Maple for Parang or Khukuri Handles

[Triquetra]

I was hoping to get some advice on making some traditional handles for some Parang blades that I have and possibly some Khukuri. I have watched some videos of the native people making the handles. I didn’t really have any wood around but a recent storm came through and split the maple tree in my front yard. A lot of these limbs have a natural shape that looks like they would make good handles and I thought that I could shape the bigger pieces. My question is whether Maple, I believe Red Maple, once dried would stand up to being used as a handle for a Parang or if shaped would work on a Khukuri or I guess any other type of knife. I hope this is the right section to ask this question.

 

[fumbler]

It'll work but it's not ideal. Maple is nice and hard but it tends to be brittle compared to other species. In something like a parang it may not be flexible enough to handle the impact. I think you'll be happier with the outcome if you found something like hickory, beech, or oak. Whatever you use, make sure you let it sit for a few months in your house to dry.

 

[mete]

Hard maple is my favorite wood .My kukri had to have a better handle as the 'ring' around the center was impossible for me. I just used a plain piece of hard maple .Never chipped or any other problem .If you're using that damaged tree it will take a long time to dry it.

 

[Triquetra]

Thank or the advice. I've got some pieces that I cut off before the storm that I've been leaving in the truck. It's been running over 100 deg for a while and I have to park out in the sun so they seem to be drying pretty fast. I guess I'll just experiment and see what happens.

 

[Robs92XJ]

Red maple is a "soft" maple. Hard maple is from Sugar Maple or Black Maple. Red maple is still fairly hard but not exceptionally so like hard maple. It is more like cherry in hardness and density.

Now it could make a decent handle, but maple is not very dimensionally stable so you may have issues with warping/cupping or even cracking with humidity changes.

If you take the wood down to a just slightly bigger than your intended handle shape it will dry much faster. Make sure to seal the end grain with glue or shellac to prevent splitting, and I would clamp it down to a table or something to stop it twisting/warping as it dries. If you have a reasonably accurate digital scale you can measure the weight of your piece every few days; once the weight stops dropping for several consecutive readings it has stabilized its moisture content to the local environment.