Curly Maple for Handles (by a beginner)

[Col Defender]

Hi guys - I am getting ready to make another knife - this will only be #4. For handle material so far I have used Lacewood and Cocobolo. I was thinking of doing the next couple in Curly Maple but the ads I see for Curly Maple call it "soft" curly maple. The "soft" part worries me a little. Is this the right stuff to use? A catalog I have does list Maple (Canadian Curly) but I don't know if that is the same stuff or better or what...

Help with this decision please!

Thanks.

Steve

PS I also see ads for stabilized and non-stabilized wood - I have no idea whether that is important to me at this point. Is it??

 

[mete]

Maple [like some other woods] are divided into two groups, hard and soft . Many different patterns in the grain and from some of the suppliers you can pick the exact piece of wood you want. For most makers I don't suggest 'bird's eye maple' ! The hard maple is of course more durable and I pick that and have it stabilized for nice grain and durable handle. One exception I can't tell about as I've never used it is Big Leaf Maple from a small area in the Pacific NW .Technically soft maple but some say it works fairly hard .It has some very nice grain. Perhaps some users can comment.

 

[Fletch Helical]

Check out the makers for sale are or the member on here Burl Source website he often has pieces on there that are stabilized so the softness isn't a factor.

 

[Mahoney]

Stabilized wood has had resin forced into the wood cells which hardens the wood and makes it much more moisture resistant. This may or may not be important to you. Certainly if you like the look of a softer wood species this treatment may make the wood more suitable as a long lasting knife handle. Knives have been made for centuries using natural woods as handle materials. But knives that saw hard use or got washed like kitchen knives for 40-50 years have handles that don't look so good; cracked, dented, swollen, warped. Some see this as "character", others... not so much, but there's a good chance stabilized wood will look better after 50 years...time will tell. Try to pick the wood in person, if you can dent it easily with a thumb nail it is soft as a handle material and will be a knife handle that will acquire "character" quickly

 

[NStricker]

Soft maples will include red and silver maples whereas hard maple is usually sugar maple here in the Midwest. You might see sugar maple referred to as rock maple also. Curly and Birdseye refer to features in the grain, not the type of tree it came from. If you want a try at Non-stabilized woods, go for it. Track down someone who builds muzzleloaders and see if they have any odd pieces that might be suitable for a handle. For stains check out Laurel Mountain Forge or Google aqua fortis.