Natural materials

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dizos

Joined
Nov 22, 2002
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What are some good strong natural handle materials? Is there anything that approaches the durability of micarta?

-- dizos
 
Sheep horn is very tough, but it does not do well in areas where there is high humidity. There are no natural materials that I know of that are in the league of Linen or Canvas Micarta for toughness and durability. Stabilized woods would probably be pretty close.
 
One of the most durable natural materials I've used is, believe it or not...... leather. You can beat the snot out of leather. As long as you perform regular maintenance, it won’t chip or crack. Hehehehe….. Talk about impact resistance!!!! It also feels better in the hand than almost any other material.
 
stabilzed wood can be very strong, resistent to humidity, but it will not be as stronng as micarta, but very close!!!

.....bone, horn, stag is always pretty, but fragile. It requires care, such as light (natural) mineral oil to try to control shrinkage (small hairline cracks, ect.
I have a unmtility folder I made a couple years ago with black jigged bone. When I finish carrying it I wipe the handles down and store it in a humidty controled room, with others (not too much humidity, but a very low amount). The temperature change can cause bone to crack (or very slightly swell, this doesnt not happen very often though, very generally though it will shrink, or crack if it is too dry).

woods such as the maple burls, mahogany, desert Ironwood, cocobolo, ect are wonderful, beautiful natural materials that when are stabilized (moisture drawn out, and impregnated with epoxy resin) are very durable materials.
 
Two woods that are very tough are lignum vitae and ipe.

Lignum vitae has tight interlocking grain and is very dense. It is so dense it will not float. The grain is straight and it does not have much figure. It cannot be stabilized because it has a very high oil content. When cut the sawdust feels waxy. It is yellow/green. The sapwood is light colored. It is used to make mallet heads and was used to make bumpers on ferry docks.

Ipe is used to make decks. In the Seattle area it will last 20 years without using a wood sealer. My cedar deck has some boards that are bad after eight years and I've treated the wood. It cannot be stabilized because of its density. It is dark brown/green. I have seen curly ipe but it is very rare. When finishing it loads up the belt and then burns. Some people call it "Asian Ironwood".
 
Thanks for the tips.

I'm having a knife built and the builder does wonderful work with exotic hardwoods and horn. I love the beauty and elegance of natural materials but, for me, form must follow function and it is very important to me for this knife to be really tough. I requested micarta, but now am wondering if I should reconsider.

-- dizos
 
tough?! micarta is a good way to go, the stabilzed woods are too!! :)
tough?! horn? :( nooooooo!!!!
 
what rev said.

I might add that pearl (M.O.P.) is far from tough, but it is the most stable natural material I know of.
 
Good information guys! I've used the light mineral oil stuff for quite some time on natural horn, etc. Anything else that's good also??


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
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