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What is Jatagan?
Jatagan is a Czech-based online shop for knifemaking supplies, aimed at hobbyist and professional knife makers who want to build or finish their own knives rather than buy a finished product. Its catalog is organized around the main stages of a build: knife blades and steel, handle materials, sheath making, and stabilization.
What you can buy there
- Blades and steel — finished blades plus steels such as 80CrV2 and Sleipner for makers who grind their own.
- Handle materials — woods like curly birch, synthetics such as G-10 and carbon fiber, plus rivets and finishing waxes.
- Sheath making — cowhide and other leathers, along with leatherworking tools and aids.
- Stabilization — supplies for stabilizing handle materials.
- Kits and finished knives — knife kits described as an entry point for a first build, and a separate selection of completed knives.
- Consumables and finishing — polishing wheels, polishing paste, and leather edge burnishing gum.
Who it suits
If you already know roughly what a project needs, Jatagan works as a one-stop source: you can order a blade, a handle block, rivets, and sheath leather in a single visit instead of sourcing each part separately. The "first knife" kit section suggests it also accommodates beginners, while the raw steels and stabilization category point to more experienced makers.
The trade-off is typical of a specialist craft shop. You get depth in knifemaking-specific items, but not the breadth or fast-shipping convenience of a general hobby retailer, and stock is often listed per piece—several handle blocks on the homepage show a single unit available, so popular dimensions can sell out.
A practical next step: decide whether you are buying a blade or grinding from bar stock, then browse the matching category—"Knife blades and steel" for the former, "Handle materials" and "Stabilization" once the blade is settled.
What knife making supplies does Jatagan offer?
Jatagan is a knife-making supply shop aimed at hobbyists and working knifemakers, organized around the main stages of building a knife rather than around finished-product categories. Its catalog covers blades and blade steel, handle materials, leatherwork for sheaths, and stabilization supplies, with finished knives and knife kits also listed for people who want a simpler starting point.
What the shop stocks
- Knife blades and steel: finished blades plus steels for makers who grind their own, including carbon steel 80CrV2 and Sleipner in 6 mm.
- Handle materials: stabilized and natural woods such as curly birch in numbered blocks with listed dimensions, plus synthetics like G-10 and carbon fiber.
- Handle hardware and finishing: knife rivets, polishing wheels, polishing paste, carnauba wax paste, and Renaissance wax polish.
- Sheath making: cowhide and other leather materials, along with tools and aids for leatherwork.
- Stabilization: supplies for stabilizing handle materials.
- Kits and finished knives: knife kits marketed as an ideal "first knife" project, and a separate selection of completed knives.
- Tutorials and inspiration: a gallery-style section showing customers' finished work.
How to use the catalog
If you are starting out, the knife kits and the finished-blade listings remove the two hardest steps — forging or stock removal and heat treatment — so you can concentrate on handle shaping and finishing. If you already grind your own blades, the steel listings and the stabilization section matter more, because handle material choice and stabilization quality often decide how a knife ages in real use.
A practical way to plan an order is to work backward from the knife you want: pick the blade or steel first, then choose a handle block whose listed dimensions leave enough material to shape around your tang, then add rivets, wax or polish, and leather if you are making a sheath. Buying handle material slightly oversized is usually safer than buying exact, since drilling, shaping and sanding remove material.
For price and stock checks, the shop's own category pages are the reliable reference; availability on individual blocks and colors changes, and several items are listed as single pieces.
How can I choose the right knife blade for my project?
Choosing the right blade starts with the job the finished knife must do, not with the steel name. Decide the knife's purpose first, then match blade material, shape and thickness to it.
Match steel to use, not to fashion
From the range on Jatagan, a carbon steel such as 80CrV2 is presented as high strength, tough and easy to sharpen — useful for a working knife that will be used hard and maintained regularly. Stainless or semi-stainless options suit kitchen knives and damp environments where rust resistance matters more than maximum toughness. The trade-off is simple: carbon steels generally sharpen easily and take abuse, but need drying and oiling; stainless steels resist corrosion but can be slower to sharpen.
