Do you have any tips for using snakewood or box elder burl?

draggat

draggat

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I recently started making scales for my production knives because black G10 is boring and I'd like to start making knives but I don't have much equipment yet. I've made a few from G10 and cocobolo and had no problems with either of them. I decided to get some prettier wood and picked up a block of snakewood that is 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 6" and a set of box elder burl scales that are 2" x 5" x 3/8". Both woods have been professionally stabilized. The only equipment I have available to use is a band saw, belt/disc sander, drill press and a dremel. This has been fine for the cocobolo and G10.

My initial plan is to cut the block of snakewood into 3/16" strips with the bandsaw. I can go thicker if necessary, but ultimately they need to be around 1/8" thick (finished). I've done a lot of searching here and on google, only to find that this wood is typically very brittle and cracks like crazy. Since it has been stabilized, is there still the same worry about cracks and splits? Would using a table saw make a huge difference in cutting strips this thin? I don't really have access to one, but I can probably work something out if the bandsaw is a really bad idea. Should I plan to go really slow while making scales from it? If so, how slow should I go? When using cocobolo, I made all of my scales in one day and they appear to be fine. I've found that using the belt sander for rough shaping, the dremel for fine shaping and then fine tuning by hand has given me excellent results with cocobolo. Would the same method be good for these woods?

I haven't been able to find much of anything about working with box elder burl, so any tips would be welcomed.

I don't have the wood in hand yet, but here are pictures of the pieces I bought.... I'm excited to get started!

photo47.jpg

photo48.jpg
 
One more question.... Does stabilized snakewood darken with age? I've read that it's supposed to (along with cocobolo) but I haven't experienced that with cocobolo at least. Thanks!
 
Snakewood is pretty, but a bit of a bear to work. It warps when cut often, due to the internal stress. Cut it with sharp tools, work it with fresh belts and at slower speeds......DON'T GET IT HOT!
Sand to as fine a finish as you have paper for, and buff lightly with matchless white. Cracks will ( not may) form, and they can be filled with thin CA and then sanded smooth. They all but disappear. Let the handle sit for several weeks, and go back to look for more cracks.
Cutting it a bit thicker than needed will allow trimming for warp. let the scales sit for a few days/weeks and then gently sand the backs flat. This is best done by hand, not on the grinder.

Box elder works easily and makes a nice handle. Sand to a fine grit and lightly buff. No real problems with it at all.

A note about stabilizing. It make the wood resist absorbing moisture. It doesn't make it less fragile or split resistant to much of a degree. I have my doubts about most snakewood sold as "stabilized" as it rarely needs or takes stabilization .
 
I don't know about stabilised snakewood, but the dust is like "sneezing powder" to me. Wear a mask when working it.
 
Thanks for the suggestions! I think snakewood might be a little beyond my patience for the time being, but I'm glad box elder isn't too difficult. I pretty much always wear a respirator when making dust with anything these days. I picked up some nice sw desert ironwood in place of the snakewood so I should be good to go!
 
Again . . . I had a detailed reply typed and lost it when I accidentally hit "reply to thread". Does this happen to anyone else very often?

Anyway. Don't give up on the snakewood. Snakewood is so beautiful on a knife.

Be sure to use a sharp saw blade when slicing the block into slabs. I wouldn't cut them any thinner than 1/4" thick. 1/8" snakewood scales would be prone to split into one or more pieces (In my experience).

When thinning or shaping the scales you want to avoid building any heat, as already mentioned. Use new belts. Use course belts. I'd suggest about 60 - 80 grit. If the wood gets warm, let it cool before working further. Check the wood often for cracks and use "super glue" to fix them.

Do your finish shaping by hand, again with course sandpaper. I often do much more shaping by hand when working with snakewood, than when working with most other handle materials. Course sandpaper makes the progress pretty quick, even by hand.

Finally, hand sand to your desired finish, buff quickly to avoid heat, and add a final coat of Renaissance Wax to seal any remaining micro-cracks.

It's really not that hard, just use sharp blades, belts, sandpaper, etc. and repair any cracks as they may form.

Good luck,

Mike LoGiudice
 
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logem,
I have had that happen and cursed mightily. Then I found out that if you put your cursor at the bottom left hand corner of the text box, you will see the words appear "Restore Auto-Saved ". Click that and it all will return. You may have to go back one screen to the one you were on when it disappeared. It may be my computers program that does this, but it has saved a long article several times when I accidentally changed screens and lost a whole metallurgical post.
 
Thanks for that hint Stacy. I too have said bad words recently because of this.
 
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