Got wood? Or, what's your favourite handle material?

Matt and Nick... you guys are KILLIN' me! Yep, those are the two knives that have stuck in my memory.
Nick, do you have more super red spalted box elder? PM me if you do.
 
Roger, here's a shot to tide you over. It's pretty nasty here and I don't have the light to take a good photo.

Here's the line up;

Hossom; Maple Burl; the nicest piece I have ever seen
Bradshaw; Maidou burl
Primos; Box elder
Harley; Outstanding stag
Primos; Curly maple
Random Jack Ass; Sheep horn :)

I hate to admit it, but I really love sheep horn, although I don't have anything in my collection in SH...

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One of my personal favorites is Arizona Desert Ironwood burl -- no big surprise huh? I like the way it works and it's natural stability. Fortunately it is still ( as far as I know ) the number one wood for holding it's value on the second market. I am picky about ironwood however. I don't love it just because it's ironwood. I like lots of figure / activity, and prefer the wood to have lots of gold.

Here's one that was one of my favorites. The figure just dances through it. It reminds me of the sky in Van Gogh's painting "Starry Night".

michele_4.jpg


If you are not into art and have no idea what I'm talking about check this link: Van Gogh's Starry Night.

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Matt, I'd forgotten that you had that El Camino. Yes, the Box Elder burl with red is something that I cherish more than ivory when I can get my hands on it. It is very hard to come by. About three years ago a good client of mine sent me three blocks of it that just absolutely kicked butt. Besides having the red streak ( which I've been told is a fungus that gets in the tree ), these blocks were full of wild activity and color.

Here's an El Camino Royale that was done with one of those blocks:

box_elder_ecr.jpg


This stuff had no voids, was dense, and finished out as smooth as a piece of polished marble. I still have one block left, and guard it like it was one of my daughters. When I finally use it, it will be on a very special knife -- maybe even a damascus blade. I know some folks think it's a travesty to use wood on a damascus knife, but this stuff is quite rare.
 
primos said:
...I know some folks think it's a travesty to use wood on a damascus knife, but this stuff is quite rare.
Click to expand...

Not me. I've got three knives that fit that description, two of which are in the pic at the beginning of this thread.

Feel free to make my bowie in damascus and stick that red spalted box elder on the end of it! :D

That ironwood burl is just awesome as well.

Roger
 
My absolute favorite handle material is walrus ivory, then mammoth, then stag. Even nice wood is a fair ways down the list. However, wood tends to be one of the best materials for contoured handles, and I really like wire inlay.
 
Keith Montgomery said:
My absolute favorite handle material is walrus ivory, then mammoth, then stag. Even nice wood is a fair ways down the list. However, wood tends to be one of the best materials for contoured handles, and I really like wire inlay.
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Keith, while I basically agree with you, and would also list my preferences with Walrus ivory first, then mammoth, then stag, then wood, I think it's easy after a while to become jaded about wood, and almost look down on it, but I really try to resist that because the truth is, wood may not be as rare and valuable as ivory or even stag, but there are some really exceptional pieces of wood out there and it can be a very attractive material. Also, there are knives I have seen with wood handles that would not have been as nice with ivory or stag, sometimes wood fits the look of the knife better than ivory or stag. Bailey certainly makes some very fine looking knives with wood handles. :)
 
Has anyone seen any rhododendron burl lately?

I remember a big bowie Jerry Hossom made that was out of this world. I've been looking ever since but come up completely dry. I've got some rhododendrons in the back yard, I'm praying for some burl :).
 
primos said:
One of my personal favorites is Arizona Desert Ironwood burl -- I am picky about ironwood however... I like lots of figure / activity, and prefer the wood to have lots of gold.

Here's one that was one of my favorites. The figure just dances through it. It reminds me of the sky in Van Gogh's painting "Starry Night".

michele_4.jpg


If you are not into art and have no idea what I'm talking about check this link: Van Gogh's Starry Night.
Click to expand...

That is a very astute observation, Terry. I don't think I've ever really looked at a piece of ironwood like that. That is so cool.
If you were a maker who named each individual knife, I think "Starry Night" would be a very appropriate name for this one. :)
Oh, and I'm betting that most of the folks in here have at least a passing familiarity with art. Considering that's what we're talking about and all... ;)
 
Terry - you're right, this is the first thing that came to my mind too.

I place walrus and mastodon ivory way above wood, but stag is different. Stag can be gorgeous, but too often it's a bit bland. In such cases a very nice wood is often nicer.
 
I think woods offer the most variety in terms of depth, colour, density and figuring. Many of the fossilised ivory barks can offer tremendous colour and texture, but the cores are all, well, ivory coloured. Could it not be argued then that it is ivory's exotic, scarce, and even slightly taboo nature that gives it its appeal?

I love mammoth ivory, both bark and core, but if you offered me a synthetic that matched the colour it would not hold the appeal!

Stephen
 
A very good point was raised, about sculpting.

With stag, ivory, and pearl, you are limited in the amount of sculpting you can do.

I LOVE the above materials... but with pearl you are limited by the thickness, and with stag and ivory you lose all of the character and flare by grinding heavily into the material.

The ability to heavily contour wood is definitely a solid reason I reach for it on many projects.
 
Some interesting replies here, I thought Snakewood and Ringed Gidgee would have ranked higher.
My favorite woods,
Ringed Gidgee
African Blackwood
Snakewood
Mallee root

I picked up a peice of Gidgee with burl type figure in it recently, the only peice I've ever seen. Looking forward to using it when I get back into it.

Doug
 
Thanks for a very informative thread! Thanks for the pictures too. There's so much more out there I hadn't seen before. :eek: Great stuff!
David
 
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