Hardness of Redwood Burl

[redsquid2]

I'm not too familiar with redwood as handle material. However, seeing pictures of redwood burl, I think it looks really cool.

Problem is, the only redwood I have ever worked with was lap siding, and it was soft stuff.

I guess redwood burl will grow harder over time, as the natural oils within it cure.

My question is, if I just order redwood burl online, is it going to be hard enough for a (especially stick tang) knife?

Thanks.

--squiddy

 

[Burl Source]

The hardness of Redwood Burl can vary dramatically.
Probably safest to have it stabilized before using it.
K&G does a good job with the stabilizing.

 

[james terrio]

I've used a couple natural pieces of redwood burl and it was fine. I would say similar to unstabilized maple. Easy to work with and finishes up nicely. If you find some pretty pieces that seem a bit too soft, send them to a pro for stabilizing. I have some stabilized redwood as well, and as you would expect, it's harder, heavier and not as easy to scratch/cut/etc.

I guess what I'm saying is go for it and judge for yourself when you get it in hand, it looks really nice either way.

Heh, Mark beat me to it. He's the guy to listen to Matter of fact, I'm pretty sure he's the guy I got my redwood burl from :thumbup:

 

[Burl Source]

James,
The pieces of redwood burl you got were some of the harder stuff. They were the exception to the norm.

Redwood can vary from as soft as the redwood siding mentioned (scuffs and dents very easily) to harder pieces like James got.
(weight and hardness close to that of Western Maple)
If you see some un stabilized redwood burl that you really like, it is worth investing a few dollars to have it stabilized. Go with one of the top two stabilizers though. K&G or WSSI. I use K&G myself.

 

[james terrio]

If you see some un stabilized redwood burl that you really like, it is worth investing a few dollars to have it stabilized. Go with one of the top two stabilizers though. K&G or WSSI. I use K&G myself.

I agree. Like Mark said, I got some of the "lucky" pieces, but they looked so nice it would be well worth the $ to have a pro stabilize them if they had been soft or crumbly.

I put pro in bold because you are just not going to get the same reliable results with "homebrew" stabilizing set-ups.

 

[A C Richards]

I was from Redwood Country had them growing in the backyard. Had my first redwood stabilized almost 20 years ago. Like Mark said, redwood varies widely. I have had some root burl that was VERY dense. Finished really nice and had good figure. Most of the redwood out there though is very soft. It really needs proper stabilization. I tried the home methods and spent over 1k trying. It did not work as well as the pro's. For less than $5/block you can have properly stabilized material. I could have had a lifetime supply for what I spent trying to do it myself.

 

[Mike Davis]

And aside from all the great info above....Stabilized redwood polishes oh so beautifully!! As good of an investment as can be made...

 

[unky_gumbi]

I have redwood burls at both ends of the spectrum, soft to rock hard. I still haven't used the rock hard stuff because its just too nice to cut up so it sits on my desk looking pretty

 

[Phil Dwyer]

...I tried the home methods and spent over 1k trying. It did not work as well as the pro's. For less than $5/block you can have properly stabilized material. I could have had a lifetime supply for what I spent trying to do it myself.

Kind of hard to argue with that. I think this is what me mammy and pappy meant when they said, "Learn from other people's mistakes." Thanks for passing that hard-earned wisdom on to the rest of us Woodchuck!!! Anyone want to buy a pressure pot and a gallon of acrylic resin cheap?

 

[A C Richards]

I even went so far as to build a HEAVY DUTY pressure/vacuum chamber capable of 3000psi. It still did not do what I expected. I send all mine out to K&G. They do great work....

 

[Horsewright]

If you are buying on line go the stabalized route!!! I bought some down right gorgeous stuff on line, several pieces in fact. Couldn't get a knife handle built without it cracking real bad on me. Not your normal little burl deal and fill it with CA and good to go but chisel it off while cussing and discussing cracks.