I'm in love with these scales

JTknives

JTknives

Joined
Jun 11, 2006
Messages
8,651
well after much waiting these finely showed up in the mail :D. i just love them and cant wait to us it. lets see if you can guess what kind of wood it is

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Cross cut black and white ebony.

Just something to think about. Hope you had better luck than I did with them. And I hope they're not from ebay. :p Really nice looking and I'm not trying to rain on your parade. I'd like to see it finished out on a knife.
 
countryboycansurvive said:
Cross cut black and white ebony.

Just something to think about. Hope you had better luck than I did with them. And I hope they're not from ebay. :p Really nice looking and I'm not trying to rain on your parade. I'd like to see it finished out on a knife.
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you hit the nail on the head with everything. i dont know if thats good or bad:confused:. what do i need to look for when working them?
 
Black and white ebony, Diospyros embryopteris itself is good, stable stuff. With slow, careful drying it does fine. I fully acrylic infuse this ebony (and with dyes) frequently with no problems. Your wood does appear to be all end grain and that's about the most likely grain orientation to crack and split...think log ends and you got the same checking situation. It could work out fine.
 
JTknives said:
you hit the nail on the head with everything. i dont know if thats good or bad:confused:. what do i need to look for when working them?
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I had some off ebay. The seller advertised them as stabilized but they weren't. I think first, I'd have them stabilized. Then, that is a case where I would glue them to a very thin liner of somesort (g-10 or micarta). Just to keep them stable while working them prior to installing them on the knife. Lastly, avoid any heat build up while grinding on them.

I had mine epoxied to a red liner but as I started thinning them down and shaping them, I heard them start to pop. Then both scales just buckled and starting warping and cracking at all the black lines. THey were pretty warm but I didn't think too hot. All this was before they were on the knife. It just seems that it's not very stable when cross cut like that. Stabilized though, it should be the same as spalted maple but then again, there have been issues around the forums with that.

I personally have just steered clear of spalted maples and stuff like that cross cut ebony. It's too bad though, they would make awesome scales. I would try to make a go of it still since you already have them. But I would highly recommend stabilizing if they're not.
 
That is cool looking. maybe best to do most of the shaping with files and hand sanding. Then maybe superglue finish. Dan
 
Have tried it several times myself, with only very limited success. MY only suggestion would be to do as much finishing as you can ON THE BLADE after being glued up. Had several sets warp up on me while I was thinning them and only fixed the problem by working them in the manner described...
Matt
 
oconeedan said:
That is cool looking. maybe best to do most of the shaping with files and hand sanding. Then maybe superglue finish. Dan
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What Dan said.
Nuthin' but files for shaping and hand finishing.
Once you get accustomed to doing it that way you'll never grind handle material again.
 
Karl B. Andersen said:
What Dan said.
Nuthin' but files for shaping and hand finishing.
Once you get accustomed to doing it that way you'll never grind handle material again.
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It is for a customer of mine and will be fitted to a very large bowie. once it is done and oiled how stable is it. i would not want to use something that is just going to cause problems down the road. I have some nice red wood burl that i can use or show him if thats the case.
 
JT, You have to be really careful with X-cut scales. I tried a pair of x-cut Cumaru (Brazilian "Teak") scales, and they cracked all over the place just while the epoxy was setting up.:grumpy:
 
JT and anyone trying end grain scales:
The pattern is often stunning on end grain, but there is no stability there. Balsa wood and oak have nearly the same strength on thin end grain sections. All wood will move to some degree, even stabilized wood, and when it does end grain will crack. You can treat it just like mammoth tooth, which is just end grain tooth material. Back it with a reasonably thick and strong substrate. First, stabilize the whole thing with all the thin CA it will absorb, then sand the back flat and laminate to the substrate. Flood cracks as they form in sanding/grinding with more CA, don't let it get hot (or even warm) while grinding and polishing.....and expect cracks to form after the knife is done.

JT's scales are already cut, so all he can do is hope and pray. If anyone is planning on making end grain cuts to gain a unique pattern - before cutting the scales, have the board stabilized by one of the heavy impregnation methods. WSSI and K&G do this, some other "stabilized" wood is not done the same. Use blocks that have an end profile the size you need, and are at least 4-6" long. Cut the scales after the block has been stabilized. Realize that you may pay for some expensive stabilization and receive a split or cracked block back from the stabilizer. It is the chance you take...not his fault.

There are several woods that are end grain cut because that is the best looking pattern. B&W ebony, black or red palm, sucupira, and many burl blocks are just a few. One trick that still shows the pattern (and often makes it more interesting) is to cut the end grain at 45 degrees ( sometimes on both axes). This allows you to use a narrower and/or thinner board and makes the lignin fibers a little longer for more strength. A 1X4" board can be angle cut to get 1.25X5" scales. In the case of black palm, instead of just dots, the scales will have heart shaped speckles. On B&W ebony, the pattern will stretch out a bit, and the dark stripes will widen. There are some tricks involved in this. The main one is that you have to make two sets of cuts. One for left scales and one for right scales. If anyone needs more info to figure that out,ask and I'll post it, but I think if you have the equipment and ability to do compound miter cuts, you probably have enough woodworking skills to figure out what I am saying.

The backing you epoxy the scales to must be strong and stable. While vulcanized fiber is often used, I think a thin section of linen or canvas Micarta may be a better material to use.

Just some info and food for future thought .

Stacy
 
I think i'm going to soak them in my way thinned out supper glue and let them absorb as much supper glue as possible.
 
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