Most stable woods for handles?

I made two in the 90's with gorgeous desert ironwood for guys that actually used their knives. In a couple of years, they both turned so dark that you could hardly see the grain. They were easy to restore. I rubbed them down with a 3000 grit 3M automotive pad, then 3M 4000 and 6000 grit polishing paper, and the original look came back. After a while, though, they started to get dark again. It seems like they oxidize and it's accelerated by sunlight. I'm not sure what to do to prevent that.
 
Due to living in a very low humidity environment, Nevada, I see a lot of warped wood. One neighbor had an improperly dried Indonesian made new table from Wards warp to the point of being unuseable in a few months. For knife handles I would personally favor the use of stabilized wood both for dimensional stability and the fact that such treatment closes up the pores I believe so that they cannot absorb dirt, grease, water and other things which contribute to color changes and wood instability.
 
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