A vintage Northwoods in "Dymondwood"???

Macchina

Macchina

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Apr 7, 2006
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I recently picked up this Northwoods Indian River Jack believing it was Ebony but what arrived is quite the mystery to me! It is a great version of the old style of this knife, great fit and finish and walk and talk... However the covers seem to be some kind of very glossy strangely grained wood? Reminds me of the "Dymondwood" offering from Buck in the grain and gloosyness however this wood doesn't quite have the plywood layering quality to it that I've seen on Dymondwood. Any insight?

The pictures are not very good, I only have standard bulb indoor lighting right now... The top picture is the best representation of the actual color of the covers.





And a Buck Dymondwood Example:
 
Idk, Macchina, it seems like ebony. Maybe a bit worn, or cut opposite to the norm. Strange question but, how does it feel when you hold it, like it is drawing heat away from your hand or returning it? True ebony is so dense that it acts like a heat sink, so it's always cool to the touch. It's very hard to say, with only the pictures. To be honest, I also would tap it against my teeth , as it produces a different feeling that way as well. Not that I'm saying to do that-I know it sounds weird. But I've worked with it enough to be able to tell something about its characteristics that way. Now someone will call me a nut-but it's true. Better eyes than mine are needed here. :D
Thanks, Neal :rolleyes:
 
Thanks for the insight Neal. It feels very hard (extremely hard) but doesn't "sound" like Ebony to me when it's tapped. This wood sounds very hollow almost, but doesn't feel low quality. Just a different tone than any of my many GEC Ebonys.

Maybe it's been heavily stabilized or something, but I've never seen Ebony with this grain, color, depth, or sheen before:

 
Here's a comparison to GEC Ebony:
(The more I play with this knife, the more I love it ;)



 
Well the GEC on the left is definitely gabon, or gaboon, ebony. That on the right looks a bit more typical of some of the brown toned ebony you might see from India or Eastern Asia. It does(sigh) occur in Africa, but is generally marketed to the west under a different name than ebony.(it escapes me at the moment of course) I could be totally wrong of course, but I definitely don't think you have to worry about it being some sort of laminate as it doesn't show the striae typical of plywood, basically the alternating layers of wood and glue that give dymondwood its characteristic look. The ebony on the right has a grayish overall background with black grain, while the Gabon is black on black. People tend to forget that ebony even comes in a black and white version. I'd say you were good, but again it can be difficult to tell thru photos.
Thanks, Neal
Ps- I quite like the knife too:D
 
neal70 said:
That on the right looks a bit more typical of some of the brown toned ebony you might see from India or Eastern Asia. It does(sigh) occur in Africa, but is generally marketed to the west under a different name than ebony......The ebony on the right has a grayish overall background with black grain
Click to expand...

Are you referring to Makassar ebony?
I have heard that some ebony heartwood has grayish cast also?
 
Looks like lighter colored ebony to me, but I have been wrong before a few times... Either way, nice looking knife! I really like the opening hole on those knives:thumbup:
 
Yah it could be Macassar ebony. I'm sorry I just don't have the appropriate references to hand. Hope I was, and glad to have been of a little help , Macchina, my friend.:)
Thanks, Neal
Ps-Arathol yep, that can be true, depending on the variety. Persimmon is actually in the ebony family and has almost entirely white wood.
 
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I've got that same knife, mine's a touch darker though. These were indeed labeled as Ebony, but I had the same thoughts as you!

~Jim
 
I'd have to say that if I bought that knife I'd think it some manner of synthetic wood. Ebony certainly varies like many woods but this has an unnatural sheen or hue about it. Heavy stabilization I suppose?
 
Will-honestly, I think it's two different species of ebony, so more where it was harvested kind of thing. Don't know for sure, and not totally sure how one could tell, without doing certain kinds of destructive or at least harmful to the knife/scales testing. But they each beat a great resemblance to two specific types of ebony, just from separate parts of the world. Generally ebony and woods like wenge, rosewoods, etc. don't need a great deal of stabilization, ebony in particular because of its denseness and stability when properly dried. Many of the tropical hardwoods also contain enough natural oils in them that cracking is not considered a significant problem. Snake wood will get brittle, but there are always exceptions to the rules. Real ironwood is so dense and oily, that it's used for ships propellers because it's self lubricating.
Thanks, Neal
 
I wonder if there is a significant amount of weight difference between synthetic wood and ebony. I assume it would be moderate enough to possibly allow you to infer something was fishy? Maybe find the original manufacture posted weight and then pop yours on a gram scale and see what the difference is?

Or .. find a xray technologist or dental hygenist that is running daily QA on their equipment and ask them to xray it.

I keep coming back to this thread to see if you ended up tapping it on your teeth :)
 
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