First Custom Wood Handle - Any tips before I begin?

Moxy

Moxy

Joined
Oct 30, 2011
Messages
1,648
UPDATE: All Done.

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Just bought this.

I've got a nice looking piece of Cocobolo that I plan to use. My plan is to just keep the shape simple, texture the blank and epoxy the scales. No pins. It'll be a shelf queen should it come out nice. What do you recommend to finish the wood scales? Nitro laquer? I'm no stranger to working with hardwoods and finishing. But my primary realm is guitars. This is a guitar I refinished with a curly veneer.

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Anyways, any tips on making knife scales?
Thanks
-Tony
 
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A nice piece of Cocobolo will make a fine handle, it's one of my favorite handle woods.
Be careful in managing the dust while working it as it can be very irritating to the skin and lungs.
 
I'd hate to see beautiful cocobolo under a film finish like nitro. A buff and Renaissance wax would be awesome especially for a show piece.

By the way, that veneer job looks great. You blended the edges nicely from what I can see.
 
Like you, my first experience with finishing exotic woods was in the guitar world.

I sincerely doubt that cocobolo would even take/bond with a nitro finish, like you would use on maple. It's very oily, and only needs to be sanded/scraped to a smooth surface and perhaps given a bit of wax. I have a strong suspicion that cocobolo will only get cloudy and gooey if you try to put nitro-cellulose or lacquer on it.

Lemon oil works very well for sealing/protecting naturally oily woods like cocobolo, rosewood, ironwood and so forth. A periodic rub-down with lemon oil will keep such woods clean and conditioned. Wipe it on, let it soak for a minute , and burnish it off with a lint-free cloth.
 
Oops, my bad. Sorry about that.

Cool, thanks for the advice. Yeah nitro worked well on my guitar but I'll try an oil rub instead for cocobolo. I know for a fact poly will never cure on cocobolo or rosewood.... that was a time consuming mistake.
 
A car wax that contains carnauba also works well on Cocobolo. I usually hand sand to about 1200 grit. Then a light buffing with pink scratchless followed by a couple coats of the car wax. I buff the wax off with a clean buffing wheel that I use only for that. Sometimes I fill the grain with CA on Cocobolo and sometimes I don't depending on the look desired. I clean up any residue from the pink scratchless with a little acetone on a cotton ball before waxing.
 
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You don't really need a finish on cocobolo, especially if you don't plan on using the knife. Like others said, work through the grits to 1200 then buff and wax.

When you go to glue the piece, it would help to gouge out the wood a little, drill lots of little holes, or at the very least roughen it up real good with the lowest grit sandpaper you have so the epoxy has something to grab onto. Do this all at least 1/8" away from the edge of the handle just to make sure you don't get any unexpected voids along your joint. Before gluing, clean some of those natural oils off by wiping with acetone then denatured alcohol. You should be cleaning before you glue anyway, I just though it'd be good to emphasize it since cocobolo can be so oily.
 
Killer. Thanks for your advice guys.
I'll post pictures once its finished.
 
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