Knife scale question

G

g123

Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Messages
329
Hi,

I have a question on knife scales. I am a user of knives. Because of that, I usually buy micarta or jigged bone scaled because I have always thought they hold up better in the field. For you guys who have both bone and wood scales, do the wood scales scratch and deteriorate fast? Will they hold up in the field?

Thanks,

Geoff
 
waynorth said:
I have a lot of old, antique knives with wood scales in fine shape! Wood will dent and scratch easier than bone, but are less prone to shatter or crack if dropped!
Click to expand...
In your experience, do you think wood is less prone to pin cracks?
 
They are about the same as far as pin cracks, I'd say. If a pin is too tight, it will crack anything eventually!!
 
Much depends on the quality of the wood and if it has been correctly seasoned-takes time.

What are your uses in the field exactly? Never had pin cracks on wood knives-yet-but more than enough on bone:eek: closely followed curiously enough by yellow Delrin. Stag is surprisingly tough gear, it cracks & chips much less than Bone and nothing ages better :cool:
 
I use all my knives camping, hunting and backpacking. I see a lot of people here buying the wood scale knives and I am just curious. Even though I use the GEC knives in the field I still pay a pretty good price for them and want them to still look good.

Geoff
 
I've never had a problem with unstabilized wood on any of my knives, new or antique.
IMHO modern "stabilized" wood that is pressure treated with epoxy or whatever, is little different from "plastic" scales/covers, and are no longer "real" wood.
 
I second the nomination of osage orange. People in Texas use it for fence posts, which last 30+ years. I've heard of them lasting well over 50 years. And, it looks good. That being said, the ebonys, African blackwoods, etc are extremely tough, as well.

I agree, in my opinion, wood will resist cracking better than bone.
 
I like wood for a user. I dropped a beautiful bone bareheaded jackknife in a parking lot. Now it’s got a nice little chip out of the back. That was enough to cure me of my preference for bone on a single bolster knife or one that will see a lot of carry and use.
 
afishhunter said:
I've never had a problem with unstabilized wood on any of my knives, new or antique.
IMHO modern "stabilized" wood that is pressure treated with epoxy or whatever, is little different from "plastic" scales/covers, and are no longer "real" wood.
Click to expand...

What's not real about the wood? People stain, wax, paint, etc. wood all the time. My redwood sided 120yo house wouldn't be here w/o paint. I have a Remington "parts" knife with wood scales painted with black epoxy paint to look like ebony. It's weird :) but functional.
 
I like wood on a user myself, I rub grease and motor oil into them on a fairly regular basis. Shy of using them in the shop and having anything like that I have a jug of boiled linseed oil that comes out whenever I don't have much going on.
 
brownshoe said:
What's not real about the wood? People stain, wax, paint, etc. wood all the time. My redwood sided 120yo house wouldn't be here w/o paint. I have a Remington "parts" knife with wood scales painted with black epoxy paint to look like ebony. It's weird :) but functional.
Click to expand...
Paint, varnish, shellac, wax, and stain on the surface is much different than filling all the wood cells with epoxy. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top