Need wood handle material, opinions

robertmegar

robertmegar

Joined
May 3, 2005
Messages
959
Hi all! I have a three color mokume for the bolster and need a nice wood scale to match. At first I thought of using mammoth ivory but that got really expensive and hard to find in my needed size..... so I have settled with the idea of using a nice burl wood. The mokume is birdseye so I want something with lots of eyes and burls. I like thuya and ambonya woods but they vary a lot from supplier to supplier so thats why I come here for help.

Which wood would go nicely with tri-color mokume?

Where to get nice burl woods? Thuya, Ambonya?
 
I've found that a nice birdseye maple will create a nice flow from mokume bolster to handle material. The birdseye maple will have a nice light tan to gold color that will not fight the mokume.
 
Possibly no color or pattern type of wood, like ebony.
 
if you go to AKS you can see all the blocks you want before you buy so you know just what your gettign
 
What immediately comes to mind (in no specific order) are:

- Redwood burl
- Yellow Malee Burl
- Stabilized Box Elder Burl

Although Im' kind of with Kerry. I tend to like a solid matched with a pattern. Sometimes too much pattern gets too busy IMHO.

-d
 
I like African Blackwood better that Ebony. I think the black would look COOOOL with it.:cool: Have had better luck with the Blackwood.:thumbup:
 
Gotta agree with George. Unlike Ebony, blackwood doesn't crack, check or split when you stare at it too hard:D And even though it may have brown streeks when you cut it or sand it, it will go black pretty much like ebony after it has been exposed to air for a while if you rub a little linseed oil on it.
 
How bout flame koa.

Koa1.jpg
 
Let me get some pics of the mokume up, maybe tomorrow. The idea of using blackwood sounds good too, maybe be a nice match up. Thanks for all the suggestions so far.
 
I like rosewood burl. I used that in my wedding ring. Ambonya is nice stuff too. There's a lot of those great types of wood used in pen turning, so suppliers for those have it too.
 
Amboyna and Thuya are two of my top ten, but for highly figured woods, have you considered..

Afzelia
Honduras Rosewood Burl ( Intense eyes! )
French Walnut Burl
English Wych Elm
Redwood Lace Burl



We'll have to wait for you to hit us up with some pics before we can really start a war of suggestions...

**Chants-- Rosewood Burl ! , Rosewood Burl ! , Rosewood Burl ! **
;)
 
Truth is , any of these suggestions would create a stunning handle. It is hard for us to tell you what you will like. I agree with IG that blackwood would be nice. I make a lot of mokume hardeware, and with too much burl it tends to get lost. Dark or light colors will make the mokume stand out. Light and Neutral browns tend to blend with the mokume. High burl and figure will keep the eye off the mokume. I have mokume knives with stunning handles that I have to point out the mokume to the customer.
Stacy
 
Here's some Rosewood Burl. I do wood inlays in titanium rings. This is the ring I wear when I go anywhere. Check out how tight the pattern is.

rosewoodburl.jpg


I recently asked around on a pen forum for people to send me some nice burls in exchange for rings, and another wood that really surprised me is Red Oak Burl. It had great lines that would show up better in a larger piece. This is in a black zirconium ring.

zircwood.jpg
 
That is amazing work to do inlays that small.:eek: How in the world does it stay looking good with sweaty, goopy, glommy finger juices all over them for years?:confused:
 
They are coated in acrylic (CA), so they actually hold up pretty well. I've worn an African Olivewood one for a couple years, and it still looks like new.
 
btboone said:
I recently asked around on a pen forum for people to send me some nice burls in exchange for rings
Click to expand...

Man, I wish somebody would ask me for stuff like that! I'd find some nice burls for sure! :)

Awesome work on the inlaid rings....very nice indeed.

-d
 
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