How do I cut this?

L

Lo/Rez

Joined
Feb 10, 2013
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I have this block that I was going to cut on the band saw for scales and was wondering if there was a right or wrong way to cut it with the dimensions all being equal and my not knowing wood very well and which way (if any) would look best. It is quite heavy and was covered with a bunch of resin so I'm assuming possibly ebony or African black wood? Thanks in advance.
Edit to add....I just realized that the reverse sides are upside down if that matters.

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Nice piece of wood Lo/Rez! If you cut it in two sections on the band saw, each section will be slightly wavy where the saw tends to move/sway as it's cutting. That might not be a problem as most handle material is still worked down to its finished state (you always want to cut your handle material over sized so you can work it down to its finished size). Just make sure that when you epoxy the handles onto the tang, that you epoxy the already smooth (square) sides to the tang instead of the cut wavy sides.

However, if you want to start out with everything being equal, i.e. square, then you will have to use a planer to true up the rough sides left over from the band saw cut. You did not say how thick this piece of wood is? If it is really thick, you might even consider cutting it on a table saw vs. a band saw, just a thought. Let me know if this helps or not. Best of luck...............
 
Thanks. I was thinking that I would use the side "B" showing for the scale side as the grain seems straighter than the side "A". I should be able to get two sets of scales out of this piece for smaller knives as it's about 1 & 3/8" per side if I remember right.
 
One thing I do sometimes it rip it down the center and then put the wavy sides to the outside and shape the handle. I've gotten fairly lucky with the grain that way. If you want book matched, cut it in the bandsaw and then stick a piece of 100 grit to your granite block and sand it down flat. It only takes a couple minutes.
 
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