I have several hand tools that I enjoy using. I have two different planers which I use a lot during handle creation. I tend to do handles one at a time, as i've been buying knife scale sized woods which is convienient, as each pair of them are wide enough and long enough for one set of handles + some excess material to use as insets/endcaps/etc in future handles.
https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/lie-nielsenlow-angleadjustable-mouthblockplane-60-12.aspx
and
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/...21f469702d06760016cd,57641c7e69702d3baa000a33
I also bought a hand saw from Rob Cosman (
https://robcosman.com/collections/saws/products/rob-cosman-professional-dovetail-saw), and intend to perhaps buy a BadAxe Crosscut Saw (
http://www.badaxetoolworks.com/14-inch-Bayonet.php) as well. I've found I prefer hand-sawing to using power tools on handles, plus I don't have a table saw nor the room to put it currently, so this is a good alternative
The one thing I lack that I really want is a good belt sander. Just haven't spent the money on one yet, as the hand tools i've bought are all fairly expensive.
My process on handles currently is cut each of the pieces to size with a hand saw, glue together, once the glue settles, hand plane away any excess glue and bring the piece to almost the thickness I want, leaving a little extra wood. Then i'll use my roundover bit on my router to round the edges to shape. I'll then weigh the handle to see where i'm at with weight. That will let me know my next steps. Generally i'll then plane to the thickness desired, do some hand sanding to finish up the rounding, and then re-weigh. Then i'll do the final bevel on the front of the handle, and re-weigh. Then if needed i'll hollow out the back of the handle as necessary to remove weight, , weighing frequently during the hollowing to ensure I get the weight I want for the handle. I tend to spend a lot of time on handles and I still feel like my skills have a long ways to grow.