Hickory scales

[n8swag]

Anyone use hickory for
Handle scales? Just wondering cause my framing hammer has a hickory handle and its last 2 years of abuse and stood up great.

 

[David Martin]

Yes, you can use that wood. I've used broken axe handles and hammer handles as knife handles. The wood is hard and mostly blonde. If you encounter some with dark streaks in it, that adds some color to it. Good luck, DM

 

[n8swag]

Yes, you can use that wood. I've used broken axe handles and hammer handles as knife handles. The wood is hard and mostly blonde. If you encounter some with dark streaks in it, that adds some color to it. Good luck, DM

Thanks for the reply! I just had never heard of it being used in knife handles. Didn't know if there was a specific reason why. I have black colored hickory.

 

[james terrio]

Thanks for the reply! I just had never heard of it being used in knife handles. Didn't know if there was a specific reason why.

I think it's only because it's usually not very pretty. It's certainly tough and stable enough. A fellow had some nice curly hickory for sale a year, maybe two years ago? That looked really nice, and I wish I had bought some.

 

[n8swag]

I think it's only because it's usually not very pretty. It's certainly tough and stable enough. A fellow had some nice curly hickory for sale a year, maybe two years ago? That looked really nice, and I wish I had bought some.

Oh okay... Yeah mine is stained black so I couldn't tell the color. If my hammer breaks I'm making some scales!

 

[David Martin]

Yes, do it as it will last. You can stain it or oil it so its not so blonde. DM

 

[Bo T]

Hickory has been used in the past for scales on knives. I grew up with inexpensive kitchen knives that had hickory handles.

 

[grizzled gizzard]

Oftentimes, it's not very easy to distinguish oak from hickory from ash, especially in small pieces. They are all very open grained, and share similar strength and work-ability characteristics.

It's the severe openness of the grain which makes them less desirable for scales. It's not too difficult to use grain filler to make them easier to seal, and give them a much nicer, homogeneous finish.

Grain filler is easy to find and use.