Need some wood ideas

[Sando]

I like building japanese petty knives with Wa handles. They are super useful and easy to handle for most folks.

I have people ask for one of these, but they are on a budget.

I know traditional handles are magnolia. But they are also replaceable and not expected to last. Most US knife users are not going to replace a handle.

What's a good idea for an inexpensive wood that's going to hold up?

Greenburg has Banksia. It looks good, pretty darned inexpensive. But, will it last for years of kitchen use?

 

[Alex Topfer]

Is it banksia wood or the seed pod? I think banksia wood might be too soft as is, but would be fine if stabilised.
My answer here in Melbourne would be recycled ironbark, which i think are a pest over there in California?
Otherwise have a look at a recycled wood shop, see what they have

 

[Bühlmann]

What about African Blackwood? Greenberg has unfinished blocks for good prices in bulk.

 

[Alex Topfer]

Never used it, I don't trust there to be sustainable harvesting of it. Plus i don't see a need to import obnoxiously hard wood when i live in Australia

 

[Bühlmann]

Never used it, I don't trust there to be sustainable harvesting of it. Plus i don't see a need to import obnoxiously hard wood when i live in Australia

I don't know if you were just being smart or not, but I was offering African Blackwood as an answer to the OP since he asked for wood ideas. I've used it for a Wa-style handle and I think it turned out very nice. It's a dense, naturally oily wood with interlocking grain that is stable and is very easy to work with IMO. It may not be the aesthetic that fits all situations or customers, but there can be some variation in shades of black/brown in many pieces much like ebony.

 

[Alex Topfer]

Oops, my brain just read your profile photos as the same. Sorry

 

[Bühlmann]

Oops, my brain just read your profile photos as the same. Sorry

No worries, mate!

 

[Lorien]

I like building japanese petty knives with Wa handles. They are super useful and easy to handle for most folks.

I have people ask for one of these, but they are on a budget.

I know traditional handles are magnolia. But they are also replaceable and not expected to last. Most US knife users are not going to replace a handle.

What's a good idea for an inexpensive wood that's going to hold up?

Greenburg has Banksia. It looks good, pretty darned inexpensive. But, will it last for years of kitchen use?

have you considered lignum vitae?

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

For good looking and hard working wa handles try:
Ziricote
Wenge
African Blackwood

I have a bunch of ziricote and wenge handle blanks. Shoot me an email or PM.

 

[Cushing H.]

If the op is looking for inexpensive options, what about ash? Or slightly more expensive, black walnut

 

[Sando]

Is it banksia wood or the seed pod? I think banksia wood might be too soft as is, but would be fine if stabilised.
My answer here in Melbourne would be recycled ironbark, which i think are a pest over there in California?
Otherwise have a look at a recycled wood shop, see what they have

Alex, if ironnbark is what we call Eucalyptus then yes! It's a pest in my area! (central coast) It grows fast, replicates fast, sheds fast and kills everything under it. It's not a pest in Melbourne?

We have lots of Live Oak and Coastal Oak on my property. But the wood grain is wavy and porous. It's only good for firewood. I like the recycled wood shop idea! I'll look around.

 

[Sando]

Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith , I've used wenge and actually own a Japanese made knife with it. For some reason, it doesn't float my boat. As I recall it splinters easily while working.

African Blackwood is a good idea too. I like that stuff.

I love the Ziricote idea and the offer.

 

[Richard338]

African Blackwood is the best.

 

[Greenberg Woods]

African blackwood or bulk cocobolo both work. The Stabilized banksia wood will also work.

If they don't need to match you could also get the mystery boxes. Woods like teak burl, Stab acacia, hond rose, bocote and the like are currently in the lineup.

 

[A.McPherson]

Ziricote is beautiful, but why choose just one? Do a three piece handle and use up some smaller scraps depending on what you have around...

Maybe a micarta "frame" with some hardwood "slabs" of some kind. More than one way to skin a cat! Or use up scraps for that matter!

 

[Cushing H.]

Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith , I've used wenge and actually own a Japanese made knife with it. For some reason, it doesn't float my boat. As I recall it splinters easily while working.

African Blackwood is a good idea too. I like that stuff.

I love the Ziricote idea and the offer.

I actually kind of like wedge. Yes, it’s a pain to work (splinters), but if you go slow and careful, it is ok … and when you get to the finer grits is is fine and finishes nicely. I just got some back from stabilizing, and hope that will both help how it works and bump up the finish a little

There is not a lot of choice for really dark/black woods, and we he is one of them..

 

[Alex Topfer]

Alex, if ironnbark is what we call Eucalyptus then yes! It's a pest in my area! (central coast)

It's a specific species of eucalyptus. Having a look it looks like you have blue gum, river red gum, forest red gum, and sugar gum over there. All should be decent choices, with blue gum the worst, the red gums can have really nice colour. You may need to season them, if you do allow for cracks.

Maybe a micarta "frame" with some hardwood "slabs" of some kind

I've done that a few times, it's a nice effect

 

[nhobo]

After finding out how exotic woods are harvested I stopped using them.

I would stick with the harder domestic woods like Desert Ironwood, Honey Mesquite, Southern Chestnut, Hickory, Birdseye Maple, and Honey Locust. Sometimes you can find domestic Osage Orange. Boxwood is really nice but grows really slowly and it's difficult to find large pieces, chess pieces were often made of this.

Cherry and Black Walnut are nice but considerably softer (especially walnut). American Sycamore often has beautifully figured grain. I would avoid open grain woods like Oak and Ash.

 

[Taz]

Maple, Cherry, Walnut all do pretty well with a good finish applied to them. I do several layers of 100% Tung Oil, but other finishes like Tru Oil or the doctored Tung or Danish oil from hardware stores can work too. They are thinner and have chemical driers added, so sometimes I use those for the initial few coats to get good penetration into the wood and then do the thicker pure Tung oil or Tru Oil for the last few coats.

Oily woods like bocote, ziricote, rosewoods or ironwood are nice, too. African Blackwood is a sensitizer, so it will make any wood allergies worse. Kauri was a really beautiful wood, too. It was super light, sanded down well and had an iridescent shimmer to it after oiling. It is soft, but most people won't wear out a handle or have one rot out as long as they clean and dry it properly. Wa handles do not need to be super hard woods, just stable and durable after finishing. I made some nice ones with sycamore, too.

You can easily make a slabbed handle using a frame and then handle scales, just make sure the scales are dried well and finish them properly! Woodcraft turning pieces are nice, but often still wet since they are waxed over. The flat boards are usually much drier and ready to go. Micarta or G10 is another way to go, especially with a frame handle! Acrylics should work well, but can chip or crack if dropped.

I prefer stabilized woods for handle materials. They often have a nicer figure, but cost a bit more for the materials. Some customers may plan on getting a high end fancy handle for their knife down the road, which is good to know! Or have them get their own handle and send it to you. There are lots of places selling custom handles and more simple ones in bulk, too.

 

[Phydeaux]

I've done some spatulas with ipe. Grain doesn't have too much character. They get run thru the dish washer and seem to hold up well. i little mineral oil keeps it looking nice.

Osage orange is nice. It tends to darken with age. I have several pocket knives with osage orange scales. Some of the pieces have beautiful grain. You need to be careful when you work it, it tends to burn easily. One of my favorites.