English Walnut

peter nap

peter nap

Joined
Nov 27, 1999
Messages
3,745
Sometimes when things really suck, a ray of light shines through!!! :)

I worked my a$$ off this weekend and had a terrible day today...but in addition to getting a lot of gun parts, I also went through the..."take it to the dump" pile. Among other things, I got 20 or so blocks of AAA figured English walnut. Each block is around 10"X8"X3" and I figure I can get at least 3 handles from each block if I cut carefully.
:) :) :)
 
peter nap said:
Sometimes when things really suck, a ray of light shines through!!! :)

I worked my a$$ off this weekend and had a terrible day today...but in addition to getting a lot of gun parts, I also went through the..."take it to the dump" pile. Among other things, I got 20 or so blocks of AAA figured English walnut. Each block is around 10"X8"X3" and I figure I can get at least 3 handles from each block if I cut carefully.
:) :) :)
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Don: Why was it in "take it to the dump pile"??? You put it in the pile before you started making knives???? :confused:
 
Same question as George. Now where exactly is this dump???

Won't do any good Tom....I got it all and the fancy striped maple :D
He is a very good rifle builder and has a soft spot for English Sporting Rifles (look like a Hawkin on Sunday).

These are just cut offs from stock blanks. I also got large enough blanks for one Sporting Rifle in Walnut, although it doesn't have anywhere the grain of these blocks, and an absolutely stunning striped maple blank big enough for a Hawkin
I bought 2 barrels and got 5 freebies 3 of which are in good enough condition to use as is. The others will be used for a barn gun and one will get cut up for pistol barrels.

Lets see, back to the "take it to the dump pile" Several full leather sides, a bolt jeweling fixture, 2 electric lead pots, a Dutch Oven...

Had enough...I can go for a while :footinmou
 
Looks like you made a good find :)
Although you should be able to get more than 3 handles from eacn block, if they are 10''x8''x3''. Knife handle blocks are usualy 5''x1 1/2''x1''. You may have more than you first thought.

Don Hanson lll
 
You might be right Don. I'm just eyeballing now. I may cut one later tonight for a blade I just finished.
 
Yeah, I've got two full size Turkish walnut rifle blanks here That I have had for several years. They are fiddle back straght grained. I was so happy to get them when I did but then I got into knife making and - well that's that for my stock making career. Some day I'll put them on Ebay or something.

RL
 
If I had to pick my favorite wood for a knife handle, wlanut would be it. Good find.

Roger
 
I been doing blades for a while now, it might be fun to get into a little gun work.
How did you get started.....any recomendations?

larry
 
What kind of Guns Larry? I've been building and rebuilding center fire rifles and pistols for 35 years or so. Muzzle loaders are a little more recent and a lot more fun.

If you are interested in them I would suggest buying a copy of the Gunsmith of Grenville County by Peter Alexander. It is understandable enough for a beginner and detailed enough for more experienced builders. He is more focused on Lancaster style rifles but the building procedures are pretty much the same for all styles.

It also fits right in with knife making skills because making parts is making parts. I used to say that a good gunsmith could do anything but the last few years I've changed to a good Knife smith can do anything including gunsmith work. Just look at some of the beautiful things Bruce Bump has produced. There are a lot of crossover builders.
 
Leaning towards muzzle loaders.
Is there any kind of license required for either?
 
Mark Williams said:
What do you guys think about walnut burl and laminated steels? Too busy or good and busy?
Click to expand...

Personally I think a nice burl is fine when combined with a pattern welded blade. Of course I might try to find a burl with a pattern and color that compliments the damascus. I also think a subdued wood chosen for color rather than figure goes nicely with a damascus blade even as a highly figured wood compliments a mono-steel blade. It's a package deal so as long as the elements all work together it really doesn't matter what they are.

All this talk of walnut reminded me that I have a bunch of figured walnut cut by a friend of my Dad's that I have't looked at for years. I'll have to dig it out and look at it. Due to the thickness of the planks (pretty thin) I doubt I'd be able to split it for matching scales though. What are your ideas on using non-matched scales on knives? I suppose if you try and make the figure, color and grain come close it would be o.k.
 
Walnut and pattern-welded steel? Sure!

How about this from Rob Hudson (pic from Nordic Knives):

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In fact, I like wood and damascus as a general rule - this knife by Steve Filicietti with box elder burl and random damascus from my collection:

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And if you can stand one more Australian bowie - ring gidgee and tiger stripe damascus from Sean McIntyre:

orig.jpg


Cheers,

Roger
 
Hey Peter,

FYI, I had some stunning figured walnut that was, likewise, too small for my gunstock work, but made fantastic knife handles. But, I went a step further...I had Jim Frey stabilize it for a few bucks a pound. Man, what a difference in how it works and finishes up! I sand it down to 600 grit and take it straight to my white matchless polish and it produces a beautiful egg shell satin finish, that is impervious to moisture. Used to be, I had to finish it the same as my walnut gunstocks, oil, polyurethane, etc...but no longer. It is really worth it to send your figured chunks to him to stabilize. It did not matter how small or large the pieces of wood were, as he was able to stabilize them regardless of size. I also did one other thing prior to sending the wood off to Jim..I stuck a return address sticker on each piece of wood so he would know whose wood he was stabilizing, minimizing confusion. It came back with the address stickers still on them. Jim is a heck of a nice guy to deal with, and puts out a quality product...check him out at the Blade Show each year. He has also done some spalted maple for me that came out great as well.

Take it easy,

Hank Hammond
 
Hey Roger, you sure do have good taste in knives.
I have a large stash of black walnut burl, I just may use some now after reading all this.

Don Hanson lll
 
Thanks Roger,

I've been trying to decide on which material for a LARGE laminated steel Bowie like object. I have a beautiful stabilized walnut burl that should fit the bill now that I see it's not to busy.
 
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