Any fellow walnut-lovers out there?

RogerP

RogerP

Joined
Feb 28, 2002
Messages
13,348
Greetings all,

As I have mentioned more times than some would like to hear :o I just love wood as a handle material for knives of all kinds.

A recent purchase afforded a happy reminder of why. Check out this piece of claro walnut gunstock:

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The vendor's description is as follows:

"Highly Figured Claro Walnut Gunstock Blank: 2 3/8" Thickness x 3 1/2" to 7 3/8" Wide x 20 1/2" Long. Exhibition Grade Quarter Sawn California Claro Walnut gunstock blank. Once in a blue moon we come across this type of unusual color in claro, more reminiscent of koa than claro. This blank is flawless and dried to 8% moisture content. A perfectly matched forearm is included."

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I can see a rather nice matched set or two coming out of this board. :D I mentioned to the vendor that I would be using it for knife handles, and he suggested that since the forearm didn't need to match the stock, he'd like to send me a forearm piece with " a little more pizzaz". :eek: Can't wait to see what that looks like.

To give this topic some knife content, how about y'all post up your favorite walnut-handled knives.

Here are a few to get things rolling:

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Have a great weekend everyone.

Roger
 
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RogerP said:
As I have mentioned more times than some would like to hear :o I just love wood as a handle material for knives of all kinds.


Roger
Click to expand...

I have to admit - I'm a wood lover too.....:rolleyes::D:thumbup::cool::cool:

This may sound corny? :D But that is some beautiful looking wood Rodger. - :thumbup:
 
Yes Roger, I'm a fan of Walnut :cool:
My first is a Hill Walnut on one of my HI Khukuris kept under my bed but I don't have a picture of it :D
Below is a walnut handle but I can't remember what type of Walnut :p

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mohd
 
I just got 2 Opinels, one for me and one for gundude73. The one he ordered came with a walnut handle, and it looks SO much better than my beechwood handle.... :(
 
Here's a little hunter, from Mike Williams, that I've had for awhile. It's sporting some nice English Walnut.
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Nice lookin knives guys! I'd like to have that Claro Walnut for a nice side by side shotgun stock Roger!
 
I have felt the walnut love myself!
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Roger, lots of people seem to be influenced by others who pan the woods, but honestly, walnut is my favorite of all handle materials (even more than stone).

I grew up in Tx and KC, and Warsaw, Missouri was and still is the walnut capital. As a kid, I went huntin' with some of the most gorgeous rifles (Mauser actions, Bishop walnut gunstocks, all of 'em.).

How could anyone not love walnut?? Though Koa is a close second and, I know, also one of your favorites.

Let's hear it for Walnut nuts!

Bob
 
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Nice looking knives! Here's a Fiddleback EDC with walnut crotch.
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And one made by a BF member.. the smaller Nessmuk
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Matt Lamey:

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Burt Foster:

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Adam DesRosiers:

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Dan Farr:

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A few dummies:

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Jason Knight:

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Nice knives gents. Lorien, that handle looks terrific. Perrigrin - love that little Williams hunter. Matt - that Lamey dude sure puts walnut to some good use, and as for those dummies, at least they were bright enough to pick a pretty piece of wood.

Bob - old time hunters tend to warm to walnut because it is such a classic gunstock wood.

Karl - I have had really good luck with unstabilized walnut (Black Missouri and English, mostly) when given a multi-layer oil finish. No shrinkage and a pretty durable finish on some knives that have actually been used a good deal. My plan would be to stay with that approach, though if a given maker felt it would benefit from stabilzation for a given project, I would certainly go with his recommendation.

Dan Farr was the one who tuned me into gunstocks as a source of quality walnut. They aren't cheap to be sure, but you can get some really primo boards that will yield several knife handles - plus you have the flexibility to cut to the dimensions you need.

Roger
 
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That is some "Outstanding" looking walnut. Thanks for showing..
And some Beautiful work in this thread.....
 
Some of the nicest walnut if not THE nicest I have seen. Koa is my favorite but now this is probably nicer then all the koa i have seen! I would be hypnotized looking at that. If you make slabs put my name on one!! :)
 
I really like working with the walnut. It has a pleasing smell and is very easy to work. I found, like Roger said, that it takes oil very well and becomes quite a bit harder and more durable with that finish than without. I also like the porosity and texture of the wood, as you can use that to your advantage in making for a grippier handle. I suppose the pores could fairly easily be filled if one were to keep applying additional coats of oil, separated by some sandings.
But yeah, from its looks alone, and its color, it's one of the nicest types of wood, imo.
 
^^^ That is niiiice, Mark.

Okay guys - how about some pics of the harvesting? These are quite large, but cool photos:

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Now get a load of this next shot - aparently this went to making a musical instrument of some kind. I hope the guy or gal was, like, really really good.

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Roger
 
Outstanding piece of walnut Roger!And now for the questions I figured would have been ask by now, where did you get it, and do they have more?!
 
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