Choose the blade shape for the task
- Kitchen knife: thin stock, tall blade, fine edge; prioritise slicing geometry over thickness.
- Hunting or outdoor knife: moderate thickness, a sturdy point and enough belly for skinning.
- Carving or detail work: shorter, narrower blade with a controlled tip.
- Heavy-duty chopper: thicker spine and tougher steel, accepting a thicker edge.
Practical selection criteria
- Write down the main cutting task and the typical material (food, wood, rope, leather).
- Pick steel for corrosion risk and sharpening habit.
- Pick blade length and thickness for that task, not for looks.
- Check the tang and handle-mounting method against your tools and skills.
- Confirm stock and dimensions before ordering, since finished blades are often one-off pieces.
For a first project, a ready-made blade plus a simple handle kit reduces the variables while you learn. The knife kit category at Jatagan is aimed exactly at that first-knife scenario, while the finished-blade range suits makers who already have handle and sheath skills. Budget for the whole build: blade, handle material, rivets, and sheath leather or Kydex, plus finishing supplies such as wax and polishing compounds.
What is the best way to stabilize handle materials?
Stabilization means replacing the air and moisture inside a porous handle material with a cured resin, so the block becomes denser, more dimensionally stable and less likely to move or absorb water. For a home workshop the most reliable route is vacuum-assisted resin infusion followed by a controlled heat cure; pressure alone helps penetration but vacuum is what pulls resin into the cells.
A practical sequence
- Dry the material first. Moisture is the main cause of cloudy resin and poor penetration. Kiln-dry or oven-dry the blanks and let them cool in a sealed container.
- Choose the right resin. A low-viscosity, slow-curing thermoset (typically a two-part acrylic or polyester system sold for stabilizing) gives the resin time to travel through the grain before it gels. Thin resins penetrate; thick ones mostly coat.
- Pull a vacuum. Submerge the blanks, pull vacuum until bubbling slows, then hold for a while. Bleed air back slowly so atmospheric pressure pushes resin into the evacuated cells.
- Cure under heat. Follow the resin maker's schedule. A gradual ramp avoids trapped bubbles and internal stress; an oven or a heated curing tank gives far more consistent results than room-temperature curing.
- Cut and finish. Trim after full cure, then sand and polish. Stabilized wood machines more like a dense plastic than raw timber.
Trade-offs to weigh
| Approach | Best for | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Vacuum + heat cure | Porous woods, spalted or burl pieces | Needs a vacuum pump, chamber and oven |
| Pressure only | Dense or oily woods | Resin stays near the surface |
| Pre-stabilized blocks | One-off builds, no equipment | You choose from what is in stock |
Oily tropical woods, very dense species and resin-rich materials such as some stabilized composites resist infusion; send those to a professional or accept a surface treatment instead. Soft, punky and spalted wood is where home stabilization pays off most.
Jatagan stocks both ends of this workflow: it sells handle materials and stabilization-related supplies alongside finished blocks, so you can buy raw blanks and the consumables in one order, or skip the equipment entirely and buy a stabilized piece. Its categories cover knife blades and steel, handle materials, sheath making and stabilization, with small hardware items such as knife rivets and finishing products like polishing pastes and waxes. For a first attempt, buying one stabilized block and one raw blank of the same species is a cheap way to compare weight, feel and how each takes a finish before investing in a vacuum setup.
What is included in a knife kit for beginners?
A beginner knife kit typically bundles a pre-shaped blade blank with the handle materials, fasteners and basic finishing supplies needed to complete one knife, so you are assembling and shaping rather than forging or heat-treating steel. Jatagan's own catalogue frames this as "Knife kits made of various materials… the ideal choice for the production of the 'first knife'," which matches the usual structure of such kits.
What usually comes in the box
- Blade blank — already cut and hardened, often in carbon steel or stainless; you sharpen and polish the edge.
- Handle scales — two matching pieces of wood, stabilized burl, G-10 or similar, sometimes pre-drilled.
