Got wood? Part Deux.

Wulf said:
I was just scrolling through this epic thread again when I noticed something staring out at me from this beautiful ironwood handle by Nick Wheeler



An owl!

Anyone else see it?
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I see it NOW. :thumbup:

i4Marc that is a stunning set.

Natlek, that is sweet - I look forward to seeing it finished.
 
Random observation from this year's Best Bowie thread. The subject has come up occasionally as to whether wood is an appropriate choice of handle material for a "high end" knife.

I was looking through the finalists of this year's bowie fest, then to the next group of top contenders. Of the 11 knives total, 6 had wood handles. Wood graced the handle of both the overall winner and the knife which I estimate to be the most expensive. Interesting.
 
Good observation, Roger.
I guess that puts that argument to rest.
With all the hoopla about the future of ivory and the slow demise of good stag availability, we will probably see more and more.
With stabilization and increasing exposure, some lesser known materials will become more and more common.
 
If the other elements are done right, the handle material
becomes a bit less important...
 
Karl B. Andersen said:
Good observation, Roger.
I guess that puts that argument to rest.
With all the hoopla about the future of ivory and the slow demise of good stag availability, we will probably see more and more.
With stabilization and increasing exposure, some lesser known materials will become more and more common.
Click to expand...

No surprises, I believe we are as of late and will continue to see more wood handles especially on higher end knives as a result of the reasons you list above.

From the knifemaker's perspective it seems almost a no-brainer as with wood you avoid the scrutiny/risk associated with ivory, the increasing costs and difficulty finding acceptable stag and wood typically being one of the more 'maker friendly' materials to work into a handle.

As for the collector; wood handles will becoming more desired at all price points, partially by default. Look for more and more knifemakers to take up carving/checkering and using woods with interesting origins (Jerry Fisk) to distinguish their handles/knives from other makers.

I like nice wood handles and have been picking up some good ones lately:



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Thuya Burl on a new kitchen knife that is on it's way to my house. Dave Martell is the knife maker.
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Wulf said:
I was just scrolling through this epic thread again when I noticed something staring out at me from this beautiful ironwood handle by Nick Wheeler



An owl!

Anyone else see it?
Click to expand...

I don't see it and I need to! Help!
 
I'm game. Been nursing a crippling koa addiction lately. Been working mostly Koa and Buckeye burl these days, at least when I'm able to work that is. Last few months of 15 were poo.

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Kevin Jones said:
No surprises, I believe we are as of late and will continue to see more wood handles especially on higher end knives as a result of the reasons you list above.

From the knifemaker's perspective it seems almost a no-brainer as with wood you avoid the scrutiny/risk associated with ivory, the increasing costs and difficulty finding acceptable stag and wood typically being one of the more 'maker friendly' materials to work into a handle.

As for the collector; wood handles will becoming more desired at all price points, partially by default. Look for more and more knifemakers to take up carving/checkering and using woods with interesting origins (Jerry Fisk) to distinguish their handles/knives from other makers.
Click to expand...

Meant to reply to this before and forgot. Strongly agree. I mentioned to another guy, the demand for high end woods got so strong last year that you could just about sell stabilized firewood and make a good living. There was a good bit of time it was almost impossible to get several of the most popular high end woods in anything but middling grade, and even then you had to fight for them.

I personally have adopted a "doomsday prepper" type stance on many of my favorite materials, with custom knifemaking becoming more popular as a hobby and business, plus your above points, I don't see the demand going away any time soon.

RogerP said:
^^^ All lovely, but that's some exceptionally tight curl in that Koa.
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Thanks! It was a surprising piece for me. I've found that sometimes the stabilizing can come back slightly oxidized and cloudy on the surface, but once you cut into the block it goes bananas.
 
I like the contrast of these black/white ebony bookmatched slabs, for a home project.

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black mamba said:
I like the contrast of these black/white ebony bookmatched slabs, for a home project.

B-W_ebony1_zpsjbkkgo9i.jpg~original
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I've always had a big thing for striped ebony, I like the macassar also. I wish the black and white stuff would have been more available back when built my personal guitar. I did the fingerboard in macassar but it would have looked silly good in black and white.

I keep meaning to buy some but my budget is limited-ish at the moment so I'm sticking to the harder to find stuff for now.
 
I'm thinking I should do something special with this stuff. Maybe a matching set of something?

Out of this world, NATURALLY colored (no dye) boxelder burl:

 
Karl B. Andersen said:
Good observation, Roger.
I guess that puts that argument to rest.
With all the hoopla about the future of ivory and the slow demise of good stag availability, we will probably see more and more.
With stabilization and increasing exposure, some lesser known materials will become more and more common.
Click to expand...

Hey, there's always Kirinite. :thumbup:

Kevin Jones said:
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That is a sweet package.

Here is a picture of four copies of the same knife with four different pieces of wood (including two pieces of the same type) which I find interesting . . .

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