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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Ajd3530 said:
This really shows me something. I love GEC's ebony (blackwood, whatever. To the untrained eye, they look the same aside from blackwood's denser grain) so I have wondered why I am against it for this knife. And I've finally figured it out. I think ebony (Blackwood) looks FAR better on a knife with an end cap\two bolsters than it does on a bareheaded knife. I just don't think it is that stunning at all without being boxed in by two pieces of nickel silver. If this weren't a barehead (which I prefer bareheaded jacks) I would vote for ebony in a heartbeat.

That said, I'm not sold on ironwood either. My vote will remain with bloodwood for the time being.
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The bareheaded ebony jack is the Platonic Ideal of pocket knife.
R8NGMZf.jpg
 
Clem Ironwood Pig Farmer, Sheriff Makepeace (3)

Sheriff Makepeace, howdy do, I’m Clem Ironwood I come to protest
My neighbors Abner Bloodwood and Festus Bladeforum They are aggravatin at best
Their red and black pigs come thru the fence and raise all kinds of hell
They chase all my Ironwood sows, crap on my land and fall in my well

Sheriff says you Clem, Festus and Abner are drivin me nuts
I’m just at the moment having coffee and donuts, leave me in peace
You are all pests. You pig farmers test me, please give me a rest
Abner Bloodwood has gone bankrupt, not to be seen
Festus Bladeforum that moron thinks his black pigs are peachy keen

All know that your Ironwood pigs are credit to our county
But those black slabbed pigs should be slapped with a bounty
That or make some black bacon you would agree
To protect your handsome Ironwood sows
From those promiscuous black slabs who would romance a cow
 
I don’t want to see brass pins, next to a stainless shield, on jet black wood. It just doesn’t look right to me. Guess I’m going with ironwood at this point so those brass pins get hidden the best they can.

Poor bloodwood :(

Ironwood option would get the brushed finish on the bolster and shield but nickel silver polishes up so fast that it doesn’t bother me to do that to it.
 
I probably have some of the least figured ironwood of all time. If people really want ironwood, and can live with this amount of figuring, and some rough grain on the bare end, I say go for ironwood. It's still nice looking to my eye, but doesn't seem to shape down as smoothly and evenly as blackwood. Some spots get pretty rough and uneven. It has a very organic texture to it at times. It's not always the furniture level of finish that people might be expecting.

But if you want more of a sure thing, and something more classic and traditional for a knife of this type, then blackwood is a very easy vote. The knife will look expensive.

sdVevfAh.jpg
 
Buzzbait said:
I probably have some of the least figured ironwood of all time. If people really want ironwood, and can live with this amount of figuring, and some rough grain on the bare end, I say go for ironwood. It's still nice looking to my eye, but doesn't seem to shape down as smoothly and evenly as blackwood. Some spots get pretty rough and uneven. It has a very organic texture to it at times. It's not always the furniture level of finish that people might be expecting.

sdVevfAh.jpg
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And add a satin bolster and shield to that - GEC won't polish 'em with ironwood scales.
 
Look at r8shell r8shell 's pic above. Look at all those stunning knives. We have a chance to add to that classic legacy.

From a truly Traditional standpoint, with a capital T, ironwood just doesn't have that history. It has only been popular on pocket knives relatively recently.

Go African Blackwood!
 
wintermute said:
And add a satin bolster and shield to that - GEC won't polish 'em with ironwood scales.
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They don't polish the Ironwood either so to my mind the dull Ironwood and dull shield/bolster will make for a lackluster knife at best.
Of course one can polish the wood, then the shield, then the bolsters striving for the knife they should haven gotten in the first place, or save the elbow grease and get a shinny new Blackwood clad knife with the polishing step already done.(as it should be)
 
mykel m said:
They don't polish the Ironwood either so to my mind the dull Ironwood and dull shield/bolster will make for a lackluster knife at best.
Of course one can polish the wood, then the shield, then the bolsters striving for the knife they should haven gotten in the first place, or save the elbow grease and get a shinny new Blackwood clad knife with the polishing step already done.(as it should be)
Click to expand...
I think a lot of people are missing this fact because they're just voting and not reading the original post.
 
wintermute said:
I think a lot of people are missing this fact because they're just voting and not reading the original post.
Click to expand...
I agree. Patina'd brass with the black wood and polished hardware will end up looking better in the long run than all the dullness the ironwood version will potentially offer after use. The ironwood choice doesn't bother me one bit but the hardware finish option that comes with it is a little odd to be honest. But I am very happy we are leaning bomb shield on it. It's going to be a sweet knife either way. Just surprised that the majority wants the satin finished hardware.
 
Ah yes Tradition, Tradition as stated in Fiddler on the Roof. I agree the black woods are very traditional. But they are not American woods.
Both Ironwood and Osage Orange are American woods.
Osage Orange originated and only grew in the Red River Valley. It is the most American of all Woods.
Ironwood grew only in the Sonora Desert which extends up into CA and AZ. The American source is not listed endangered. It is tough for a work knife. Ideal for this application.
When I take a knife in hand, the provenance is important to me. More important than aesthetics. I don’t know why but it is. IMO
 
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