dogwood / spalted maple for knife scales

S

scott.livesey

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Nov 10, 2011
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newbie here. any advise on using dogwood or spalted maple for the knife handle. i have some of each that has been dried indoors for at least two years. will use 2 sets for full tang and need to make one hidden tang.
thanks in advance for your help.
 
I would have it stabilized if i was you. Spalting occurs in wood when it starts to rot. Also spalting is caused by a bacteria, and the stabilizing might tend to "seal" it.
 
The dogwood has some figure as the tree was diseased and most of the heartwood rotted out. It is mostly pink with some cream and brown. (need to save my pennies and become a paid member so I can post pix.) The dogwood is very dense and very hard. The pieces are about 1 1/2" x 6" with thickness from 3/8" to 1 1/4". Any ideas for finish.
 
Dogwood is extremely dense and fine grained .Spalted has to be stabilized as it's very soft . Why not use whole figured maple ??
 
Mike Davis said:
I would have it stabilized if i was you. Spalting occurs in wood when it starts to rot. Also spalting is caused by a bacteria, and the stabilizing might tend to "seal" it.
Click to expand...

Spalting is the incipient stage of wood fiber decay caused by FUNGUS...not bacteria.
 
I have some figured maple also, all from same tree. Is dogwood a good choice? Does miniwax stabalizer work well? Should final finish be a coating(varnish or varnish/oil blend) or penetrating(linseed oil & turpentine)? Spalting is a chicken or the egg situation; does the fungus weaken the tree so ants and beetles can attack the tree or the reverse. I have baked the blanks at 250 for several hours to kill the fungus and any worms.
 
I have never used dogwood, but spalted maple is one of my favorites. Some in the early stages is as hard as unspalted, but I highly recommend having them stabilized. Doing that will allow you to pollish the end product without the need for any finish. Use a top stabilizer like Larry Davis who responded above or Knife & Gun Finishing Supplies in Arizona. Not all finishers are created equally. These two are the top of the line. Just sand and then buff. I get a higher pollish with White Lightning pollish and a light touch on a unsown cotton buffing wheel. Good luck.
 
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