non stabilized maple

D

dfarm

Joined
Feb 21, 2008
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350
I have a couple of chunks of non stabilized maple, and a cleaver that needs new handle slabs. Is it a bad idea to use the wood I have to make handles?

For a finish I was thinking about a stain and then some food grade mineral oil like you would use on a butcher block, does this sound about right?

Thanks
 
If the maple is solid I dont see an issue. It will need care, I prefer stabilized. I would go with a more durable finish like tung oil, boiled linseed oil or other oil that can penitrate and harden. Mineral oil on a surface grain really does not add much protection.
 
Non-stabilized maple might have a tendency to expand/contract a bit with changing weather. Not bad, but it is possible. Other than adding that, I agree with what brother Patrickknives said above.

Robert
 
Non stabilized maple will want to move ina kitchen enviorment.Use corby bolts and a quality epoxy for the best hold.I also agree that tung or danish oil would be a better finish.
Stan
 
Ok, so I will use one of the oils suggested. Is one better than the other? Will there be any issues using the cleaver around food after the handle has been treated with either of these oils?

I'll probably post pics up here when I get ready to cut my blocks out to get suggestions on cutting them out so they are book matched.

Thanks again!
 
"Permalyn Sealer" will soak in deep, seal and finish with 2 to 3 coats. Dries very hard and tough.
 
I finally got a leather project out of the way so I could work on this one. It turned out pretty well for my second attempt at making wood scales. I ended up just pinning the scales on, as the guy I am doing this for didn't want to spend money on ordering some Corby bolts and a step drill bit for me. I used devcon 2 ton epoxy to glue the scales on and the pins in and made an epoxy pin of sorts between the two brass pins to try to give it some grip other than just surface to surface. A couple of pin holes, and a couple of bigger holes showed up as I was shaping the scales after they were glued up, so I used some epoxy to fill them in. I sanded the scales up through 600 and finished with a few coats of tung oil.

Here's pics, let me know what you think.
photobucket-16299-1325364804950.jpg

photobucket-22800-1325364774777.jpg

photobucket-16298-1325364837642.jpg
 
Nice handle, and great figure on that maple.
If you round the corners you'll see the striping a bit on the spine too.

I have a couple knives with unstablized maple on them, and the wood has shrunk slightly. It is finished with Tru-Oil. I don't know how far it will go, but am keeping an eye on it. The tang of the knives are now a bit proud of the wood.

I have 4 such knives, two each from two different blocks of wood (incl. the one currently in my avatar). The piece that came here (New England) this summer from humid Virginia seems to have contracted a bit more than the block that's been in the basement for a couple years, which I cut from a firewood log. Going back and sanding the tang edges down carefully would probably make them look really close to mated again.

-Daizee
 
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