Beautiful Wood Identification

OccamsBlade

OccamsBlade

Jim Dobbler
Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Messages
227
Heyo, was a wonderin if anyone could identify this beautiful wood for me. Some dude that I bought a lathe from on craigslist gave me a bunch of scrap wood with the lathe. I'm sure he told me what it was, but that was like three years ago, so can't remember. It has small grains within the main grain, giving it a feathery look. And smells a lot like incense when sanded. Really beautiful stuff. I'd like to get more of it if possible.

WpC2Nfc.jpg

DC9Wrqe.jpg


made a spread knife out of it
hKxbZgL.jpg


Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Yep! That looks exactly like it. I thought it would be hard to come by or expensive due to its status.
 
Argentine LV is not the real LV. Verawood may be another name for the Argentine stuff. South Florida and the Keys are kid of the northernmost event of where the true tropical plants grow, so you can find some rare LV trees there along with other exotics like "geniune" aka Cuban mahogany.
 
AFAIK, Argentine Lignum Vitae is common and readily available. It is a different sepcies from the other expensive Lignum Vitae.
I get it at Woodcraft for very low prices. For turning handles on things like oyster kniuves, I often get it in.75X.75X12 to 1X1X12" pieces for a few bucks a stick. I probably bought twenty or more sticks a few years back when it was in their bargain box. This reminds me to check again, as I have used a bunch of it. It is suprisingly hard, but turns and polishes like a dream. It also makes superb pens.
 
Ah, good to know! I'll have to check out Woodcraft for deals on lignum. I get wood from them from time to time, there's a Woodcraft store about an hour drive from me as well.

I actually bought some from that Ebay link you posted. A couple 2x2x12 pieces. Turns out he's located in the area I grew up, Rock Island, and has a nice selection of wood at reasonable prices.

Was planning on sending some wood to K&G to get stabilized. But does lignum even need to be stabilized? Wasn't sure due to its density/oil content.
 
jdm61 said:
Argentine LV is not the real LV. Verawood may be another name for the Argentine stuff. South Florida and the Keys are kid of the northernmost event of where the true tropical plants grow, so you can find some rare LV trees there along with other exotics like "geniune" aka Cuban mahogany.
Click to expand...

Oh I see. Looks like the guy that I bought some Argentine LV from has the genuine stuff as well. Gonna have to get me some of that as well.
 
Is that because of its density and/or oil content? That makes sense now. When looking up what Lignum Vitae was, it said it's one of the densest/hardest woods. But when working the Argentine I had it didn't seem as dense as what was described.
 
milkbaby said:
Here's some info about verawood:
https://www.wood-database.com/verawood/

I have some myself but don't plan to stabilize it because it appears to be similar in density and oiliness as original lignum vitae. The hardness value is higher than desert ironwood.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I read about genuine LV I think, that it's harder than Ironwood. But the stuff I had wasn't that hard, and is easy to work with, so I assume it's Argentine. It does take a nice smooth finish easily though.
 
Guenuine LV is very hard, extremely dense, and really rough on saws and tools. It sands slowly, and clogs sandpaper and belts fast. If you grind and buff it with power tools, it can check, crack, and split. NEVER get it hot while working it.

Another neat thing about LV is that it laughs it water. They used to make the shaft bearings on ships from it and lubicate them with water.
 
Haha, wow. I think I'll hold off for awhile then on that genuine LV. That's interesting, now that you mention it, I do remember the guy that gave me the Argentine LV with the lathe saying that they made ship bearings out of that wood...or maybe similar wood. He was a boat designer by trade.
 
The Argentine LV is a cousin, and easy to work. It looks great when sanded to 400 and buffed. I turn a lot of pens in it because the woven grain is very interesting.
 
Yeah, from what I can tell the genuine stuff doesn't seem to have as much of the feathery grain, if any at all, which is the part I really like. That, and it's easy to get a nice smooth finish. Also sounds like it does'nt need to be stabilized, which is a bonus.
 
There are a few people that make revolver grips from it too (in the rare times they can get some the right size). These are by Culina LLC (John Culina)Right Grip 1.JPG Left Grip 2.JPG Right Top 1.JPG Right Rear 1.JPG Left Rear 1.JPG Front 1.JPG
 
Last edited:
Looks like what we call here Palo Santo, its yellow/greenish when sanded and if you leave it untreated exposing to the sun it turns to a very green tone, almost Dollar like. I will have a couple of knives with palo Santo wood at my Bladeshow Table (14P)

Here is one that developed a crack and I used the Kintsugi technique to fix with lithographic gold powder and CA/CA accelerator

Pablo

vPyktL2.jpg

zD75pCj.jpg
 
Here is a knife handle block of the true LV that I got from Ann Sheffield a long time ago. I use it to smooth out leather when its damp prior to tooling.

DBRhz4c.jpg


Years ago I did a couple knives in the true LV. Pain to work and to glue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top