History buffs -- wood for an 18th-century grip

D

Dan D'Silva

Joined
May 31, 2020
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76
Hello everyone,

New here, obviously. I'm planning to assemble a dagger of this kind with a custom blade I hope to get this year or next. Can anyone recommend a wood that'd be resistant to splitting in a grip that's narrowest where the tang is widest?
https://www.auctionzip.com/auction-lot/Early-Scottish-style-dagger-with-spear-point-and_10AF18ED00/

If possible, one used by Scottish, English or Irish cutlers in the 18th century. I like dark brown (like walnut), but it doesn't have to be. Could maybe save up for boxwood, if that's the only period-appropriate wood that'd really work.

Thank you.
 
Can't point directly to a non-paying/non/supporting site vendor, but check out this link: https://tinyurl.com/yabamfhb and roll down to the reproduction guys.

BTW, I had a buddy of mine a years ago that made repro pieces for re-enactors, and he used white oak (extremely weather resistant), if an American repro, butternut (hard to find, but another accurate wood for this purpose and extremely weather resistant) and others. Seems like the handles were finished with hardwood scales that were made from available area woods for most knives/swords/daggers.

Robert
 
Ebony has been used for knife handles for a long time. This includes what we currently consider to be true ebony (diospyros) as well as African Blackwood (dalbergia melanoxylon), which was also historically called ebony. Both are more durable than things like walnut.
 
Thanks everyone.

White oak would be easy enough to obtain and I understand it was a historically common lumber in Britain. What does it look like after a few coats of linseed oil?

(While we're on the subject, anyone know a historical woodstain recipe? I've tried vinegaroon on red oak, but found that rather than darkening through brown shades, it becomes a streaky mix of light red-brown and black until it's thoroughly soaked.)

Would bog oak be stronger in this use than new oak? I don't want to reject it or ebony out of hand; however, since the hilt furniture on mine will be yellow brass, I like a brown grip rather than a jet black one.
 
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Another vote for African Blackwood. Pay for the two-tone stuff and its stunningly beautiful, very, very strong even in thin pieces. polishes glasslike and is naturally water resistant due to the density and close grain. Not sure of historical useage, but its been used for a very long time for bagpipes...and still is.
 
good luck getting lignum vitae lol ; ) that is the grandpappy of the dense & amazing wood varieties. They literally built the toughest parts of sailing ships from it - but only the small parts like belaying pins and deadeyes & sheaves of blocks ... the stuff was even used to make bearings (since it was self-lubing = D)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lignum_vitae

last time I tried to get some, about 15 years ago - it was impossible... only chance would be to find a really old police truncheon or cricket ball
 
dirc said:
good luck getting lignum vitae lol ; ) that is the grandpappy of the dense & amazing wood varieties. They literally built the toughest parts of sailing ships from it - but only the small parts like belaying pins and deadeyes & sheaves of blocks ... the stuff was even used to make bearings (since it was self-lubing = D)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lignum_vitae

last time I tried to get some, about 15 years ago - it was impossible... only chance would be to find a really old police truncheon or cricket ball
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I have a few blocks of lignum vitae, and I see some currently listed on the bay. Another option is verawood, also called Argentine lignum vitae. It looks very similar and is also very similar in hardness, density, and toughness. According to wood database, it lasts almost indefinitely in direct ground contact, so water resistance is not a problem.

Genuine lignum vitae has been used for propeller shaft bearings in submarines and ships. I first learned that when I visited the USS Pampanito in SF.
 
Does the kind of lignum vitae you'd get on eBay tend to be not the best kind or "real"? (Like the difference between cassia and Ceylon cinnamon, maybe?)
 
If you can find scrapped wood from an old 19th century chair leg or door panel, it'd go well with your knife.
 
Ah -- how about East Indian rosewood? It's the same genus as blackwood but is reddish-brown, and I gather 18th-century British woodwork used a lot of rosewood of one species or another.
 
You should check phrase - reclaimed wood/lumber
from both old buildings or river/swamp bottoms
Happy hunting !
 
A "New World" colonial era wooden handle would have likely been made from Walnut or Hickory.
 
Zulus said:
You should check phrase - reclaimed wood/lumber
from both old buildings or river/swamp bottoms
Happy hunting !
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Thanks. I can give it a shot, but it'd be a long one.

allenC said:
A "New World" colonial era wooden handle would have likely been made from Walnut or Hickory.
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Understood. And from what I've heard, hickory sounds like it'd have good physical properties for this purpose. However, the project isn't New World.

Anyone have thoughts on rosewood?
 
I like walnut -- at least, how it looks with a few coats of linseed oil -- and I have plenty on hand. Just concerned that it might not be strong enough for this particular use.
 
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