Favorite Handle Materials

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Knifemaker
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My first Khuks had buffalo horn scales (Chiruwa AK by HI and Panawal Special and Mini Panawal by KH). I think buffalo horn is a beautiful material and to me there is a mystique to horn handled knives. It has been hard to convince my father in law its not plastic though. I had to heat up a pin and burn it so he could smell the singed hair smell.:rolleyes:

The Badune Special by Bura has a wooden Dadube (sp) handle that is very beautiful.:eek: I am currently refinishing it. The Salyan in the mail is handled with Chandan wood. My question to all you Khuk Kooks is what is your favorite handle material and why?:D

So far my favorite is horn. I do however feel that wood has more character. I just think of it as common. If I ever rehandle I'll probably go wood because I have a modecum of experience with it.

Andy
 
Astrodada said:
I tried to resize my horn handle a bit..........

Found it hard as hell to file down. :)
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So is that bad or good?:confused: :confused: I want beauty and durability in a handle. So hardness is good. Right?

I filed mine down as soon as I got it. Frankly the handle on my CAK needed some work. I filled the spaces between the horn and the tang with an epoxy I died black, then filed. Started very course actually. When I got it close to shape I began to use finer files, then switched to sandpaper, finer and finer, and finished off with steel wool. It looks and feels great now!!:)

Andy
 
My chandan-handled foxy's folly has incredible grain, and I think that the chandan has richer color than cocobolo. If only it didn't crack!
 
Wood every time. We get a lot more kinds of wood than we do horn, and you (or at least, I) can do a lot more customization/finishing to wood than horn.

My least favorite is bone. The only one I've had fell completely apart the first time I used it.
 
I have to say That it seems to me that horn must require more work to make a blemish free handle . I have only made drinking horns from american bison and even the small amount of work I do has given me respect for those who work with horn full time . I like antler for looks and texture. I like ash for tomahawks for its straight grain and ease of shaping . I am starting to work with hickory a bit as it is so durable . I find it a bit more squirrely than ash .
As for the exotics or tropicals ? I have so far traded most of the Ipe ,Kempas and other exotic tropicals that come my way . I may make a knife handle out of some Kempas . It has a beautiful rich red/brown color .Ebony has a deep lustre even when unfinished that is appealing . I have heard it is a brittle wood.
 
aproy1101 said:
So is that bad or good?:confused: :confused: I want beauty and durability in a handle. So hardness is good. Right?

Andy
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Yep. Horn is good.........now that I've got a horn one.....I want one in wood....How about that ? :);)
 
My definite favorite for the smaller stuff is antler. I've got a trisul, jkm, sarge and kk in antler and I think they look the nicest. I don't really know about the durability of antler for a chopper though, since it doesn't seem to be used too often.
 
I would say that antler is my favorite all around handle material. I find that wood looks too common, but i love the feel. Horn looks great, but i have sweaty palms so the polished horn likes to turn when I chop. Antler gives the knife a nice look, but is grippier than horn.
Some wood is functional AND looks great. My Purpleheart YCS is beautiful and feels good in the hand. Probably my favorite khuk. I'm also a sucker for bloody sandalwood. I have a kerambit handled in that. feels great and looks great doing it.

Jake
 
You guys are pushing aproy here deeper and deeper into the hole................:D

Dragging me with him as well................:grumpy:

:o
 
My favorite is antler. It seems to be nearly as durable as horn but looks a lot nicer.

That being said, just about any handle material works for me. They all have their advantages and disadvantages.
 
bigjim said:
I wish the kamis would discover canvas Micarta. Does that even grow in Nepal?
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Only in hothouses, unfortunately, so it's too expensive for the kamis.
 
Antler is a very interesting material . I like tines on smaller knives as In place of a pommel I have a point on both ends . Instead of pommeling something you can drive your point home . So to speak . I also find the graceful taper of an antler tine to be very pleasing to the eye and lends graceful lines to the knife .

I don,t know if bone has been mentioned . I have as yet to handle any of the blades I have bought with bone . I have some buffalo bone that is very hard and thick . If I ever get pieces long enough to handle a knife I may do it . I think it would take a lot of abuse . I am working on a way to dye bone right now . I have seen some with a beautiful brown almost roasted color that I may try to duplicate .
 
Kevin,

there have been a few khuks with bone handles. Saddly, most of them shattered on the first test. I have no idea what kind of bone it was. My guess would be water buffalo.

Jake
 
bigjim said:
I wish the kamis would discover canvas Micarta. Does that even grow in Nepal?
Click to expand...

And Micarta would/could no doubt possibly cause some health issues with the kamis as well.:(
Even though I like Micarta and think it would make an excellent khukuri handle I think it's best left for folks like Dan Koster to use as a replacement handle material.

My favorite all around handle material is Stag. Stag is indeed antler but with a rough exterior so that it doesn't slip in your hand under wet conditions.
Problem is that it doesn't lend itself well to a chopping application because of the rough exterior, can abrade the skin severely.:(

And because of that I much prefer wood on my khukuris. Wood is easily reworked to fit if need be and can be finished in a multitude of ways from extremely deep and glossy to a flat oiled finish.
Wood won't slip and slide in your hand even under wet and slippery conditions if it is properly waxed.
Out of all the woods the kamis have used for handles my favorite is the Rosewood we used to get when I first started buying khukuris.
Second favorite is the burly or highly grained Satisaal.
There is just nothing like a beautiful wood grain that catches your eye so that you get lost looking into its depth's.:cool: ;) :D :thumbup:
 
Unless something's changed, Dan doesn't use micarta because of toxicity issues.

You could ask Shane Justice; maybe he'd be willing to rehandle a kukuri someday (after he recovers). The handle on The Soldier's Knife he made for me from G10 is perfect.

I like wood handles on my kuks because it grips better than horn. I usually also find wood more attractive than almost anything else. I'm also a big fan of relatively coarse canvas micarta for rough use knives, since it's grippy and durable.
 
I have sanded all of my horn handled Khuks to prevent that turning thing from happening. They really grip well once the polish is removed. Sweating seems to have the opposite effect, and I like the look of unpolished horn better.

Andy
 
Hmmm. . . .favorite handle material, wood, horn, or antler? My answer would be yes.;)

Sarge
 
Oh wow!!! I got the Salyan Special today!!!:eek: Yay US Postal Service!! I cannot believe what a craftsman Bura is. This is my second Bura knife (Badune Special) and what a pair they make. The only issue I can find with this knife is that at the distal end of the Sword of Shiva there seems to have been an errant hammer blow that interrupts the taper. If it weren't for that the blade would have a perfect taper from bolster to tip just that the other knife. They really do make a pretty pair.

There is a hairline crack in the handle as described by Yangdu. Does anyone have advice on how to handle such a problem. I would assume I should fill with epoxy died to match the wood and sand. That's how I handle it on furniture projects. Maybe you guys have a better method. I will refinish this handle as with all the others, so I plan to do some work on it anyway. How wonderful!!:p


Andy
 
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