bad wood vibes ?

john april

john april

Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
5,190
i need your opinions please. i have this antique sewing box i bought in 2009. it is beautiful. i told myself someday i would use it for scales. this morning i posted some pics on the facebook page " knife handle material and how to do" because i wanted to check to be certain it was quartersawn oak, and not some other wood. one guy said i should be ashamed of destroying a piece of art. he seemed pretty offended. another guy said he would hate to see it cut up, and that i should sell it to him so he can give it to his wife. another offered me sets of scales in trade so it will stay whole. do you think it is a bad idea to use it as knife scales?
 
Antique - depends on your definition. I seriously doubt it is older than WW2, and suspect it is a lot newer than you think. The joinery is splined butt joints instead of the normal dovetail joints of antique sewing boxes *( they were made strong for regular and heavy use). It appears to have new hardware and lining. It looks a lot like the "new-old" wooden items produced overseas.

In the long view, it most likely is just a wood box, not a rare antique, or a family heirloom.

That said, it is a neat box. A set of oak scales would cost very little, but a nice oak box will cost $50. Either sell the box and buy scales, or keep the box and put something neat in it. Make an oak handle knife and a liner for the box to hold it.

As far as people telling you what should or shouldn't be done with the box, that is your decision, not theirs. If it was something rare, I could see their point, but not in this case.



Mini rant:
I think a lot of the problems in the world today are from the newer trend where a person or group feels they have a God given right to impose their opinions/feelings/hatreds/religion/etc. on everyone else. This goes both ways. The people who we personally feel have the "right" opinion don't have the right to impose that on the other guy either.
 
Its quarter sawn white oak. Granted, its nice white oak, but go to any lumber yard and spend 10 minutes and you will find some of equal quality. Hell, if you really like Shoot me a message and next time I visit the shop I worked at I'll pick you up some.

And of course, Stacy was exactly right. Why did I bother learning all this stuff if Stacy here already knows it?
 
My unwanted opinion as a woodworker: nothing special about that box unless it is special to you. I say cut it up and use the wood. :thumbup:
 
I would agree with everyones comments. I prefer book matched scales when it come to figured wood. My only thought for why you might not want to use it is that it doesn't look thick enough to get a book matched set. Just my 2 cents.
 
Keep the box, or make somebody else happy with it if it doesn't mean a lot to you.
There's a lot of oak out there. Check your fire wood :)
 
I personally would sell it and buy Book Matched Stabilized Woods.

Nothing special about the box, Its pretty, thats about it.
 
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