Need some help with a Box Elder inlaid Sebenza...

ice_man

ice_man

Joined
Sep 16, 2014
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Hi guys, I am not really into wood inlays, but I got this one because it really captured my interest due to the color of the Box Elder on this one.

I have a few questions regarding wood inlays. Please be patient as I am new to this hobby and may have some very noob questions.

1.) Are the wood inlays protected by a coating against sweat and moisture? I don't really plan on making this my EDC but may carry it in the future if I decide to keep it for good.

2.) If I want to make this on my collection and not use it, what can I possibly do to make sure that the Box Elder inlays stays in great condition?

3.) Another option that I am pondering on if I keep this is to send this to CRK HQ and have it rebladed with a Devin Thomas Damascus. Which do you think would look great with this inalys? Raindrop or Ladder?

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Thank you guys and gals... :D
 
That is certainly interesting. I believe the wood is treated. So hand sweat shouldn't bother it. As for damascus, send it my way and I'll throw on one of my ladder damascus blades to show you what it looks like ;)
 
CRK uses and recommends Renaissance Wax for protecting and storing. I know they use it on the inlays but I think you can also put it on the steel. It's great stuff from what I hear. Beautiful BE!
 
Just call CRK and ask about changing the blade. They are very good about answering questions on the phone.

I have several Box Elder knives and love them. I use them a lot. Never do anything to them but wipe off with WD40.
 
crbauhs said:
That is certainly interesting. I believe the wood is treated. So hand sweat shouldn't bother it. As for damascus, send it my way and I'll throw on one of my ladder damascus blades to show you what it looks like ;)
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I know I read somewhere that the wood is treated. Will probably give Angela a call to confirm. Just wanted to check with the guys here first... :)

Lol. actually did try and edited a Ladder and Raindrop on there... I think I prefer the Ladder on this one....
 
Corskin said:
CRK uses and recommends Renaissance Wax for protecting and storing. I know they use it on the inlays but I think you can also put it on the steel. It's great stuff from what I hear. Beautiful BE!
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Thanks for this input. I will look into the renaissance wax you suggested. :)
 
ice_man said:
Thanks for this input. I will look into the renaissance wax you suggested. :)
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The box elder inlays are bulletproof. Get mine wet, dirty, oily, wash with soap, no issues whatsoever. They don't even scratch due to the hardness of the maple.

Any worry about using a box elder as an EDC is unfounded, there is no issue with these inlays.
 
EyeDog said:
Just call CRK and ask about changing the blade. They are very good about answering questions on the phone.

I have several Box Elder knives and love them. I use them a lot. Never do anything to them but wipe off with WD40.
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I did a re-blade before so I am familiar with the process. I just wanted to see which would be more suitable for the inlays... I think I might go with the Ladder if I decide to go with the re-blade...

I hate WD40 on anything that I would constantly handle though.. :) I know CRK uses WD40 on the Ti slabs after assembly, so there's that... :)
 
Another plug for the Ren wax. The burled wood is infused with a resin to stabilize it, so your safe. It may darken a bit from hand oils, but that will only make the red pop more. As for damascus, I think this knife is a great candidate for the current Pebble Beach style of Raindrop that they're using.
 
Some wood is stabilized some wood is not, as our friend Lone_Wolf points out any burl wood will be stabilised as the grain is all over the place and the piece would be prone to warping and/or cracking over time if left natural. ("stabilized" wood is impregnated with resin of some sort under strong vacume conditions)......I suppose it's a bit like "false fossilisation", but rather than the wood petrifying to mineral componants it's turned into a lump of wooden plastic. :D

Any wax or oil will gloss the surface but nothing is "going in" so it will stay much as it is for the life of that knife, even if you do use it a pocket polish/tumble looks ok too. :)

That knife would indeed be a great one for some loose raindrop patterend damascus. :thumbup:
 
20150511_213935 by brw713, on Flickr

On this I think, because of the randomness of the burl, that the raindrop would look good. Maybe photoshop one of each onto yours....

BTW - Beautiful knife!
 
Another vote for ren wax, it's good stuff! I have two box elder sebenzas, and the wood holds up well in my use as mentioned above.
I think it would look great with ladder:)
 
I got the ebony wood version . Because it matched the wood on my guitars fingerboard . The guitar is 12 years old with lots of playing time . The ebony still looks great . Although I don't have very acidic sweat . I have some guitar fingerboard conditioner but I rarely use it because it leaves an oily residue. So I figure my ebony inserts will hold up just as well .
 
Think of this in terms of a violin maybe. There a more than a few being played now that are some 400 years old at least, and many of them have been used their entire lives. The ebony fingerboards get ground for hours by vibrating strings, and the spruce and maple, sometimes willow, are exposed to sweat, dings, drops, etc. Well chosen, well prepared wood is amazingly tough. We are too used to thinking of these thing in terms of the cheap crap products of wood that we seen in our time that were thrown together from whatever poorly prepared wood is cheapest and most available.

These wood inlays, so perfectly fitted into their inlays and backed by titanium, will last forever if used well and cared for even a little bit.
 
Officer's Match said:
So what about ivory/bark inlays, is Renaissance Wax good for them too?
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Yes. I called and asked specifically about Mammoth. They said to use Ren Wax for the ivory inlays, nothing more. From some internet searches, I learned that museums use it for ivory as well. And we all know that if it's on the internet it's true.
 
Does anybody know if gabon ebony is stabilized or if every wood they CRK uses is stabilized. I think all the inlays must be stabilized
 
Trident777 said:
Does anybody know if gabon ebony is stabilized or if every wood they CRK uses is stabilized. I think all the inlays must be stabilized
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Gabon ebony doesn't lend itself to stabilisation. It's just too dense. This also means it doesn't need it.
 
As I understand it the naturally oily woods are not stabilized as they are "stable" enough. IIRC rose wood and ebony would fall into that list, I'm not too sure of the others. :)

Trident777 said:
Does anybody know if gabon ebony is stabilized or if every wood they CRK uses is stabilized. I think all the inlays must be stabilized
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Corskin said:
Yes. I called and asked specifically about Mammoth. They said to use Ren Wax for the ivory inlays, nothing more. From some internet searches, I learned that museums use it for ivory as well. And we all know that if it's on the internet it's true.
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Thanks, I'm going to have a need for that information soon. :)
 
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