Curly Koa or Ironwood? Pics please!

[SA Condor]

Well, so far my Fiddlebacks are all synthetic handles. I've been thinking its time to get a nice wooden handled one. From all the pics I've seen, the Curly Koa and the Ironwoods speak to me the most. Between Mist's Asp that he had for a while and Vance's Runt and Karda, those 2 types of wood have spoke to me. I do love a beautiful Bocote and some of the Burls are awesome too. Help me out here! Those of you that own a Fiddleback with Ironwood or Curly Koa, could you post your pics here for our viewing pleasure? I'd love to hear your thoughts too as to why you might pick one over the other.

Here are some of the pics that drew me in:

Mist's Asp pic

Vance's Runt and Karda pic

M4Super90's crazy bushcrafter pic

Hasco's awesome Bocote Kephart

 

[M4Super90]

Don't forget this ironwood:

 

[SA Condor]

Don't forget this ironwood:

That is a gorgeous piece of wood!

Which do you prefer? The feel of it, weight, etc?

 

[Skystorm]

Dang, M4 has the 2 nicest Bushcrafters I think I've ever seen. That tiger stripe is crazy cool

 

[M4Super90]

That is a thick, heavy, non-tapered BC. To give you an idea, the ironwoood BC above weighs 7.2 oz, while the larger Koa BC Sr. only weighs 6.4 oz. Both are 5/32 and I usually prefer the tapered tang, in this case the Koa. Although both are heirloom quality knives.

 

[Elite_KG]

M4Super90's crazy bushcrafter pic

These scales are phenomenal! Curly KOA or Curly maple?

 

[M4Super90]

Curly Koa

 

[xxwjtxx]

Ironwood but I'm biased.. I'm traveling but I'll get some pics up soon. I've had almost every natural hardwood Andy has used as to include masacar ebony, and the only wood handles I still have are ironwood... Koa, blood wood, padouk, and Bocote are all close favorites, so honestly you can't go wrong with any of em! The koa does however have the best figure / chatoyance hands down

 

[M4Super90]

Ironwood but I'm biased.. I'm traveling but I'll get some pics up soon. I've had almost every natural hardwood Andy has used as to include masacar ebony, and the only wood handles I still have are ironwood... Koa, blood wood, padouk, and Bocote are all close favorites, so honestly you can't go wrong with any of em! The koa does however have the best figure / chatoyance hands down

Your Sr. BC with the almost black ironwood is one awesome blade. I love the patina on it.

 

[bonafide]

Tiger/Curly Maple. What you can't see is it reflective properties in the light - the translucent depth of this wood has is a serious wow-factor.

 

[bonafide]

Ironwood trio

 

[Mistwalker]

I was going to post pics of the one knife I have had in Ironwood, but I see that won't be necessary The Ironwood does feel awesome in hand, and looks amazing. I just can't feel comfortable with wooden handles in my world for long

 

[VANCE]

lmari55
this pic shows the figure better. the handles are a bit dehydrated in that pic & so is the runt in this pic(1/2 anyway)

its from resting in their sheaths

 

[hiredgun]

Both woods can be very attractive based on the pieces used. Koa is generally lighter and less durable than Desert Ironwood. I just so happen to be working on two knives simultaneously in both those woods. I have to say I prefer DI over Koa. I can get some very stunning pieces and the durability is a huge factor for me. That being said, my first FF knife is the pictured Bushboot below. In bright light, the Koa really stands out.

 

[SA Condor]

Ironwood but I'm biased.. I'm traveling but I'll get some pics up soon. I've had almost every natural hardwood Andy has used as to include masacar ebony, and the only wood handles I still have are ironwood... Koa, blood wood, padouk, and Bocote are all close favorites, so honestly you can't go wrong with any of em! The koa does however have the best figure / chatoyance hands down

Thanks for your insight, I look forward to the pics. I'll have to check out some of the other wood you mentioned!

Ironwood trio

I love the Ironwood on that Patch knife . . . well I love the knife too! That Tiger Maple is stunning in the pics.

I was going to post pics of the one knife I have had in Ironwood, but I see that won't be necessary The Ironwood does feel awesome in hand, and looks amazing. I just can't feel comfortable with wooden handles in my world for long

I'm kinda right there with Thurin on this one. He just posted in the Flea Market, "For my smaller EDC knives, I'm really liking naturally stable hardwoods. For the bigger, hard use, carving on wood, camp, kitchen type knives, it's Shadetree or micarta all the way." (Thurin's words)

I'm thinking the wood handles on a pocket size knife are really classy, and for whatever reason, my Bocote BRKT is looked at as pretty instead of aggressive and my micarta FF's are perceived as more scary (here in South America). For my larger knives I'd like to stick with Shadetrees and for little guys I'd like to get some beautiful wooden handled models.

lmari55
this pic shows the figure better. the handles are a bit dehydrated in that pic & so is the runt in this pic(1/2 anyway)

its from resting in their sheaths

Thank you!!! That's the pic I saw long ago and I was looking for it but couldn't find it! Those are awesome man!

Both woods can be very attractive based on the pieces used. Koa is generally lighter and less durable than Desert Ironwood. I just so happen to be working on two knives simultaneously in both those woods. I have to say I prefer DI over Koa. I can get some very stunning pieces and the durability is a huge factor for me. That being said, my first FF knife is the pictured Bushboot below. In bright light, the Koa really stands out.

I love the striped look of the Koa but some of the Ironwood pics I've seen are just impressive. I love the Patch knife that Bonafide's has and that IW Bushcrafter of M4Super90's.


Thanks everybody for your input and pics so far. Let's keep them coming!