Another thing that is real important in handle work is to have the set of scales as matched as possible. If the pattern is very tight and intense, sometimes you can get away with cutting two scales side by side on a slab, but for a truly professional look, you need to cut the scales from a single block and have them be a matched set. Once the block is split, you then decide whether to book-match the scales of use them exactly as cut.
If using as cut, mark them so they go on the tang just as cut.....with all grain and patterns continuing as if the tang wasn't there. This is used for woods with a strong grain or a directional pattern. Curly maple,and most hardwoods often look best this way.
If book matching, lay the cut block on the table and roll the scales flat as if you were opening a book....so the cut through the block is face up and the patterns shown are a left and right mirror image of each other. Now, rotate the scales so that these surfaces are the outside of the handle when assembled. That way the two sides will be a fairly close match for the pattern. This is used when the pattern is bold, as in Desert Ironwood or a flame pattern. Most burls do best with book matched scales.
On wood with an angular pattern or grain, sometimes you can get a very stunning effect by flipping one of the scales. If the grain or pattern runs diagonally across the top of the handle block, turn one scale inside out and the pattern will become herringbone. The angles of the grain/pattern will form "V" shapes down the handle top. It looks a lot different when the handle is ground into a curve, but the look of the two placed together as scales will tell you if this will work for your set of scales. I deliberately cut some woods at an angle to the grain to get blocks that will make herringbone. Woods that have a wide grain, stripes,or linear patterns do great like this. I cut black palm and macadamia at 30 degrees to the grain and get a stunning effect when one is flipped. Wenge, persimmon, zebrawood, etc. work well treated this way. Others that can yield some surprising effects are lace wood, leopard wood,she-oak,black/red palm,and other woods that have round or speckled pattern . When cut on the diagonal to the grain the spots change shape into ovals or sometimes hearts. When black palm is done like this it looks just like fish scales.
The other reason to sometimes cut on the diagonal is that you can get a longer handle from a slightly short board or block. Lets assume you have a block of burl cut 2X4X12Problem is that the really great end grain burl effect is on the 4" end. If you cut it into a stack of 2X4X1" blocks they would only work for shorter handles. If you cut it into a bunch of 2X6X1 blocks, you don't get the great burl pattern. What to do??? Cut the block at an angle that will allow you to get 5" long cuts from end grain burl. There will be a bit of waste in the first and last wedge shaped piece, but these can find uses for other projects.
Hope this helps,
Stacy
think I will have to put the piece back in the box and leave it there before I screw it up
. I truely love the look of natural wood and thats what makes it so hard to let any go to waste, but I should be able to make some nice bolsters out of some of the end pieces and match them up to some micarta scales. I have no problem wasting synsetics though.