Attention 2019 Forum Knife : Poll - Smooth Wood

Smooth Wood

  • African Blackwood

    Votes: 152 41.1%

  • Bocote

    Votes: 6 1.6%

  • Bloodwood

    Votes: 30 8.1%

  • Ebony

    Votes: 6 1.6%

  • Kingwood

    Votes: 2 0.5%

  • Jobillo

    Votes: 5 1.4%

  • Desert Ironwood

    Votes: 149 40.3%

  • Osage Orange

    Votes: 17 4.6%

  • Cocobolo

    Votes: 2 0.5%

  • Che Chen

    Votes: 1 0.3%
  • Total voters
    370
  • Poll closed .
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Jathes said:
I'd like to see jobillo surge. Unfortunately, it is in the category with ironwood and osage orange as far as bolster finish.
Click to expand...

This is Jobillo.... as it came from GEC. The bolster and shield are polished.
2ns19u0.jpg


I’m confused as to why so many people think certain woods require a brushed/satin finish. That’s probably just because a certain knife did come that way?
 
waverave said:
Looks like it is going to be african blackwood, bloodwood or desert ironwood. AB is in the lead at the moment but who knows. I am excited for any of those and hope I get a good example when that time comes.
Also looks like the orleans shield is running away with that poll. So here are the three materials with orleans and reverse orleans.

Edit - shield size adjusted
View attachment 1088477
View attachment 1088478


View attachment 1088479
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View attachment 1088481
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Click to expand...

I don't see an ugly option here, and since all wood can vary, there isn't any guarantee of getting exactly what you imagine.

Here's the breakdown, as I see it:

1. Ironwood locks in brushed bolsters and shield, so if folks want polished, they'll either have to do it themselves, or vote for bloodwood or african blackwood. However, ironwood has great character and chatoyance when you get good pieces. It may be the most inconsistent among the top three, though.
2. Bloodwood is red with some cool chatoyance, which may or may not darken substantially over time. It is not a cover GEC has offered a lot of in the past, so it has some uniqueness going for it. However, it has the potential to be the least stunning of the three, because a dark wood like AB is going to look good even with some lighter browns, whereas a bland red isn't going to look as nice.
3. African blackwood has very dense grain and is usually very black. That may seem "plain," except that black is just an awesome color--it can go with anything, it isn't going to change character over time from hard use, and it does have a classic look to it. As for frequency, I checked the production totals and AB was popular in 2013-2015, but had only two knives in 2016, two SFOs in 2017, and two SFOs in 2018. So I don't think it has been overkill lately.

I think all three are great woods, but blackwood still has my vote.
 
btb01 said:
:confused: That’s what I’m afraid of! :(

I only have one bloodwood knife (GEC) and two ironwood knives (GEC and 2019 Guardians). Both ironwood examples are much better looking, especially in person. As for this poll, it seems like bloodwood has lost its momentum, and ironwood is on the move!

VOTE IRONWOOD!!!
Click to expand...
Could go for that too.
 
JTB_5 said:
I don't see an ugly option here, and since all wood can vary, there isn't any guarantee of getting exactly what you imagine.

Here's the breakdown, as I see it:

1. Ironwood locks in brushed bolsters and shield, so if folks want polished, they'll either have to do it themselves, or vote for bloodwood or african blackwood. However, ironwood has great character and chatoyance when you get good pieces. It may be the most inconsistent among the top three, though.
2. Bloodwood is red with some cool chatoyance, which may or may not darken substantially over time. It is not a cover GEC has offered a lot of in the past, so it has some uniqueness going for it. However, it has the potential to be the least stunning of the three, because a dark wood like AB is going to look good even with some lighter browns, whereas a bland red isn't going to look as nice.
3. African blackwood has very dense grain and is usually very black. That may seem "plain," except that black is just an awesome color--it can go with anything, it isn't going to change character over time from hard use, and it does have a classic look to it. As for frequency, I checked the production totals and AB was popular in 2013-2015, but had only two knives in 2016, two SFOs in 2017, and two SFOs in 2018. So I don't think it has been overkill lately.