- Pins or rivets — brass, stainless or mosaic pins to fix the scales.
- Optional extras — leather or Kydex for a sheath, sandpaper, wax or oil for finishing, and instructions.
What is often missing
- Adhesives (two-part epoxy), clamps, files, rasps and a drill with the right bits.
- Sharpening stones and a strop.
- Safety gear: dust mask, eye protection, gloves.
Choosing between kit types
| Kit style | Effort | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Blade + scales + pins | Moderate; you shape and glue | First-timers who want a real finished knife |
| Blade only | High; you source everything | Makers with scrap materials and tools already |
| Full kit with sheath materials | Higher; adds leatherwork | Anyone wanting a complete, giftable result |
A practical next step
Check what tools you already own before ordering. If you have no drill press or belt sander, pick a kit with pre-drilled, pre-shaped scales and a blade that only needs edge work — that keeps the first project to a weekend. Jatagan's site groups its supplies by task (blades and steel, handle materials, sheath making, stabilization), so you can see exactly which stage you are buying into and fill the gaps deliberately.
How can I make a leather sheath for my knife?
Making a leather sheath is a leatherworking project first and a knife project second: you shape and stitch a wet-moulded pouch around a wooden dummy of the knife, then finish the edges and seal it. Jatagan's own catalogue groups sheath making under "Cowhide and other materials for the production of cases," alongside "a wide range of aids and tools for working with leather," and it stocks Tokonole burnishing gum for edges — so it is a reasonable source for the consumables this job needs, not a tutorial site.
The practical sequence
- Make a dummy. Trace the blade and handle onto 10–12 mm pine or poplar and cut it out. Never mould a wet sheath around the real knife: moisture plus tannins will attack the steel, and you cannot clamp the real thing safely.
- Choose the leather. Vegetable-tanned cowhide, roughly 2.5–3.5 mm for a fixed-blade pouch, is the standard advice because it takes moulding, dye and wax. Chrome-tanned leather moulds poorly. Jatagan's cowhide section is the place to start looking.
- Cut a welt. A strip of the same leather, 8–10 mm wide, glued between the two sheath layers along the cutting edge. This is what stops the blade slicing your stitches.
- Wet-mould. Dampen the leather until it darkens but does not glisten, wrap the dummy, press the leather around it with fingers and a bone folder, and clamp or press for several hours. Dry slowly at room temperature — heat makes leather brittle.
- Mark and stitch. Groove the stitch line, mark spacing with a pricking iron, punch or awl the holes, then saddle-stitch with waxed linen or polyester thread. Two needles, one thread, alternating sides.
- Finish the edge. Sand progressively, dampen, and burnish. Tokonole burnishing gum is a popular choice here; Jatagan notes it is back in stock.
- Seal and fit. Wax or seal the outside, then check the knife's retention. A sheath should hold the knife upside down with a shake but release with a firm pull. Add a strap, flap or stud if it does not.
Where Jatagan fits
| Need | Look at Jatagan's | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Hide and welts | Sheath making (cowhide and leather tools) | A local leather supplier |
| Edge finishing | Tokonole burnishing gum, waxes | Beeswax or gum tragacanth |
| Steel for the knife itself | Knife blades and steel, e.g. 80CrV2 carbon steel | — |
| Handle wood | Stabilized curly birch, G-10 | — |
| First attempt | Knife kits | — |
The site also lists polishing wheels and paste, rivets and Renaissance wax, which are useful for the finishing stage rather than the sheath itself. It is a Czech shop, so check shipping and whether prices are shown with VAT before ordering from outside the EU.
A concrete first project
If you have never worked leather, buy a knife kit from Jatagan's "My first knife" range and build the sheath for that knife rather than for a finished blade. You will make the usual beginner's mistakes — an over-tight mouth, uneven stitch spacing, an edge that will not burnish — on a knife that cost little. Then repeat the process on the knife you actually care about.
For technique rather than materials, video walkthroughs from established leatherworkers on YouTube are more useful than any product page.
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