Custom shop wood

J

JD Bear

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I am going to get a custom 112 in a week or two and I wanted to get some opinions and see if you guys have walnut or ironwood from the custom shop. My knife buying may be put on hold for a little while and I wanted to get a nice 112 before that happens. I want nickel silver bolsters, upgraded steel and some nice darker wood, so it looks like I have two choices from the custom shop. The difference in price is pretty sizable, but for a custom, I'm not taking it into consideration. I would just like the nicer of the two. I have a 55 that I think is walnut and appears to be untreated. I doubt that's the way it would come from the custom shop but I really have no idea. I've never seen an ironwood handle so I really don't know about that one. I've looked up ironwood and it seems like it has more of a swirl grain instead of a straight grain like oak. Don't know if that's true or not so I'm hoping this is something you guys can help me with. While I'm asking, I'm curious about the lil' jack from SK, since that's along the lines of what I'm looking for. I'd appreciate your thoughts guys....
 
I've never had a chance to see ironwood. Burlwood, or for buck, buckeye, has to be stabilized or it would be constantly changing and it looks good. I'd call buck and ask if the ironwood is stabilized. I doubt much nowadays that any wood isn't stabilized.

As for the jack, you have the decide if 100.00 for a shelf knife or 150.00 for a custom is worth it. For me it is. Plus you'll get s30v.
 
Yeah, good point about the lil jack. Thanks for the pictures JB. Beautiful knives....
 
JD,

The 111 in the first photo is the same knife that is in the second photo. The second photo was taken in direct sunlight and lets you see how the grain is somewhat iridescent with the right lighting. Ironwood comes in a few grades and the wood on these is premium grade. You may want to ask the CS what grade of wood they are using before you order.

JB
 
The SK Lil' Jack is 90.00 plus there is a labor day special code for 20% off right now. It's D2 and a thicker full grind, both unusual features. The handles are Dymondwood (Cocobolo), but mine are very attractive. You can't go wrong with this one.

That being said, I want something in Ironwood, Buckeye Burlwood and Walnut from the custom shop, in that order. I missed out on Hawaiian KOA and Fiji Orange wood in the past so I want to grab these soon, just in case.
 
Of the handles available now, I'd say the Buckeye is the best choice by far.......Ironwood is a distant second. The rest.........meh.......nothing really pops. They badly need some better choices.

I bought a Buckeye 112 as a gift recently and it turned out great.
 
The buckeye definitely looks great. I'm looking for more of a traditional straight grain. I have a custom 110 with oak and that looks really good I just want something darker on the 112.
 
Walnut vs Ironwood Buck 112's:


f0p5pj.jpg
 
VorpalRain said:
Of the handles available now, I'd say the Buckeye is the best choice by far.......Ironwood is a distant second. The rest.........meh.......nothing really pops. They badly need some better choices.

I bought a Buckeye 112 as a gift recently and it turned out great.
Click to expand...
Walnut, Black Palm Wood, Buckeye Burlwood, Iron Wood, Giraffe Bone, Water Buffalo, Blue Wood, Elk, Black G10, Cherrywood and Oak. Plus the choices other vendors are bringing to market on the 112 and 110.

I would think these are Great choices.

Compared to others manufactures, no comparison. Only customs would have anything close or a better selection.
 
Can someone confirm if the wood in the custom shop is real wood and NOT Dymondwood. Or which ones are which?

I purchased a Rosewood 110 a short time ago and it came with mismatched scales. I thought I would sand it down a little to see if I could even it out. That was a mistake. Glue dust or whatever it is all over the place. Sanded into the next layer. What a mess. Dymondwood is good against the elements, but I do prefer real wood.
 
BuckShack said:
Can someone confirm if the wood in the custom shop is real wood and NOT Dymondwood. Or which ones are which?

I purchased a Rosewood 110 a short time ago and it came with mismatched scales. I thought I would sand it down a little to see if I could even it out. That was a mistake. Glue dust or whatever it is all over the place. Sanded into the next layer. What a mess. Dymondwood is good against the elements, but I do prefer real wood.
Click to expand...
Could that be part of stabilizing the wood?
 
Makael said:
Walnut, Black Palm Wood, Buckeye Burlwood, Iron Wood, Giraffe Bone, Water Buffalo, Blue Wood, Elk, Black G10, Cherrywood and Oak. Plus the choices other vendors are bringing to market on the 112 and 110.

I would think these are Great choices.

Compared to others manufactures, no comparison. Only customs would have anything close or a better selection.
Click to expand...

Like I said, to each his own.

To me the choices offered now range from ugly to boring, with Buckeye and Ironwood the only bright spots.

Giraffe CAN be good, but the stuff I've seen from Buck lately has been expensive with the added attraction of being rather colorless and bland. If they did it better it might be worth it.

Like I said, they badly need to give us some new choices with some pop to them.

As long as people settle for less.......we'll just get offered less.
 
;)

I'd enjoy additional choices, and I do like our current choices too.

This goes for both Buck, and the private custom businesses out there.

The Buck 112 is a handy, useful, traditional lock blade that stands apart from the crowd of newer designs.
 
I'd like to be surprised with a new and interesting offering.......after all, I'm the customer--it's their job to come up with something good to entice me.
:)
I think a high-quality faux ivory would be popular if done right.......looking realistic, a bit yellowed.......like the real thing.
They could even start to offer some scrimshaw on demand.
KOA and Abalone and various shades of pearl could come back and giraffe could work if done better.
 
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