Ironwood vs African black wood

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Natlek

Joined
Jun 9, 2015
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Some time ago I find some thread in *General Knife Discussion * about ironwood handles on knives . And I was very disapointed ? Black , black and black all of them ? I can t find right now that topic , but I will try again .Seems that with use and time ironwood will turn black ? So what is the point of use it ? It is probably most expensive wood out there ? On other side we have African black wood with almost same characteristics but with a much lower price ? and it is already black !
I know that Ironwood is beautiful, I paid dearly for the two pieces I have , but if in the end it loses its beauty, why did I waste so much money, I could have bought a dozen or more pieces of African black wood ??

This is third piece I have and used on this Damasteel .It was relative cheap about 50 - 60 $ as I remember .Other two /expensive one/ I will use on Damacore steel soon
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And this is African black wood which cost me much, much less ............
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Has anyone tried to stabilize ironwood?
I know it’s very dense and probably won’t take up much resin but I wonder if it would help maintain the color.
 
If you buy ironwood from the right place and in the right quantities you can get it as cheap as $7-8 for a block that can be resawn into 2 sets of scales. Thats cheaper than most plain micartas. Its one of the cheapest materials we use on our knives, its just so rough on saw blades and abrasives that we use it sparingly.
 
HSC /// said:
ironwood is cheap in the USA, it's one of the lowest cost woods I buy.
It can be lightly sanded to bring back the lighter colors.

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I I bought mine from Germany , two matching scale in Ironwood burl cost me 75 Euro and block cost me 90 euro ,they are extremely beautiful . On many USA knives shop which sell wood I found almost same price for that quality and look .But that is unimportant , what bothers me is what I saw here on the forum . Black, black as night handles from Ironwood ? I have beautiful ironwood burl wood scale and they will turn all black with time ??????? If i know that before I am not sure that i will buy them and use them for this two knives I plan to make soon . African black wood is also beautiful ........black as night and will stay black as night ? ? It can be lightly sanded ? How I will do that in my case with Damacore steel , Damasteel pins and guard ?
How deep goes that black color with time , anyone know ?
 
Natlek said:
I I bought mine from Germany , two matching scale in Ironwood burl cost me 75 Euro and block cost me 90 euro ,they are extremely beautiful . On many USA knives shop which sell wood I found almost same price for that quality and look .But that is unimportant , what bothers me is what I saw here on the forum . Black, black as night handles from Ironwood ? I have beautiful ironwood burl wood scale and they will turn all black with time ??????? If i know that before I am not sure that i will buy them and use them for this two knives I plan to make soon . African black wood is also beautiful ........black as night and will stay black as night ? ? It can be lightly sanded ? How I will do that in my case with Damacore steel , Damasteel pins and guard ?
How deep goes that black color with time , anyone know ?
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black, black as night is an exaggeration in my opinion.... but I understand it's your opinion
yes it darkens..... to a deep brown as far as I have seen,
the oldest ironwood handle knife I have is the one I made in Dec 2015.

ironwood turned black? I haven't seen this.

If you message me I can give you a source for ironwood that is less than 20% of the price you paid, but of course you will have to import it.
The 6 pictured cost me less than $90


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Ironwood that starts off lighter stays lighter in color. Darker ironwood does darken over time, as well as getting stained in use. I wonder what using a wood cleaner on the older ironwood would do instead of resanding it? People may also be using the darker/less figured ironwood as well instead of the more figured or lighter ironwood?
 
It is probably most expensive wood out there
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oh boy do i have some surprises for you...

It darkens and as i say TRENDS towards black. It wont turn midnight black the way ebony or african blackwood do, and depending on the cut and tree will often hold browns and golds along with some contrast. It also can have almsot al lthe color restored with a light 400 grit sanding.

In my opinion, asking "Why use a pretty thing if it will change over time" is a little bit of a silly point. Why eat good food if its gross coming out the other end? Why date a pretty girl if she will get old in the future?
 
3fifty7 said:
Has anyone tried to stabilize ironwood?
I know it’s very dense and probably won’t take up much resin but I wonder if it would help maintain the color.
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It doesnt take stabilizing, and stabilizing does not extend the lifespan of color in woods.
 
Sounds like a UV reaction. The scales and block I bought from Sandy at the 2002 and 2004 Blade Shows look the same now as when bought, plenty of browns and pattern…but…they have been in a dark box waiting for the right project. At the time I think they were $50 each set, which in 2004 was the cheaper end of their range.

Lots of other woods change colour with age, esp. if oil finished. Osage darkens a lot, cocobolo too. Just look at antique furniture or old jewellery boxes with multi wood inlays.
 
I have not worked with ironwood yet, but I intend to soon. Are we all talking about desert ironwood? I've also heard of other species commonly referred to as "ironwood" that are hard/dense but not as good looking as desert ironwood. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good source?
 
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