My fellow wood lovers - prepare to drool....

hey Roger


the addiction begins.......

that looks like a rare beauty - how big is it?

My wife already thinks I am crazy, but I have about 50 board-feet of koa in various sizes - the biggest one is 48" x 2.5" x 10" :D

some of it is literally too nice to cut up!

Koa is funny in that some boards are fairly light and dent easily - the old growth stuff (like yours) is usually fairly dense - I brought some pieces to Blade to show Burt and David Broadwell and others and most thought the pieces were stabilized because they were so heavy.

IF you are planning on using the camp knife heavily, stabilizing might not be a bad idea, but for routine to minimal use, oil finish holds up just fine, and it does have just that little extra chatoyance:cool:

Bill Flynn
 
That's a rare and extraordinary piece indeed.....It really
should be used for a handle and matching sheath......(IMO)..!
 
RogerP said:
No, it is not stabilized. This board will yield a few handle blocks - I will have some stabilized, but others I won't. You do lose some chatoyance with stabilization, and I'd certainly like to maximize that feature on a couple pieces. I've been doing a bit of reading on Koa and came across the following (and similar comments) from a few sources:

"Koa has weight and strength properties similar to black walnut. It is a moderately heavy wood (specific gravity .55). It is stable, works well, and takes an exceptionally rich, deeply reflective glow when finished with oils and modern varnish or laquer."

I've certainly used my share of unstabilized black walnut and haven't had any issue with it. I've used the heck out of my little walnut-handled hunter and it has held up great. I think an oil finish or a multi-layer Dan Farr type finish would really make this wood pop (and it's popping pretty darned good all on its own).
Click to expand...

If you haven't noticed lately, have been spending more time in dialogue with the experience veterans than trying to school the newbs...there are enough members with experience to do that now, maybe not so much 5 years or so ago.

Quite a few woods, expecially the softer woods, shrink or expand with greater regularity than say ironwood or lignum vitae. I have experienced this in both Washington state and California...enough that is has been distressing-annoying and potentially costly.

The walnut handled camp knife purchased from Dan at Blade, back in what 2005 or so...the finish didn't even make it home. I got a cheap case that roughly fit it, and there were two "rub throughs" in the finish....Dan said it was easy to retouch, but that was not my experience at all.

So I like stabilized(plasticized is correct, Lorien) wood for those two reasons; wood not shrinking and ease of finish maintenance.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
STeven - those are certainly valid reasons to choose stabilized wood - bottom line is you have to know what works well for you in your particular environment and make your choices accordingly.

I have had real problems over the years with materials moving (seasonal changes, heating / cooling), which is why I generally avoid scales, full tangs and frame handles where possible. I even try to avoid mortise hidden tangs as I have had those come apart as well.

However, I have never had any problems with a solid block of wood, drilled and escavated to accomodate the tang - stabilized or unstabilized.

I am surprised to hear of your experience with Dan's knife - you may recall we stood shoulder to shoulder at his table when you bought yours, and the piece I got is as perfect today as it was back then. It may have been that yours wasn't fully cured - this isn't a finish that you can rush, which can make getting a bunch of them ready for a show a bit of a challenge. I have owned as many or more knives from Dan as any other maker (most wood) and have never had a problem with the finish. Dan's field knives have seen hard use I have seen how well the finish holds up there.

My own knives are done the same way (though only two coats generally, not the 6 or 7 Dan does) and all have held up well. The one exception - my black powder coated camp knife, which has a scuff in the finish on the butt of the knife. Reason: I didn't let it cure long enough before I started playing with it.

Roger
 
I would imagine it is a trade off, to stabilize. If avoidable, id keep it kosher. "No plastics were used in this product". :D
 
Russ - thanks for putting ideas in my head - now I am imagining a Hendrickson Southwest bowie with matching scabbard. What's a healthy kidney worth these days anyway? Of course, it would look just fine on a ladder damascus Hawthorne. ;)

Bill - that's good info - thanks. It may explain why some feel the wood is "too soft".

