Handle materials

M

MoldyJoe

Joined
Oct 19, 2010
Messages
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I'm new to making and have only replaced a few handles and forged a few Hawk heads in my day, but I was wondering about scales. I have a piece or 2 X 12 Purple heart and a large Plum Burl that I was interested in using. Does anyone have any Idea's on how they would hold up, and how hard they would be to make into usable scales? I want to get to the point where I can make some quality knives to pass on to my grandkids. Joe
 
I personally have never used either of those types of wood before, but I have used antique heart pine, which is a very soft wood. If you get them stabilized you should have no problems and they will last a very long time.
 
Purple heart will work fine. It is rather hard and does not need to be stabilized. The plum burl though will probably require stabilizing. It needs to be very dry, <12% moisture. I recommend sending it off to have it done professionally. K&G and WSSI are the two I have used.
 
Those may be toxic........You may want to have those removed for safety......uhm..yeah....I'll do you a favor and dispose of those....uhm..yeah ;).

Jim L.
 
Purple heart will work fine, it is a good hard wood. It would be best to use a tung oil type finish. If you want to buff it to gloss, you will need to fill the pores first, purple heart has large open grain.
You can also use CA to finish.
Dan
 
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