Black handle material.

M

montana guy

Joined
Dec 18, 2009
Messages
472
I have no experience with a black handle so I could use some advise. I have a knife I have been working with for a while now and what I have come up with would look best with a solid black handle I think. I would like a material that will shine like black marble so what would you all recommend? African Blackwood, G10, Micarta, a piece of dyed black wood?? It has to finish to a high gloss like marble or a real fancy paint job on a car, I would like to see a reflection in it if possible.
It is going to be this handle with all the brass, I think black would just look really good with the brass.
DSC00187.jpg

Thanks
Ronnie
 
Water Buffalo horn is black and gets really shiny when polished. It does have light streaks in it though. Not pure black.
 
Buffalo horn or Corian are the first two things that come to mind. Stabilized wood should buff to a higher gloss than unstabilized.

Paul
 
I used black paper micarta and finished it with light layers of spar varnish and polished each layer. Very high gloss. Im going to try ebony next.
 
I'll second the buffalo horn or corian ideas.

If you want a natural wood, african blackwood would probably be the best choice.

G-10 or micarta might work too but need to be taken to the highest grit possible to get the most out of it. Even then you can still see the 'grain' in it. It's not really pure black.
 
Send me a SASE and I will send you a good size chunk of Corian. I have a piece about 24"x18". I could easily cut off a small piece for you.
 
zaph1 said:
Send me a SASE and I will send you a good size chunk of Corian. I have a piece about 24"x18". I could easily cut off a small piece for you.
Click to expand...

How thick is it? I need something that is ~1.5" thick because of how the blade is designed to sit in the handle. I sincerely appreciate your offer and may take you up if it is thick enough. I'd even send you an 8" chunk of 360 layered 01 and 1095 damascus I made a while back as a token of my appreciation.
 
I went and looked, it's(the piece of damascus I made a while back) actually about 12" long by about 1.5" deep and about a 1/4" thick, it is a pretty big chunk. Could be stuck in the forge and stretched out quite a bit, could get a few blades from it. If anyone has a piece of something black that is 1.5"x1.5"x6" long I would be willing to trade for the right piece. I really want to get that knife done someday. Hopefully I have found a job, sounded promising in the interview so I might be able to just buy a piece here before too long...I hope..fingers are crossed. If anyone is interested let me know and I'll take a pic of the thing.
Thanks
Ronnie
 
I'll check. The piece I have is only about 3/4" thick. Let me talk to my saleman, he may have a bigger chunk in the shop. Are you going for a hidden tang?
 
That looks pretty good. Might have to pick up some.

Worked my 1st day on the new job today so I'll actually be able to start building up a stash of materials before too long.

Thanks for all the links, pictures, and information all.
Ronnie
 
PM me your mailing address so I can send this to you. I'll send both the glued piece and 3 unglued pieces so you can try gluing if you want.
 
Thanks a lot. I have not got a paycheck yet so I cannot PM yet if that is how it works so here is my email. Email me your address so I can send you the chunk of Damascus and I'll send you my address back.
Ronnie
 
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