Handle material on very expensive knives

[flava]

Even though I like a lot the looks of ivory, it is too a high maintenance material for me. I hate cracks, and unless you keep the knife on display only (without big temperature and humidity variations), the chances are big it will crack.
My favorite natural materials are premium wood and premium stag.
This being said, I value a lot more the workmanship on a knife than the actual materials used.

 

[Wulf]

I was thinking about how I was going to frame my response when I read Coop's and thought, yeah, that about sums it up for me.

I love a nice piece of wood as much as just about any other kind of handle material. Wood has richness and warmth, depth and character, and the right piece will compliment a high-end knife beautifully.

As Coop said, it's the finished work as a whole that matters, and on some knives, I can't imagine anything working better than wood.

 

[cockroachfarm]

.....and I make no apologies that it has wood instead of ivory....

And why would you? Every element on that knife is so coherent, so "right" - especially the wood handle. My technical expertise is pretty shallow compared to most of the folks here, but there is something about that handle that adds a "warmth" that is just a perfect balance to the rest of the knife. I haven't bought a fixed blade in years (and certainly none of this caliber), but I would take this one, right here, right now. A stunning example of complete visual harmony.

 

[jdm61]

No doubt, ivory handles have cracked.
However, if a good piece of ivory in both type and quality is chosen, the handle is well constructed, the knife is stored or displayed correctly and the ivory is oiled from time to time it should only get better with age.

According to some things I have a read, a lot of the crazingand cracking in ivory canbe directly attributed to not being careful when working it and letting it get warm.

 

[Joss]

However, I can recall more than a few knives in the $500 to $1k zone that I have passed on because the maker chose to select a perfectly hum-drum piece of wood. The cost differential between average wood and presentation grade is so small that it makes me wonder why anyone chooses the former.

I definitely agree with that.

 

[Joss]

No one apologizes for the beauty of walnut on a $100k firearm, right?

Coop, this is completely meaningless. Have you often seen a gun-stock size piece of ivory? What are the alternatives to wood?

Don Fogg was mentioned. I don't remember anything BUT wood on his knives.

3 of my Fogg's have an ivory handle, including:

If every knife over $1000 always had the fancy materials, I would become bored very quickly.

I didn't say over $1,000 but over $1,500 - $2,000.

Even though I like a lot the looks of ivory, it is too a high maintenance material for me. I hate cracks, and unless you keep the knife on display only (without big temperature and humidity variations), the chances are big it will crack.
My favorite natural materials are premium wood and premium stag.

Knives in the price range we're talking about are display knives only!

 

[Joss]

Kevin posted a superb Dean with a stag handle and I don't imagine ancient ivory would increase it's value at all.

Are you serious? I think this knife would have a completely different class with ivory.

 

[Stephen F]

Knives in the price range we're talking about are display knives only!

Ed Fowler, Bill Burke? If I had the moolla I'd be using a Fisk (other than his production piece) or a Fogg

 

[Joss]

Yes Stephen, those are display pieces, unless owners are really wealthy. I have the mullah to buy a $2,000 knife, but I don't have the mullah to use it.

 

[DCM]

Doesn't anyone like Giraffe bone anymore?
David

 

[flava]

Knives in the price range we're talking about are display knives only!

This is over generalization. Let me explain why. I would never buy a knife that is fragile and not fitted for use, and that stands true for knives from $10 to $10,000. It just strikes me as pointless. To push the concept even further, why sharpen it at all, if it's for display only? I like my knives to be minty but able to perform superbly if needed.
I'm far from being rich, but I happen to have a couple of expensive knives. One of them is way over the range you quote. I carried it a couple of times and used it (very lightly) a couple of times. You can't tell it was used. If the wife knew I carried it she would shoot me on the spot though

P.S. That Fogg is indecently beautiful:thumbup:

 

[Joss]

Flava - yes, it is a generalization. I am not talking about specifics here, but *in general*. There are always exceptions to everything, but, in the majority of cases, knives over the $1,500 - $2,000 price tag are collector pieces, not users or EDC.

 

[flava]

Flava - yes, it is a generalization. I am not talking about specifics here, but *in general*. There are always exceptions to everything, but, in the majority of cases, knives over the $1,500 - $2,000 price tag are collector pieces, not users or EDC.

If you talk "in general", I suspect that most knives over $750 are not being used. My point was it's nice to know that if you run amok and you take your most priced knife (let's say it's a big fixed blade), go in the woods and hack down a small tree, the knife will not only make it back in one piece, but after you have the blade refurbished it still looks good.

 

[RWS]

You can't tell it was used. If the wife knew I carried it she would shoot me on the spot though

Women: When will they ever understand?

Hey, what about fossilized walrus wiener...you know, oosic!

When I wanted another Daniel Winkler Bowie, I asked for something other than ivory because I didn't want that handle to crack, but I didn't want stag, eventhough I think stag is the quintessential handle material for a Bowie knife.

I really didn't like the look of oosic that I saw....it's porous and most of it has that pale dirty washed out walrus wiener look.

At anty rate, Dan puts the knife on hold until he comes across something that he thinks might suit me.

He contacted me and said he had found a very unusual and nice piece of oosic and that it's a little pricey. I said go for it.

