Laminated wood is maybe now considered a poor man's wood, but...

PocketKnifeJimmy

PocketKnifeJimmy

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Aug 4, 2013
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Laminated wood was used quite a bit during the 70's & 80's. I don't know when it started being looked at by many as a low end handle material, but it can look quite nice. And, if it's made correctly, it can be amazingly tough stuff.
I don't like a lot of it, but it's only because some of it can also be quite ugly. It all depends on how it turns out visually that either has me loving it, or... not so much.

Tons of companies have made the stuff, each having different names for what is essentially the same stuff.
Names like, Dymondwood, Pakawood, Resinwood... heck, I even have a 1970's vintage Smith & Wesson Bowie coming my way that has a laminated wood handle material that they called "WessonWood" 😃

Anyhow, Buck had replaced it's solid Ebony wood handle scales on the 110 model for many years with a laminated wood.
When they somewhat recently came out again with natural Ebony Buck 110's, I picked one up to have it represented in my collection. And yet, my laminated wood Buck 110's are really nice, and they are so easy to maintain that way.
Again, if done right, I think Laminated wood can be quite pleasing to the eyes, and their toughness, moisture resistance, and ease of maintenance, is just the icing on the cake.

There was a time when laminated wood was not stigmatized as a lesser quality product, but rather a good alternative to natural wood. I still see it that way... I mean, if it's done properly, and if it's appearance is pleasing to the eyes, I think it's qualities should not place it as a poor man's wood. Instead, it's a good tough alternative for someone that likes wood, but also likes the advantage of modern man made materials.

It's wood... It's tough phenolic polymer... It's a laminated wood! 😊

Here are just a couple of my knives with laminated wood handle scales...

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So, if you have knives with laminated wood handles, please proudly share some of your examples here with us 👍😊👍
 
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The laminated wood on your two knives there look real good. I agree, I think some people really like the stuff and others not so much, more so than other materials. I used to sell guns and we got a pretty sweet Savage in with the laminated wood stock. Most people that came in really liked it and always wanted to handle it, but a few called it a "plywood stock". Those were usually the more "gun snob" kind of guys that had huge collections and got to a point of contempt for anything that wasn't a Kimber or what not. However, laminated wood is some really tough stuff! And, the maker can get creative with how they want it to look. I'm not a huge fan of the kind of early, traditional (at least in my mind) red, green, and brown layered laminated wood because it got way overused and I used to see a lot of Pakistani knives with it. But scales like you have there are very beautiful and tougher than most any other wood scale I would say!
 
LimpCroissant said:
The laminated wood on your two knives there look real good. I agree, I think some people really like the stuff and others not so much, more so than other materials. I used to sell guns and we got a pretty sweet Savage in with the laminated wood stock. Most people that came in really liked it and always wanted to handle it, but a few called it a "plywood stock". Those were usually the more "gun snob" kind of guys that had huge collections and got to a point of contempt for anything that wasn't a Kimber or what not. However, laminated wood is some really tough stuff! And, the maker can get creative with how they want it to look. I'm not a huge fan of the kind of early, traditional (at least in my mind) red, green, and brown layered laminated wood because it got way overused and I used to see a lot of Pakistani knives with it. But scales like you have there are very beautiful and tougher than most any other wood scale I would say!
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I agree, a lot of Pakistan stuff came in with laminated wood, and it was way too colorful, in my opinion. The word "gaudy" comes to mind.

I remember when Russian SKS rifles started to be imported in good numbers into the USA, and the ones with laminated stocks were sold at a premium over their all natural wood counterparts.
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
I agree, a lot of Pakistan stuff came in with laminated wood, and it was way too colorful, in my opinion. The word "gaudy" comes to mind.

I remember when Russian SKS rifles started to be imported in good numbers into the USA, and the ones with laminated stocks were sold at a premium over their all natural wood counterparts.
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Yup exactly, those real colorful gaudy designs are what I was thinking of as well.

Oh yea, I remember that and just google searched what they looked like to get a refresher. Yea, laminated wood is some really tough stuff. It's cool having a natural material but that's also impervious to water and whatever else you might have on your hands at any given time.
 
LimpCroissant said:
Yup exactly, those real colorful gaudy designs are what I was thinking of as well.

Oh yea, I remember that and just google searched what they looked like to get a refresher. Yea, laminated wood is some really tough stuff. It's cool having a natural material but that's also impervious to water and whatever else you might have on your hands at any given time.
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Laminated wood is really the same principle as making micarta with linen, canvas, burlap, or paper. The same idea as micarta, but done with thin layers of wood instead of those other materials 😊
 
I picked up a couple of 1980s knife kits from the bay recently and they came with Dymondwood scales. I am using different scales on them but I will probably use the dymondwood for something soon though. I agree that the colorful laminated wood can look a bit too Truckstop knife for me. If I was selling the knives I make, I would stay away from the laminated woods only because I don't think they are in demand.
 
In 40+ years, I have never seen a knife with a laminated handle that interested me enough to buy it.

I don't know if it is my preference of leaning towards Micarta, or if I just haven't seen enough laminated wood knives. I suspect it is the former.... :)
 
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I agree. Laminated woods, if done well, can be quite nice looking and be very durable, but I also agree that there are/were MANY examples of weird color combos and quality issues which became a hallmark for less expensive/low quality knives over the years which has probably soured a lot of folks on it in general.
 
I can hear Tom O’dell now. “Aright folks, just look at that jin-yooooo-wiiiine boooo-weeee knaf! Got the blood groove, brass guard, and some nice pakkywood handles”.
 
I looked around at my collection, my trying to seek out other laminated wood handled knives I may own.
I do have some folders by Buck, Utica, and Schrade, and all mostly in the Buck 110 style that are done in the laminated wood.

The only other fixed blade I have with laminated wood, is this Queen Cutlery made knife.
It definitely has that dated look about it, and I think that's what I find most cool about it 😊

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PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Here is a pic I found online.
If I were gifted this Randall knife, I would certainly be keeping it.
That said, the colors on this Randall knife's laminated wood handle are simply not my cup of tea. It's not downright ugly, but a wee bit too colorful, imo 😅
Still, it all looks very well made 👍

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Absolutely. I’ve never really liked the variegation of dark and light color layers, which only calls more attention to the fact it’s laminated, and would personally rather it would be tone on tone, but would certainly enjoy the heck outta that knife regardless.
 
I agree it is a premium handle material as far as durability stability and longevity. Remember it can be dyed cheep wood usually birch, or it can be layers of good wood with natural coloration. Looks are all over the place. The gaudiest colors I think gave it a bad rep.

It’s essentially wood Micarta. My only beef is that laminated wood and Micarta are very heavy.
 
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You forgot the ugliest of them all. "Frostwood".
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Agreed. The one knife I had with untreated wood, an XM-24 vintage, had me worried if I carried it on a hot day. Even after treating with beeswax and linseed oil I could tell it would absorb some sweat just by being up against my leg. And one end was beginning to warp.

I know Hinderer’s excuse for using it was bc that’s what the rifles at the time used as their stock or something. But a gun stock is very different from a thin knife scale lol.
 
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