Dymondwood?

panch0

panch0

Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
3,415
I did a search on this stuff and found some folks don't like it and some do. Who would of thunk it? I get requests from time to time to make some knives around the 100-125 dollar range. I was looking at handle materials and kept going back and looking at dymondwood. How durable is this stuff? Is it comparable to stabilized wood burl that we all love? I know its not as pretty, but is it water resistant and stable in terms of shrinkage or expanding? I have seen some of this stuff and it seems to polish up nicely on other makers knives. Thanks!
 
It's more durable than stabilized wood, and is very stable. It needs no finish-other than buffing. It's available in many colors. It works easily.
What's not to like?
 
Sounds good to me. I just searched some threads on what folks like and a few said they didnt like it. I also saw alot of knives from some good makers and it looked very nice to me.
 
Jmho, but I think it got it's bad rap from a few flea market quality type knives that used it for scales. I think as long as you used a different color than the ubiquitous red/brown/green, a person would never know or care.
 
I've seen it in pictures and I have to say I like the look, especially for a heavy user type knife.

EDIT TO ADD: Never seen one in person, and I could see how it may look cheesy.
 
Last edited:
I've only used it once, I like how easy it is to work with, finishes nice and I was actually more impressed with it then I thought I'd be.. I think most cant get over the fact that its a laminate.....

I no longer have the knife so I wouldn't know how it holds up...

IMG_2765.jpg
 
I had a smith and wesson knife with some of the green/brown/ and red stuff which I guess is dymondwood and all the girls kept checking me out. Hehehe....

Seriously though, I want to make some inexpensive users but don't want to put crappy materials on there so this is why I wanted to know on how durable this stuff is. I wont be using the rainbow color stuff, but there looks like there are some nice colors available.
 
Fiddleback did a post a while back on making your own laminated wood..Ive done it many times as most of my family are woodworkers..Its real easy to make nice looking, attractive laminated wood for your scales..
 
I put it on a kitchen knife and used vulcanized spacer in between (first knife handle -- mistake), which has since expanded and pushed the wood out so its higher than the pins now. I think if I would have just glued the wood straight on it would be fine. I actually like the pattern on it, it was a lot nicer than I thought it would be when I was looking at the blocks.
 
Patrice Lemée;10355306 said:
I would not say that. If you like multi colored plywood it's "ta bomb"! :p;)
Click to expand...

Isn't it though hehehe.....

Its less than 4 bucks for a set of scales. Less than unstabilized wood scales. I am going to be making hidden tangs and using antler, and stabilized wood, but this seems like a good material for full tang users going forward.
 
Yep some of the color combos do look plastic. Others like the cocobolo and the oak look great. Buy a sheet and cut it yourself. Way cheaper than $4 a set of scales that way. Sheffield sells it by the sheet. Easy to work, easy to glue, easy to finish, stable, hell for stout and darn near bullet proof. Perfect for your stated usage. A synthetic material with most of the advantages of synthetics, made from natural materials. PM me panch0.
 
I've put it on 2 knives and like it well enough. It tears out more than a good dense small-grain natural wood, but it finishes smoothly. I wouldn't put it on a BBQ knife, but on these paring knives it seems appropriate to me (and my cousin LOVED the blue on hers).

I have a couple more pieces of the stuff and keep passing it over, but not because anything is WRONG with it, IMO.

IMG_20111113_134838-small-rot.jpg


-Daizee
 
If you like the colors, it makes a very good handle. I have found that women really like the multi colors. This past Christmas, the local Artist Gallery where I have my knives, sold all of my diamond wood handled knives.
 
I've use it on quite a few. It holds up really well, and is easy to finish. I've had quite a few folks request it for their knives.
 
I've used it on a few knives. I think it's durable, but I just wasn't all that crazy about the finish. I wanted a higher level of finish and no matter what I did, I couldn't get it to the point it satisfied me. Of course, those who received it just kept going on and on about how beautiful the handles were...

The walnut on the ones I had looked washed out. Hard to see it on this one.

DSCN1852.jpg


You can see what I mean on this one. This is the one that was the most popular with the lady folk. They loved the green.

DSCN1857.jpg
 
Dymondwood, Pakkawood, Kakawood....I am not thrilled with its appearance. It is often used on the most cheap and cheasy knives so I avoid it myself. It is up to you....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top