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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Here’s an example of really nice, unique covers in ironwood. I love it. But I’ve never had African Blackwood and I’d love to see that dark, intense, black—like dark roasted coffee when the oils just begin to seep out. Mmmmm
 
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Fodderwing said:
I know blackwood is more dense but isn't the blackwood more likely to have brown streaks in it than the ebony. In other words - Isn't it going to be harder to find a black blackwood than a black ebony?
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It depends on the individual piece of wood. Lately it has been getting hard to get truly solid black ebony, streaks are much more common (although I won't buy anything new with black ebony any more because, of all the woods listed in this thread, it is the most threatened). I have African Blackwood that is absolutely solid jet black, and some that is a bit lighter. It often has a purplish overtone. African Blackwood also darkens with age like cocobolo does. I have ebony that is extremely fine-grained and some that has larger pores. African blackwood is more consistently fine-grained than ebony, at least the numerous examples that I own are like that.

All that being said, if I were planning on getting this knife, my vote would be bloodwood or ironwood. Kingwood is a good wood, it ranks up there in hardness and density and can be very beautiful if you get the right piece, and would also be a possibility for me, but for international orders it runs the problem of being on the dalbergia-wide CITES restrictions.
 
tmd_87 said:
Being one of the original king wood voters I would kindly like to invite these two members to swing their vote over to iron wood.
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I was one of the original Kingwood voters and I didn't see you at the meetings (post #5)
 
lambertiana said:
It depends on the individual piece of wood. Lately it has been getting hard to get truly solid black ebony, streaks are much more common (although I won't buy anything new with black ebony any more because, of all the woods listed in this thread, it is the most threatened). I have African Blackwood that is absolutely solid jet black, and some that is a bit lighter. It often has a purplish overtone. African Blackwood also darkens with age like cocobolo does. I have ebony that is extremely fine-grained and some that has larger pores. African blackwood is more consistently fine-grained than ebony, at least the numerous examples that I own are like that.

All that being said, if I were planning on getting this knife, my vote would be bloodwood or ironwood. Kingwood is a good wood, it ranks up there in hardness and density and can be very beautiful if you get the right piece, and would also be a possibility for me, but for international orders it runs the problem of being on the dalbergia-wide CITES restrictions.
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I appreciate your expert opinion and response.
I still remain devoted to the African Blackwood as the most desirable choice. If ironwood wins I will be okay with it. Some ironwood is breathtaking. The problem is the vast majority of it is very "vanilla". If ironwood wins there will be some folks with spectacular specimens no doubt. Everyone else will have a run-of-the-mill straight grain meh. Either way I'm in for two. :)
 
Fodderwing said:
I appreciate your expert opinion and response.
I still remain devoted to the African Blackwood as the most desirable choice. If ironwood wins I will be okay with it. Some ironwood is breathtaking. The problem is the vast majority of it is very "vanilla". If ironwood wins there will be some folks with spectacular specimens no doubt. Everyone else will have a run-of-the-mill straight grain meh. Either way I'm in for two. :)
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But but but some people are gonna be disappointed with not so black African black wood!
 
The only debate I have, if Ironwood wins, is do I buy at order time, or wait for steep discounts from the flood of knives in the exhange from disappointed Ironwood owners? Say what you will, but there will be more happy campers if African Blackwood is chosen.
 
4 more days until the wood and shield polls close...which one will it be? Will Ironwood come through or the classic African Blackwood? Or perhaps a last minute surge from the stragglers and vote-changers to put Bloodwood back in contention?
No other shields dare to take on the Orleans?
The excitement is fun :)
WinnerPodium.jpg
 
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