Natural wood and kitchen knives

J

JeffreyFogleboch

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May 13, 2009
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193
Hey guys what are your thoughts on using natural wood be stabilized wood in kitchen knife handles? I know that most prefer stabilized wood for obvious reasons but shouldn't a properly finished handle (multiple coats of truoil) from natural wood be stable? The knife handle imo doesn't really get that wet other than when washing and it should be dried immediately. Tell me what you think! Thanks guys.


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Stabilized is nice, no doubt about it. But there is nothing wrong with using un-stabilized wood, provided it is sealed somehow or another. TruOil, as you mentioned, works well. In the home kitchen, the handle probably won't receive the abuse it would compared to commercial duty. For that, it is probably better to use something more stable. Personal preference, with an understanding of the environment the knife/handle will see helping to choose the BEST handle material for that situation, that's basically how I see it.
 
Should be fine. Just take good care of it. It's like a wooden cutting board. Even those have liquids sitting on them more than a knife handle should and they stand up fine, and even the good ones are end grain (would absorb more moisture than not)
 
Just think how many years the "Old Hickory" butcher knives hold up in kitchen work.... Walnut isn't especially hard wood, but lasts a long time in old kitchen knives. Using a natural hard wood like Rosewood, Cocobola, Bocote would certainly work just fine.

Again, it depends on if the knife is cared for half way decently.
 
Provided it gets reasonable care, It will work fine.
But depending on the AHJ, it may not be ok for a commercial foodservice.
 
Padauk is one of my favorite words for kitchen knives. I use it unstabilized. I prefer Watco Danish oil as its thinner and soaks in better.
 
Some things to know about natural woods

Most woods would work for a knife handle.

Think about it. Oak, Maple, Walnut, Hickory, these are all classic woods that WORK. If you put them on a knife and use it in the kitchen they will all work. The issue is in TIME, they will crack, split and discolur. And they never look really stunning. thats why we stabilize the really nice pieces.

But there are TONS of woods that need no treatment. Kingwood, Cocobolo, ebony, Ironwood, Lignium vitae, african blackwod, bubinga, manzenita, boxwood, yew, satinwood and more. These heavy exotics woods are so full of oil they are waterproof, will never rot and once dry are incredibly stable and will not crack. They are also dense and hard, making them resistant to scratches. If you want to use natural handles, it comes down to what kind of wood you want to use.

And a note on finishing exotic woods. Oil finishes are not the best idea. Exotics are full of their own oils, tru oil, tung oil, danish oil and so on are curing oils. That means they react with oxygen to form harder compounds, The high oil contant of exotics means that oil will never cure. A better choice is a hard wax finish to give the look you are after. I'm finishing up a knife right now, when its done I will make a video of how I finish with my wax.
 
Not long after started making knives I made several ATS-34 paring knives and handled them with various unstabilized woods WITHOUT any type of finish and have INTENTIONALLY ran them through the dishwasher for about 7 years now. All are still going strong. They may not be very pretty but all of them are still in serviceable condition. I'd have to look to be sure but I can especially remember using Osage Orange/Bois D' Arc, Bocote, Walnut, Cocobolo, African Blackwood, & Desert Ironwood. I did this as kind of a "torture test" and have never done anything to them except sharpen them.
So with hand washing and an occasional oiling they should just about last forever. I'm about to make myself a complete new matching set of kitchen knives, including steak knives and I'm trying to decide what to handle them with. I have a large batch of nice stabilized walnut and I may just use that for a classic look but not sure yet.
 
the type of wood shouldn't matter so long as it is sealed/oiled. a bigger concern would be the handle adhesive and how well that went on. gaps in the adhesive could let moisture in and cause problems.
scott
 
Very informative posts guys! Thanks for sharing your thoughts/experiences. I was actually hoping I oils use some of the natural walnut I have for Oneida my blades!


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Ken and Darrin have said it for some woods I too know work well without all the stabilizing and special oils or other treatments. Even after hitting the dish washer as needed. Good woods work well for hunting knives too. At different times, the availability of a certain wood made it "popular" for use at those times. Many years later the "blush" was definitely gone but the usability was still there.
On the other hand when a customer is paying for it, don't short change him and use the stabilized stuff to provide the quality.
Frank.
 
scott.livesey said:
the type of wood shouldn't matter so long as it is sealed/oiled. a bigger concern would be the handle adhesive and how well that went on. gaps in the adhesive could let moisture in and cause problems.
scott
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This is key though. You want the scales, or block, attached well. If moisture gets inside the handle you can definitely run into problems.
 