On the stabilization question, the ultimate use of the knife - as you pointed out - has a lot to do with the choice. As does the maker. Some don't want to use stabilized wood at all and others don't want to use anything else. Others yet don't have strong feelings either way. I was inclined to have the piece for David's camp knife stabilized.

And your wife is right - you ARE crazy - but in a good way. :)

Oh - the size? It's 3 feet long! - 36 1/2" x 5 1/8" x 2"

orig.jpg


:D

Roger
 
....must be an awesome piece of wood to get to rest on blue satin..!!
 
RogerP said:
..... It may have been that yours wasn't fully cured - this isn't a finish that you can rush, which can make getting a bunch of them ready for a show a bit of a challenge. I have owned as many or more knives from Dan as any other maker (most wood) and have never had a problem with the finish. Dan's field knives have seen hard use I have seen how well the finish holds up there.
Click to expand...

Yes it is possible that it was not fully cured...and soft because of that, and then rubbed through.

The finish may be durable enough, but that was not my experience, and has not been my experience on even polymer finishes on firearms....hard to touch up, and easy to beat the hell out of....so your experience would dictate that the oil finish is durable enough for your needs, and that is something that I would be interested in discussing next time we talk.

BTW, obviously that is a fantastic piece of wood, well done!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
That's an amazing piece of wood, Roger. Just incredible. With those dimensions you'll be able to get quite a few handles out of it.
 
^^^ 36 1/2" x 5 1/8" x 2"

See post 27 above for a pic of the full board.

Roger
 
Hoho

With a piece that size and beauty, I have a very good guess as to how much it cost :D:D

even medium curl stuff can be $100/Bd-ft

FWIW if you use it for folders, I would definitely get it stabilized, since the pieces will be slim and not too contoured. For a hidden tang, nice contour handle - oil finish!!!

I also think the matching scabbard idea is killer...

also FWIW I am going to Ashokan this year, and I may bring along some Koa pieces if anyone is interested.....

Bill
 
Wow, I know everyone else has already said it but, Roger that is a one of kind KILLER nice piece of wood. :eek:

You will have some fun with that...and good decicision not to stablize.

Eric
 
billf said:
also FWIW I am going to Ashokan this year, and I may bring along some Koa pieces if anyone is interested.....

Bill
Click to expand...

That's great news - see you there. And yes, bring some Koa as well as some of your cool knives for show and tell.

Roger
 
That's gotta' be photoshopped!!

No piece of wood on this planet could possibly be that nice. :p

WOW!! :D
 
AWESOME piece of Koa Roger. I'm sure you will put it to GOOD use!

I've done a bit of wood turning and picked up nice exotic woods from Eisenbrand on the west coast and Berkshire Products (www.Berkproducts.com), in Sheffield MA. They have some unbelievable woods, burls, etc. At Berkshire Products they have warehouses you can wander around in and drool over incredible burls and exotic woods. Some great buys on odd sized pieces at times.

Anyway, in chatting about woods, it was mentioned that Watco Danish oil can be an exceptionally nice finish.

I've not used it and can't speak from experience, but it was mentioned that if the wood is soaked in it, the pores fill, yielding a finish similar to stabilizing?

Peter
 
Like alot of people have already said here, I couldn't help but get audible when I saw this.

:eek: "WWWWWWOOOOOOOWWWWW!!!"

or something like that on top of a feeling of a bolt of lightning going through me. :D

Thats just insanely cool. I'd say that this piece of wood is so good that it will become famous and instantly recognizable in knife circles. Hope that made sense...lol
 
Killer Koa, Roger. If it were mine, I would stabilize any that was going on a user, and do a Farr Finish on anything that wasn't. Either way, you can't lose! :thumbup:

- Joe
 
Gonna be three pages on a flippin' block of wood. What's up wit dat? ;)

Loverly. Don't tell the missus about payment, though. :eek:

Start auctioning off chunks. It's an investment. :D

Coop
 
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