Dymondwood on kitchen knives?

Crayola

Crayola

Joined
Sep 23, 1999
Messages
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I'm going to make a carving set for my girlfriend's parents as an x-mas present fir this x-mas. I want to make the handles out of green material, and the only green stuff I can find (for a reasonable price) is dymondwood. But, how durable will it be in the kitchen (around dish water especially)? It will probably be used about once a week, so if dymondwood will last I'll go for it (unless there are better suggestions!)

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"Come What May..."
 
Crayola, Dymondwood should work ok. I made a kit kitchen set a few years back for a friend and he told me they were just fine. Another choice for green material is dyed green bone. I'm sure if you check in C.L.'s suppliers list you can find a source.

Jake
 
Another handle material you might try would be green Corian. Just call around to Counter top installers in your area and ask if you can buy some, usually they will sell ya a sink cut out or some end scrap. It looks good in a kitchen knife, its non porus and even though a little fragile, its not like a kitchen knife has to be tactical or anything...
smile.gif
corian will last through the dishwasher cycle very well too. Once you have the handle materials picked, are you going to make the blades or buy them?

Alan Folts

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If a Man talks in the forest, and there is no Woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?
 
I've put many dymondwood handles on kitchen knives. Many people prefer it over real wood because of its durability. In our house we have a set of my dymondwood handled kitchen knives and they have seen daily use for about a year. The still look as good as new. It's pretty tough stuff.

However, I would not recommend putting ANY knife in the dishwasher. The heat and steam will eventually cause the epoxy to fail. If you must put your knives in a dishwasher, attach the slabs with corby rivets and hope they will hold the scales on if the epoxy fails.

Carl
 
how about green micarta? that's waterproof, it's plastic. easy to work also. i've used dymondwood, but it chps out when you drill it, and cut it.
 
Magnum,
I have had pretty good luck using brad-point wood drill bits on pakkawood(dymondwood) with pretty good results. No chipping or tearout.

(They also work on ox horn without fracturing the material, just take it slow or use a lubricant.)

C Wilkins
 
i stopped using dymond wood, it was exciting for a while, but i decided to stay with exotics becuase they're more interesting.
 
An interesting observation on micarta and dishwashers. I made myself a little 6" chefs knife with black "paper based phenolic resin" from sheffields, AKA generic micarta, with SS bolsters and pins and 3 layers of spacer material from Jantz. I have been running it in the dishwasher every chance I get for about a month, just to see how it stands up. The micarta has acquired an interesting matte finish and lightened in color several shades. It has also swelled just a whillinth of a skilimeter, so that the pins are countersunk just enough to be noticable. The spacer material has also swelled just enough to notice where it meets the bolster. The Acraglass securing the scales and the JB Weld under the bolsters show NO change, and everything is tight when rapped on the counter. I'm going to keep washing it till something gets bad enough to require a rework, and I'll let yall know what goes first.

James

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Those who are willing to trade freedom for security deserve neither, and in the end, seldom retain them!
 
A quick note on corian for scales. It works pretty well, is a little brittle, but only if abused. Be carefull not to overheat it when grinding the scales flat. While grinding some down from it's 1/2 inch thickness to match 1/4 in bolsters, I discovered that it holds heat really well, and will warp if too hot. This caused the glue to release at the butt end of the tang. So, grind slow, let it cool, and don't rush the grinding. Also, it finishes up to a nice sheen at 600 grit hand rubbed, but the white will pick up compound from your buff if you try to buff it.

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Those who are willing to trade freedom for security deserve neither, and in the end, seldom retain them!
 
Hello Everyone! Thanks for the info, and sorry for not getting back to you. I've been away from my computer a bit. Alan, I do plan on grinding the blade myself. I am learning how to make knives, and I am trying to make knives that I can give to people as gifts for now. I get practice and people I know get good knives!
Corian!!!! Geez! I completely forgot about that stuff! This is what happens when you spend all of your time in books! Thanks again for the info!

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"Come What May..."
 
Dymondwood should be fine. I've made a couple of kitchen knife handles out of raw wood. I sealed it with some stuff called salad bowl finish. About 6 coats wiped on and there fine. Its FDA approved for use around food too. I would go ahead and use the diamond wood, then even though its stabilized put a few coats of somehting on to seal it. You can get salad bowl finish at www.woodcraft.com . It isn't wear resistant enough for folders or knives that will spend alot of time in pockets, but it has held up fine over about a year of use now from my mom. I think that includes the dishwasher too.

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Fix it right the first time, use Baling Wire !
 
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