The only negative is that if it is going to be used commercially, it is a code violation. When I was a meat cutter there were no wood handled knives allowed in the cutting room. Drove me crazy.
 
My brother had the misfortune to discover that even stabilized wood will warp if kids put it in the dishwasher.
samuraistuart said:
Stabilized is nice, no doubt about it. But there is nothing wrong with using un-stabilized wood, provided it is sealed somehow or another. TruOil, as you mentioned, works well. In the home kitchen, the handle probably won't receive the abuse it would compared to commercial duty. For that, it is probably better to use something more stable. Personal preference, with an understanding of the environment the knife/handle will see helping to choose the BEST handle material for that situation, that's basically how I see it.
Click to expand...
 
That apparently varies by jurisdiction. I have seen at least one scientific study that says that good end grain wood cutting boards and plastic cutting boards like the Sani-Safe ones are about equal when new, but that the Sani-Safe cutting boards actually become less safe once they get nicks and cuts while the wood boards still provide a very bad growth medium for bacteria after long use. Bacteria can get into the wood, but most just can't grow.
E.Carlson said:
The only negative is that if it is going to be used commercially, it is a code violation. When I was a meat cutter there were no wood handled knives allowed in the cutting room. Drove me crazy.
Click to expand...
 
jdm61 said:
That apparently varies by jurisdiction. I have seen at least one scientific study that says that good end grain wood cutting boards and plastic cutting boards like the Sani-Safe ones are about equal when new, but that the Sani-Safe cutting boards actually become less safe once they get nicks and cuts while the wood boards still provide a very bad growth medium for bacteria after long use. Bacteria can get into the wood, but most just can't grow.
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That is 100% true. But facts have no place in corporate rule books. Likley a state guideline.
 
I also know of some people who complain that their exotics crack and that the wood is junk.

When exotics crack, there are a few explanations. First, you didn't buy dry wood. Everyone seasons walnut and oak and maple, but no one seems to think that the exotics they buy could be green. Know who you are buying from, if it's very cheap it's probably stillike at least somewhat green and has to sit a year or so or it will crack.

And the other main thing is working woods to hot. When woods, especially very hard wood gets to hot it can crafk. That's why I always say to only use fresh abrasives on woods like ebony, snakewood, ironwood and African blackwood. Because if it gets to hot you don't just risk burning it, you risk cracking it.
 
That apparently varies by jurisdiction.
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By individual Inspector too.
I seen food processors such as our Meat Cutter friends example, where its forbidden. (And for good reason) While the Chef at 'Hi-Brow Bistro' is overlooked. Granted, its a different environment, but go figure...
 
I've done it, and if dry and sealed they seem to do well. I treat them well, though.

I'd certainly avoid the rivet-only attachment! The tang/scale surface needs to be sealed:

IMG_20160712_203856-small.jpg




I went with dry, unstabilized white oak bedded with GFlex as replacements, oiled and waxed:


IMG_20160717_162424-small.jpg
 
Greenberg Woods said:
Some things to know about natural woods

Most woods would work for a knife handle.

Think about it. Oak, Maple, Walnut, Hickory, these are all classic woods that WORK. If you put them on a knife and use it in the kitchen they will all work. The issue is in TIME, they will crack, split and discolur. And they never look really stunning. thats why we stabilize the really nice pieces.

But there are TONS of woods that need no treatment. Kingwood, Cocobolo, ebony, Ironwood, Lignium vitae, african blackwod, bubinga, manzenita, boxwood, yew, satinwood and more. These heavy exotics woods are so full of oil they are waterproof, will never rot and once dry are incredibly stable and will not crack. They are also dense and hard, making them resistant to scratches. If you want to use natural handles, it comes down to what kind of wood you want to use.

And a note on finishing exotic woods. Oil finishes are not the best idea. Exotics are full of their own oils, tru oil, tung oil, danish oil and so on are curing oils. That means they react with oxygen to form harder compounds, The high oil content of exotics means that oil will never cure. A better choice is a hard wax finish to give the look you are after. I'm finishing up a knife right now, when its done I will make a video of how I finish with my wax.
Click to expand...

This advice from Ben is worth a repeat. I like exotic hard woods without a sealer. I use wax and mineral oil mix and use this to maintain the wood over time (Ben has his own special recipe). Manzanita, Ironwood, and ebony are my personal favorites. I use Boos block board cream long term, but I like the natural looking wood finish, not shiny varnish. Try different things. YMMV
 
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