I think all three are great woods, but blackwood still has my vote.
Click to expand...

Point Number 1 is de-bunked in my post #278.... photographic proof that GEC can and will polish ironwood.


Just want to clarify this for the rest of the ironwood crew!!! We could probably vote on polished or brushed bolster/shield if it wins.
 
draggat said:
Point Number 1 is de-bunked in my post #278.... photographic proof that GEC can and will polish ironwood.


Just want to clarify this for the rest of the ironwood crew!!! We could probably vote on polished or brushed bolster/shield if it wins.
Click to expand...

I'm going from what Mike said in the very first post in this thread (bolded, italicized, underlined, and enlarged to show texture):

knifeswapper said:
OK, have the response back from GEC on possible wood types. The "No" responses had reasons all the way from "too soft" to "no good sources left".

Yes's
African Blackwood
Bocote
Bloodwood
Ebony
Kingwood
Jobillo - Bolster/Shield finish must be brushed
Desert Ironwood - Bolster/Shield finish must be brushed
Osage Orange - Bolster/Shield finish must be brushed
No's
Snakewood - No
Oil Sucker Rod - No
Walnut - No
American Cherry - No
Wormy Chestnut - No
Palo Santos - No
Birds Eye Maple - No
Pine - No
Bog Oak - No
Olive - No
Beer Barrel Oak - No
Maybe's
Che Chen - Subject to new availability.
Cocobolo - Subject to new availability of CITES number supplier, not responsible for delivery
Brazilian Rosewood - Subject to new availability of CITES number supplier, not responsible for delivery
East Indian Rosewood - Subject to new availability of CITES number supplier, not responsible for delivery

Since the poll is limited to 10 options, I left off the two with "Rosewood" in their name because they have been found to get confiscated way more often by international dealers.

General questions should go back to the Core thread.
Click to expand...
 
waverave said:
Done! I replaced the images in my last post :) Let me know if they need to be smaller :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Awesome, Darren.:thumbsup: :thumbsup: I think that looks closer to actual shield size. What does everyone else think? Thank you sir!

draggat said:
This is Jobillo.... as it came from GEC. The bolster and shield are polished.
2ns19u0.jpg


I’m confused as to why so many people think certain woods require a brushed/satin finish. That’s probably just because a certain knife did come that way?
Click to expand...
I think its laid out in post #1 about GEC stating those woods would be paired with brushed/ satin bolsters.
 
Jathes said:
I'd like to see jobillo surge. Unfortunately, it is in the category with ironwood and osage orange as far as bolster finish.
Click to expand...
Thanks for pointing that out. I guess I'd better go re-read the first post. Seems like so long ago...
 
Ajd3530 said:
The #25 Unxld barlows in ironwood had pollished bolsters. I'm sure GEC would polish them if requested.

I'll go with whichever had the best chance of winning, between bloodwood or ironwood. Just as long as it isn't dull black wood.
Click to expand...

See post #1 and #287. GEC is requiring brushed bolsters and shield on ironwood and several of the others that aren't high in the voting.
 
Joshua, I was just going to reiterate the same thing that Mike made clear in the opening post:
A vote for ironwood is a vote for brushed bolsters.

If you want polished bolsters, vote for either blackwood or bloodwood.

Barrett, your Guardians looks great with polished bolsters, not brushed.
 
Whichever wood wins doesn't concern me, as they are all excellent options.

As ironwood gains momentum however, I'm finding myself wishing some more simple shields were in the running. Orleans won't look bad by any means, but may be a little too much with the grain.
 
draggat said:
What’s all this talk about brushed bolsters and shields with ironwood? This isn’t the first comment I’ve seen of it here....

This one sure isn’t brushed, and it came from GEC this way-
2ytxqaf.jpg


I’ve personally worked with ironwood. It will polish up very nice!
Click to expand...

As others have already pointed out, the first post in this thread says:
"Desert Ironwood - Bolster/Shield finish must be brushed"
 
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