ebony or bone?

Wood or bone?

I have Queen in Cocobolo, Maple and some English knives in Rosewood.

Wood can be thinner than bone, often the wood is not higher than the bolsters.
So the profile of the knife is thinner.

The grain of the wood can be very pretty, more subtle than bone.
No wood is the same from knife to knife, although Ebony will be more consistant.

Also wood is warmer to the touch.

Prefer?
...No, just different
 
For me, it would depend on how well it was done.

I've seen old wood handles that have taken decades of use, like the old TL-29's and still looked decent. But then I've seen bone decades old that was still good. I guess if it was wood that was just so-so vs some bone with nice jigging, I'd go with the bone. But I've seen some rosewood or cocobolo that had a very dramatic grain and looked great.

It would depend on the individual knife.
 
I've always loved a good ironwood or cocobolo. It's just something I can stare at and examine when I'm bored. The feel of wood is just nice if it's done properly.
 
Both work well for me.. I like them both, Ebony is one of my favorite woods as is the old Tan Remington Bone..........
 
Most of the bone handled knives I have seen just seem to have more character than the wood handled ones. I have seen some very nice burl wood handles or other woods with distinct and attractive grain patterns, but most normal wood just looks kind of... blah to me.
 
I'm partial to bone, but as mentioned when ebony is done properly it's nice and I agree!
I really like cocobolo, and wish Queen would do another run!
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I'd have to say bone for me, but a good wood scale/handle can be great, too. I think, for me anyways, for wood it'd depend more on which wood & how it's done. I think, again for me only, I'm less picky on the bone color.
 
Most of my stuff is bone and stag.Celluloid too. I have 2 knives in ebony.In my opinion, ebony is very rich looking.It's my favorite these days, very smooth, and warm.
It's like a black truck. Nothing beats it.I've been an advocate for ebony on the forum whenever possible trying to get more companies and makers to make more. SMKW did a Case ebony line, and I bought a mini Copperlock. I kick myself for not getting the whole collection.

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Why not pre-ban Ivory instead of bone? After all, Ebony and Ivory live together in perfect harmony. :D
 
stevekt said:
Why not pre-ban Ivory instead of bone?
Click to expand...
Price? :rolleyes:

I love the look of real ivory, but with the extreamly limited supplies of pre-ban and fossil ivory available to knife makers it does push up the cost of the knife quite a bit.

There is a company called Tru Ivory that makes imitation ivory grips for handguns. Their stuff is not just a uniform resin or plastic casting like most "fake" ivory is, but had a color variations and grain structure just like the real thing. It's also available in different "aging" conditions, from new looking "natural white" to a very dark "ultra antique" look.

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I know one or two custom makers have used Tru Ivory on their knives, but I would love to see someone like Case or Queen do a line of "Tru Ivory" handled knives. :thumbup:
 
mdauben said:
Price? :rolleyes:

I love the look of real ivory, but with the extreamly limited supplies of pre-ban and fossil ivory available to knife makers it does push up the cost of the knife quite a bit.

There is a company called Tru Ivory that makes imitation ivory grips for handguns. Their stuff is not just a uniform resin or plastic casting like most "fake" ivory is, but had a color variations and grain structure just like the real thing. It's also available in different "aging" conditions, from new looking "natural white" to a very dark "ultra antique" look.

01_large.jpg
02_large.jpg


I know one or two custom makers have used Tru Ivory on their knives, but I would love to see someone like Case or Queen do a line of "Tru Ivory" handled knives. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Uh dude, it was a Paul McCartney/Stevie Wonder joke. :rolleyes:
 
stevekt said:
Uh dude, it was a Paul McCartney/Stevie Wonder joke. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
No! Really?. :rolleyes:

Your humorous reply just sparked my thoughts on ivory and faux ivory as a handle material so I thought I would comment. Sorry if that's hard to understand.
 
I love trees and wood but when it comes to knife handles it's bone for me!
 
I'm a sucker for ebony. I have a lot of antique slipjoints with ebony, and I like the look and feel. Here are a couple modern knives with ebony. First, my GEC #73:
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I had muskratman put some ebony on a Queen teardrop, seen in this group shot:
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That's not to say I don't like other woods. The two 112s in this picture have great macassar ebony:
Knives12-11-07010.jpg


And the Queen folding hunter in that picture has some nice cocobolo:
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That being said, I also like a nice bone handle if the color and jigging are done right.
 
I like Ebony. I don't have any but it is what I wish for in my favorite pocket knife. Thanks for the great pics. It just reminds me of my Gramp. Thats a geat looking Mini Copperlock, the Queen Jack also!
 
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