Not many oak handles?

for the most part oak is plain, and very open grained. Since I started using WSSI though I've started using more of it. That and digging through the firewood pile. Of course the majority goes rite back into the firewood pile. I've got some great looking burls and crotch cuts that you'd never guess were oak, or that came from the wood pile. Including some spalted pecan from the root ball that was a Katrina victim. The only down side is that even after stabilizing it's a good idea to seal with something during final finish to fill the open grain or pores.
 
Another option which I like very much would be what we call "Mooreiche", oak that has been in a moor or a swamp for some centuries.

Not so easy to come by though. Here an example:
 

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Will52100 said:
digging through the firewood pile.
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Ha ! :D Funny to hear the firewood quote Will. I had the same problem. It got so bad this past winter I started to see a knife handle in almost every block I threw into the stove ;)

I had to force myself to stop looking :rolleyes: :)

rabbithunter said:
Another option which I like very much would be what we call "Mooreiche", oak that has been in a moor or a swamp for some centuries.
Not so easy to come by though. Here an example:
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WOW ! Bee-u-t-ful handle & knife rabbit hunter :thumbup: :thumbup:

Is the black color due to the swamp or has that been dyed ?



Here are pics of a knife I made using some Curly White Oak, wssi stabilized with several coats of tru-oil.
Nice tight curl to it, but subtle. Not the kind of pattern that jumps out at you. I think it's a material you appreciate more after a close look .

curlywhiteoak2.jpg


curlywhiteoak3.jpg


curlywhiteoak1.jpg



:thumbup:
 
rabbithunter said:
The oak comes in shades from light grey to deep black. This handle ist not dyed, it has seen only some oil for the finish.

Uli
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I read in a recent AGRussell catalog (IIRC) about some oak handles that were treated with ammonia fumes to mimic that "swamp" effect. They looked pretty cool but I don't really know the whole process. I imagine it would take a while.
 
James_Terrio said:
I read in a recent AGRussell catalog (IIRC) about some oak handles that were treated with ammonia fumes to mimic that "swamp" effect. They looked pretty cool but I don't really know the whole process. I imagine it would take a while.
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Works overnight. Just make a chamber put a dish of amonia in there and the wood also. Neato.
 
The black/grey oak is called Bog Oak, moor oak, mooreiche, etc. It is colored and chemically changed by being in the peat layers of a swamp or bog over time.The traditional Scottish Sgian Dubh and Dirk handles are from bog oak. Some bog oak has been submerged for 30-50 years old, and others for many hundreds of years. It is often just the stumps that are found, as the main tree rotted away long ago, leaving the roots and stump in the peat. The color deepens with age. Now days, African Blackwood is the usual wood found on these knives. I have been told by those who know that a lot what is sold as "bog oak" is just black dyed live oak. The real stuff is stunning.
Stacy
 
Thats a good tutorial. Remember that for knife handle sized pieces you could have the amonia in a saucer and also a few handle blocks stickered all contained in a common disposable touperware.
 
PB Wilson said:
Here's a link to a tutorial using diluted ammonia. The high-potency ammonia used in some tutorials is a far cry from window cleaner and pretty nasty stuff.

http://www.codesmiths.com/shed/workshop/techniques/oakfuming/
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Very good point. That's a cool tutorial with good safety info in it. :thumbup:

I used to work in a chemical plant and among other duties, would off-load, drum up and gallon off anhydrous ammonia. Suffice to say, you don't want to mess with it. The diluted household stuff is much easier to deal with, but still no joke.

Anyone remember the episode of King of the Hill where the mom published household hints for the local paper? She came up with the great idea of mixing ammonia and bleach for a super cleaner... DON'T DO THAT!

:D
 
Sawce said:
Here's a pic of an oak burl this guy was trying to sell me but he wants 500 bucks.

download.jpg
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What size is that burl. It's hard to tell from the photo, but I'm thinking that $500 would be a steal, if it has any size to it at all!!
 
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