Kauri Wood

WyoNonSmith

WyoNonSmith

Joined
Jul 3, 2007
Messages
392
I recently aquired some new zealand Kauri wood...beautiful stuff, the hard reclaimed from the swamp kind.

In it's current form, it is unstabilized. I might consider getting that done. It seems pretty sturdy on its own.

I'm guessing that this material has been discussed before, but with my limited viewing as a registered user inhibiting the search function... I can't find it.:confused:

Has anyone used this for handle material on a custom knife? What were your experiences? I have only seen a few knives that have this as a handle material, though I think it could be great. Any insights would be helpful.

In a month or so, a MS friend of mine is going to help me forge a few knives so I'm trying to get ready. IMHO, I think the rich grain of the wood would look well with a damascus blade and or fittings. I am open to ideas.
 
WyoNonSmith said:
I recently aquired some new zealand Kauri wood...beautiful stuff, the hard reclaimed from the swamp kind.

In it's current form, it is unstabilized. I might consider getting that done. It seems pretty sturdy on its own.

I'm guessing that this material has been discussed before, but with my limited viewing as a registered user inhibiting the search function... I can't find it.:confused:

Has anyone used this for handle material on a custom knife? What were your experiences? I have only seen a few knives that have this as a handle material, though I think it could be great. Any insights would be helpful.

In a month or so, a MS friend of mine is going to help me forge a few knives so I'm trying to get ready. IMHO, I think the rich grain of the wood would look well with a damascus blade and or fittings. I am open to ideas.
Click to expand...

go to google and copy and paste this line in

kauri site:www.bladeforums.com
 
I've seen some very pretty pics with it but also remember someone who got some saying it was quite wet. Not surprising considering the swamp... I'd suggest moisture testing it before using it anytime in the near future. It'd be a really pity if it warped and ruined your handle because it was used too soon.
 
Swamp kauri is usually sold dry and is excavted from drained swamps inthe north of NZ. It has usually been buried for 30000 years or so. Swamp kauri doesn't shift much but is still very soft, if I could, I'd get it stabilised. Ordinary kauri is very soft and does move a bit. Just my 2c worth from NZ.
 
Swamp kauri is sold dry and is from drained swamps in the notrh of NZ. It has usually been buried for 30,000 years or so and so it does not shift much. Modern kauri, recently harvested, is a soft wood. Even swamp kauri is fairly soft. If I could get wood stabilised here I'd definitely get it done. If you'd like a couple of peices to play with, let me know. Just my 2c wotrh from NZ.
 
I bought some of Dan Koster's pieces. I'm letting it cure for some time to get the remaining moisture out. It's very hard nice wood. I don't believe it requires any stabilization but it couldn't hurt, then just sand out to the finest grit you have (1200, 1500, 2000?) and buff with some white compound with a soft buff. There is a site (www.ancientwood.com) that should answer some of your questions.
 
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