Best Woods for Durability and Appearance?

Desert Ironwood, and the stabilized stuff. Just got some stabilized redwood and the depth and colors are amazing.
 
Unstabilized
  • Cocobolo
  • Arizona Desert Ironwood
  • Hawaiian Curly Koa
Stabilized
  • Thuya Burl
  • Amboyna
  • Hawaiian Curly Koa
Rob!
 
For unstabilized dont forget lignum vitae very tough wood. Tulip wood is great too.
 
For me, Ironwood, stabilized buckeye burl, and rosewoods.
 
African Blackwood is great stuff. Durability is tops and no finish is required. Just shape, sand and buff.
 
Desert ironwood
Lignum vitae and friends (bulnesia and so on)
The heavy rosewoods (cocobolo, A. blackwood)

No burls. I know they look cool, but for strength, it's straight-grained and quartersawn every time.


I didn't expect to see koa on the list. It feels so lightweight. To be fair I've only used it in boxes, so I haven't really tested its durability.
 
I agree with the others on the ironwood, blackwood, lignum vitae, and would also include osage orange/bois d'arc.
 
Yes, osage orange is impressive. Not visually appealing to me, but durable.

My Great-grandfather's butcher's cleaver in osage orange saw decades of use on the ranch. The handles still look good as new. The blade had some rust issues, but the handle is almost perfect.
 
I'm surprised to see so many votes for cocobolo.

I LOVE it... but I've had a few customers that had issues with shrinkage.

I DID use it for my Js performance knife :)
 
I'm surprised at all the ironwood responses. Although I have never owned a blade with that wood, I've heard reports of cracking on some of the BRKT models.
 
NickWheeler said:
I'm surprised to see so many votes for cocobolo.

I LOVE it... but I've had a few customers that had issues with shrinkage.

I DID use it for my Js performance knife :)
Click to expand...


Cocobolo is a rosewood (Dalbergia retusa) as some seem to list it separately from rosewoods. Shrinking wood is not a mechanical characteristic of cocobolo or other species, but a sign the wood may have been used when not completely dry. Very little cocobolo is kiln dried so most what we get is air dried which is often not low enough moisture content for service until many years of storage. On the other hand making a natural wood handled knife in Seattle then shipping it to Phoenix in July has it's own set of problems to overcome even with the best of dryness.
 
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