Got wood? Part Deux.

RogerP said:
Nice additions Doug - Matt was very fond of that quilted maple for knife handles and it's easy to see why.
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Thanks, Roger.
Hope I'm not giving away any of Matt's secrets but he hits the maple with a little muriatic acid to make
the grain pop as shown in the second Roberts image.

Doug
 
Muriatic acid and a heat gun. Really nasty fumes (caustic also). A cool finish, but I doubt I'll be using it again...even the guard will corrode if the fumes aren't vented.
 
Thanks Doug. I'm doing great, I hope you are too. Prepare for new work (I know I've been threatening that for a while...😄).
 
Here's one of my all time favorites, black walnut burl:

bowie%20_1_opt_zpsbkdupfql.jpg


Gary
 
Here is an example of something I have been experimenting with. Thin layers of kiln dried wood sliced and stacked cross grain to form a solid block. This is Cherry.





 
BladeScout said:
Great looking wood/handle.
Is that one of those angled fighters meant to be used blade 'upside down?'
Beautiful. For some reason Ive grown to be a huge fan of that knife.
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This is a copy of a James Black knife. As far as I know, Black is credited with creating the upswept handle and the coffin shape.

Gary
 
Here's a wood I stumbled into a while ago, and am really digging... Moabi. African hardwood. STUPIDLY hard. I can almost mill it like aluminum. When it's got curl, it's usually completely, tightly curled, and has wonderful chatoyance. Looks a bit like curly maple, but has a great peachy-honey tone to it. Here it is on a new model I'm fooling with:

22116764585_4897750c2d_b.jpg
 
Matthew Gregory said:
Here's a wood I stumbled into a while ago, and am really digging... Moabi. African hardwood. STUPIDLY hard. I can almost mill it like aluminum. When it's got curl, it's usually completely, tightly curled, and has wonderful chatoyance. Looks a bit like curly maple, but has a great peachy-honey tone to it. Here it is on a new model I'm fooling with:

22116764585_4897750c2d_b.jpg
Click to expand...

I like it.
 
That's some beautiful wood, Matt - and a handy looking knife.

Lin I really am.digging your stacked wood handles.
 
I need to get my hands on some of that moabi. Beautiful stuff.

Woods are a never-ending discovery for me, and such a wonderful material for knife handles. Colors, textures, and patterns as varied as anything you might hope to find, and just as many ways to shape, contour and finish. Never in my entire lifetime could I ever hope to try it all.

Here's another wood I've enjoyed getting to know a bit lately - an tropical African hardwood called pomele sapele which can sometimes produce a wonderful ribbon-like figure.

kwdamsapele3.jpg


The wood is somewhat similar to mahogany in terms of density, hardness, and stability, making it a very good specimen for knife handles. It finishes well and feels smooth and warm to the touch while still maintaining a good grip. I finished this piece with oil and wax over a 1200 grit polish.

kwdamsapele2.jpg


Pretty stuff, don't ya think?
 
Just because no one is posting it, here's one of my favorite woods--African Blackwood. When set off with contrasting silver or ivory the black color can be quite elegant:

side ring dagger medium size_opt.jpg

Gary
 
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