African Rosewood...Bubinga?

bobbywett

bobbywett

Joined
Jul 23, 2006
Messages
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Hi Folks,

Has anyone out there worked with "African Rosewood and or Bubinga"? I have a customer who supplied the wood for a hunting style knife and when I began to shape the handle, I notices a few cracks running with the grain. They seem to be a characteristic of this wood species, but I'm not sure. The wood itself is very dense and the cracks appear not to be affecting the integrity of the handle>

Thanks for Your Help,

Bob
 
I've used it Bob. I've got quite a bit of it and used it on 3 or 4 knives. It's good durable stuff. I've had some that has those cracks in it and they don't seem to get bigger or cause any harm.
 
I've used it Bob. I've got quite a bit of it and used it on 3 or 4 knives. It's good durable stuff. I've had some that has those cracks in it and they don't seem to get bigger or cause any harm.
Click to expand...

Thanks John,

I was a bit worried about the cracks, but the wood sems to be super tough stuff.

Bob
 
Dense wood. Comes in a variety of qualities , ranging from not very interesting to OMG. Sand with fresh belts, and watch the end grain sanding or it will burn. Takes a great polish.Seal any cracks with CA.
Stacy
 
I've used a little bubinga before and love it. Good and hard and takes a beautiful finish. Smells like dog crap when you sand it (literally) if it isn't completely dry. It's prone to cracking along and across the grain when it's kiln dried too fast. I was given a few board feet of cut-offs from an exotic hardwood dealer because they had cracked in the kiln. It's used a lot for risers in recurve bows as well.
 
If you think bubinga smells like $h!t, wait until you grind sucupira. You have to go and take a shower afterward.
Stacy
 
I want no part of that, then! :o Seriously, though, bubinga doesn't seem to smell too bad if it's completely dry.
 
I haven't had any cracking problems with bubinga, but I'd also recommend sealing the cracks with CA.

It's an interesting timber. Lots of figure variations and good working properties. Huge, highly-figured boards are a sight to see.
 
I've made several knives with Bubinga handles....it is great stuff! It really looks great, takes a nice finish and is good to work with.
If you apply linseed oil with beeswax, you get a "brown" finish.

If you use a mixture of linseed oil, tung oil and orange oil, the finish is more in the red spectrum.
 
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