in with a collet, so I just cut it off and install it in a larger handle!  Here are three examples, two with wooden handles I made and two larger ones that Exacto sells that are pretty comfortable.  If you need the handle to register in line with the blade, then you can add facets or make an octagon shaped handle so you can feel the registration.

For marking layout, cutting leather, trimming seat cane and other utility tasks, I adore the old Stanley utility knives.  You may think of them as just a box cutter, but I think they are worthy of a spot on your bench. The replaceable blades last a long time and can even be sharpened if you like.  The non retractable blade of the Stanley 199 and 299 are far more secure than the retractable blade versions and won’t rattle.  The shape of the knife, with a nice palm swell and textured handle, is very comfortable and easy to use all day without fatigue.  I am sure many of you only use marking knives with a single bevel, but I assure you that a double bevel works well too.  Lastly, the old castings are just beautiful and well made, a pinnacle of American  mid-century design and manufacturing.  I have several aluminum 199 knives, but the prize goes to my steel Defiance 1299. Defiance was a Stanely brand name with a cheaper price point, but this is not a “cheap” tool.  I like the smaller size and heavier weight at my leather working bench.

This knife was given to me by Dan Petrzelka, a luthier and designer, many years ago. It is a marking knife with a single bevel, which I use to layout cuts in wood.  It is similar to the knives sold as “violin maker’s knives,” which can be single or double bevel. I don’t know what type of steel it is, but it has always kept a good edge. It came with this wax cotton wrapped handle, which was fine, but I am ready to make a larger handle that is easier for me to grab. For inspiration, I looked to some northwest coast native knives that I have with a tapered handle.

I grabbed a scrap of Mahogany, sawed it down the middle and chopped out a groove for the knife to sit in.

I then glued it back together with some epoxy, shaped it and rubbed some oil/wax on it.

Lately I have been more focused on handles with a swell in the middle to fit my palm. The swell helps me grab without strain, but it dictates exactly where I can hold it. In contrast, this tapered handle lets me slide up and down to find the right grip for the task. Up close to the blade like a scalpel for marking or farther back to get some force for carving or slicing.

These may seem like small improvements, but I can tell you from experience that they add up over a full day/week/month of hand tool work.  Just alleviating  a tiny bit of pain and soreness affects my quality of life, so I think this process is worthwhile for me.  I hope you enjoyed this post and can use an idea you found here. Next time I hope to look at the ergonomics of other tools and shop appliances.