Gray cocobolo scales after sanding

You said "During filing and early sanding the wood would remain orange " so this makes me think some combo of wet sanding/heat/metal dust is to blame ??? A picture of the scraps may help.
 
Tll6 said:
Should I email the seller (knifekits.com)? I paid thirteen bucks for it to be good wood from what I thought was a reputable dealer. I'll post a link to the page with the slabs once their website starts working again. I'll also post a picture of the scraps next to the finished handle.
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Don't email them until you sand off the top coat with 400 grit and bring it up to about 1000-1500 grit and throw some kind of finishing product on it. You may find you like it even if it doesn't look like the cocobolo you're used to. Also, for 13 bucks you can't expect a whole hell of a lot, truth be told.
 
I think it is sapwood also. Here is Cocobolo sanded to 1200 and buffed.

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11999699_789405467837307_6493891983012049072_o.jpg
 
Coco bolo sap wood is WHITE, not gray. Rubbing coco bolo (and many woods) with most solvents, alcohol or other chemicals will leach out the pigment color in it. Pigment colors in heartwood are referred to as "extractives" due to this physical event.
 
Great looking knives ScreechOwl, I love those blade grinds.

Good on ya!

Oh and to the OP, you can't go wrong with stuff from Geenberg Woods--I have bought quite a bit from him, and has all been first rate plus++++
 
Here is the almost finished knife next to the scraps. I have two coats of tung oil on but i have not buffed it yet. The color looks pretty close to me. I dont know if it is sapwood or not but i am pretty satisfied overall. At least I have learned some things for the next knife I make
 
Thats not sapwood ( with the exception of maybe a small strip on the top) . Did you do anything to it ? because this new picture the wood is a different color ?
 
I sanded from 220-400 in sandpaper to get the color correct and then I went from 1500-2400 in micro mesh. Then I added the tung oil and let it dry.

Would anyone know how many coats of Tung Oil I should use? I'm using the Formby's stuff ( I know it is mostly just a wipe on varnish)
 
That looks alot better. I have never used oil on cocobolo so somebody else will have info on number of coats.

It looks like the wood chipped on you around your pins, if you put something solid under the piece you are drilling you could prevent most of that
 
I actually misunderstood how to countersink the holes for peening so they ended up just getting filled with epoxy. Oh well.

I'm not sure how much I am liking the oil treatment but we will see if it grows on me before I change anything
 
I know cocobolo varies a lot, but that just doesn't look like any I have ever worked. It has always had darker color and bold stripes when I bought it. The other photos shown of cocobolo handles all look like what I have worked. Your handle looks much more like paduak.
http://www.knifekits.com/vcom/produ...cts_id=4013&osCsid=9vgfv7114po8vtj6975c58nqh1
Here is paduak from another supplier:
http://www.rockler.com/knife-scales-padauk
Here is Knifekits cocobolo:
http://www.knifekits.com/vcom/product_info.php?cPath=40_553&products_id=3675
The Panamanian cocobolo looks a bit like yours, but it still isn't straight grained.
http://www.knifekits.com/vcom/index.php?cPath=40_553

Knifekits is a good supplier. I haven't ever bought cocobolo from them, but I buy screws and springs, and some laminate material. I would send the photos and ask if what is shown looks like their other cocobolo. It is possible they sent the wrong wood or it got mis-labled.

A tip:
When using mosaic rivets, saw a shallow slot on one end of each rivet at the 12:00-6:00 position. This will allow you to "clock" your rivets during glue-up so they all face the same way when you finish the knife. Nothing sticks out worse than the pattern not being the same.

Final question - What did it smell like when you were cutting and sanding it?
 
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Not a knife scales but it's cocobolo, sanded to 1000 grit and buffed with compound paste and aplied carnauba wax...

First picture before process, last two are cocobolos.

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Finished products, last one I like most of them, it have colors like honey...

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I'll put the mosaic pins to use in the future. I guess it didn't really bother me when I was putting them in.

When I was cutting the wood it smelled sweet and kind of flowery I guess. It is hard to describe. Almost like sweet wood.

I'll email them to see if there was any confusion. It does look like the paduak you posted
 
Jesenius, are those Turkey call strikers, or something altogether different? They are beautiful whatever they are!
 
Spalted said:
This should be remembered for the next one
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why not ? I wet sand all my handles then let them dry for 2 days and then dry sand if any grain has raised . Next come a Teal oil treatment and allowed to dry for 48 hours , then buffed . I have not yet had any cracks or failures arise from the wet sanding . I go to a 600-800 grit .
 
Cocobolo does not need any oil or surface treatment. Just polish it and wax it.
 
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I'll email knifekits. It's pretty wood but since I don't have experience with exotic woods I didn't notice the difference right away. I will know for next time and hopefully I will get some money back for the difference in price
 
I just spent the last hour looking for some pictures of some cocobolo I cut a few years ago (because some of it looked very much like this) and I think most were on a hard drive that failed so they are lost. But I went back and found this picture from a sales post here from 2011 , if #2 was quatersawn ???

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If I had my old pictures I could show you a picture of cocobolo thats pretty close to his scraps. To me it still looks like quatersawn cocobolo ?? wouldnt bet my house though.

Oneill maybe I am overthinking how much water you actually use .... but I would not wet sand natural wood. Adding moisture can swell the wood and later on your tang could be proud of the wood handle once it shrinks, I wouldnt want to take that chance. Maybe I am doing it wrong but I will stick to saying I wouldnt wet sand wood. I would like to hear others opinions on this. Good news is there is always more than one way to skin a cat and if it works for you then thats a win
 
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