This piece of naturally colored oosic is gorgeous without that overly porous look that's so common with most oosic, IMO....There's some porousness, but not a lot. This walrus must have had one heck of a sex life.

 

[Stephen F]

Women: When will they ever understand?

Hey, what about fossilized walrus wiener...you know, oosic!

When I wanted another Daniel Winkler Bowie, I asked for something other than ivory because I didn't want that handle to crack, but I didn't want stag, eventhough I think stag is the quintessential handle material for a Bowie knife.

I really didn't like the look of oosic that I saw....it's porous and most of it has that pale dirty washed out walrus wiener look.

At anty rate, Dan puts the knife on hold until he comes across something that he thinks might suit me.

He contacted me and said he had found a very unusual and nice piece of oosic and that it's a little pricey. I said go for it.

This piece of naturally colored oosic is gorgeous without that overly porous look that's so common with most oosic, IMO....There's some porousness, but not a lot. This walrus must have had one heck of a sex life.

Thats one of the nicest "John Thomas's" I have ever seen!

 

[Grapevine]

Two more points:

1) I'll take premium wood over trashy, indifferent stag any day of the week.
2) For me, a truly exceptional piece of stag is as good as any ivory. I have owned a couple examples and there isn't one of those where I would swap out for ivory even if I could.

This pretty much sums up my view. Further, ivory holds little aesthetic appeal to me; so wanting to have it on an expensive knife would, for me, be wanting a material just because the material is rarer and more expensive, which isn't how I collect.

 

[Kohai999]

the other day at my friend's knives. He collects amazing knives. We were looking at a Schintz CA replica that Buster made, with an ivory handle. There was a crack in it, and some movement of the material around the frame, it was proud.

I commented on it, and he said that was acceptable when you are talking about ivory. Well, it may be acceptable to him, but it is not for me. The material is too damned difficult to deal with, even aged and all that blather.

Have never seen good stag crack on a knife. Not saying that it does not, just saying that I haven't seen it.

Joss, ivory anywhere on the West Coast, from what I have observed, is an invitation to disaster. You can spend whatever you want, make yourself happy, but when I go for buying mode, ivory is the last material that I find acceptable, somewhat on par with staminawood for a disqualifier. Cracking potential and lack of strength being two big issues.

David Mirabile handled a knife that I purchased in Reno in Oosik, which I also generally hate, and it looks like some sort of fossil ivory. It is an awesome piece, and not subject to the delicacy issues of ivory.

 

[the possum]

I have to agree about comments regarding ho-hum wood. Use it on a beater, not something nice. If wood best fits the design, (and I believe some designs do work better with wood) then at least spring for a really nice example.

Since we're on the the topic, I thought I might share some thoughts from a different perspective. On occasion I make miniature knives, and the rules are different then. I have not yet found any figured wood that I deem suitable for the purpose; if I use wood at all it will probably be ebony or some other dark wood with no contrasting grain. White ivory is just barely a step up in desireability in my mind; the stuff is extremely easy to work, and needs no consideration in regards to preserving or presenting natural textures, colors, etc. There is really no difference in cost at this scale; heck I got a lifetime supply free as scrap from another maker. Pearl is definitely a notch higher for me, since it's hard to find some with a lot of character on such a small scale, and it's much harder to work with. To me, on a mini, natural stag is leaps and bounds above ivory in desireability because it's so rare to find a piece with texture fine enough to look right. If someone picked up one of my mini bowies with stag scales, and commented that they'd like it better with ivory, I'd be sorely tempted to reach out and smack 'em.

But hey, maybe I shouldn't feel that way. If people want to pay more for materials that are much easier for me to work & obtain, I guess that's up to them. I feel about the same way in regards to damascus blades vs. plain steel, since I (try to) highly polish the plain blades, whereas I can finish the damascus much quicker. I can make a mini southwest style bowie in probably half (or less) the time it takes to make a Sheffield style piece, but scrolling through the forums here it's clear the former is more popular.

 

[Jose Reyes]

Are you serious? I think this knife would have a completely different class with ivory.

That knife looks like a masterpiece to me the way it is. Most of the value of the piece comes from the maker's skill, not the materials used. I'm sure it would cost more outfitted with an ivory artifact and solid gold, but would it be any classier? Not in my opinion. In the end we all have our preferences and that's what makes the custom knife world so great, but I don't think that using rare or more expensive materials will have much of an impact on the quality of a makers work.

PS Nice Winkler!

 

[Thor I am]

My question pertains to pieces with an initial selling price over $1,500. Is that also what you're talking about?

Yup, sometimes, sometimes more. By the way, don't get me wrong, I love ivory and the way it looks - again not all the time though.

Taking about initial selling price, I have a Don Hanson on order that will have an Amboyna handle. I picked the wood at another show and asked Don to see if the piece will work. He said it was a great specimen. I'll post the knife once I have it and we'll see how many people will say "Nah, the handle just kills the knife."

It seems that bowies would work very well with high quality wood handles since the bowies back in the "cowboy times" would much more likely have such handles instead of MOP or ivory - just like their rifles (I am guessing here).

Coop - I love that Broadwell sub-hilt. Fabulous knife. I have drooled over it many times.

Joss - that Fogg is awesome!