How wooden scales age

T

thedaver8

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May 22, 2013
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Hey everyone! So I wanted to ask you guys about your experience with how the appearance of the wood ages on your knives with wooden handles. I got this GEC Saddle Trapper two years ago:

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That's a day 1 picture. ;) I still love the knife, but the cocobolo has darkened a good bit already.

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Granted, it's still beautiful and I still love it, but had I known it wouldn't keep all the orange shades, I might have gone with a different handle. Anyway, I know there are some of you with many wooden knives. How do they look now after some time and use? I'd love to see how each wood ages! Thanks!
 
It really depends on the wood. For example ebony doesn't change very much, other than picking up some scratches and dings over the years.

Most woods will darken over time. Some more than others. I like it. Matches the patina on the blade.

- Christian
 
The darkening with age is a feature of cocobolo that I really like. I wish I was aging as gracefully as my cocobolo.
 
I've got a Buck 110 from 1979 or so. It was carried often and used little, then left in a toolbox in its leather case for about 15 years before I got it out again. I can't tell that the wood has changed any. May have been a different story if I had used it a lot.
 
Try Black Cherry some time. Sickly greenish pale when fresh and then looks like 1/2 million bucks within a year or two and a finally a million bucks after 20 years. Same goes for apple and likely same for pear. Walnut is another that looks homely at first and slowly develops it's rich colour.
 
An old Cocobola handled Cattaraugus - picture taken outdoors on a cloudy day. When the sun hits the wood, it has very dark red streaks and hues.

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I can't tell you what it looked like new! ;)
 
I was thinking about taking some Minwax to my wood handled knives. I've got some cocobolo and ebony handled blades, both fixed and folding, that have really gotten dark. I like to see the grain in the wood. Not sure which Minwax to use though, might be a good idea to get the right one ;).
 
silenthunterstudios said:
I was thinking about taking some Minwax to my wood handled knives. I've got some cocobolo and ebony handled blades, both fixed and folding, that have really gotten dark. I like to see the grain in the wood. Not sure which Minwax to use though, might be a good idea to get the right one ;).
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I use Rennaissance Wax for wood.
 
I'm wondering how Osage will age? Got one coming in see...

Queen's BEM doesn't seem to change at all, at least the one I own, must be ultra stabilized and sealed.
 
I have a Queen Copperhead with their cocobolo covers for several years now and the handle is pretty much just one shade of very dark brown. I am curious to see how my streaked ebony handle will change over time.
 
willgoy said:
I'm wondering how Osage will age? Got one coming in see...

Queen's BEM doesn't seem to change at all, at least the one I own, must be ultra stabilized and sealed.
Click to expand...

After looking into cocobolo, I saw a website that lists how exotic woods color shift over time. They said Osage turns brown fairly quickly. :-/
 
Osage does change quickly. But it has such beautiful golden tone to it. I don't have it on any knives but my custom recurve bow has it on the limbs and riser. I think I need to make me a fixed blade hunter to match, if I can get some time at the anvil.

willgoy I hope you share some pics when yours arrives.

Chris
 
It is well known that cocobolo darkens with age, with some pieces going so dark that they are mistaken for ebony.

Walnut does not appear to darken a whole lot, I have some old gunstocks that aren't that dark.

Some members of the rosewood family (of which cocobolo is one) do not darken a whole lot. For example, kingwood and honduran rosewood don't darken much.

Ebonies change very little in color.

Snakewood has a reputation of turning brown over long time spans.

That linked website says that bloodwood darkens significantly, but that has not been my experience.
 
thedaver8 said:
After looking into cocobolo, I saw a website that lists how exotic woods color shift over time. They said Osage turns brown fairly quickly. :-/
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That's rather disappointing news :grumpy: Maybe that's why it hasn't been used much before in knife-handles... I should've done my homework, sigh!

Chris, I'll certainly try and get some shots in before it turns to mud!:eek::eek:

Thanks, Will
 
willgoy said:
That's rather disappointing news :grumpy: Maybe that's why it hasn't been used much before in knife-handles... I should've done my homework, sigh!

Chris, I'll certainly try and get some shots in before it turns to mud!:eek::eek:

Thanks, Will
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LOL Will! I just got an Osage Orange Viper. Here it is brand spanking new:

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Now it is going to turn to MUD?! :eek::eek::grumpy::barf::barf:

:D:D
 
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