Old snowboard for scales?

As strange as it sounds at first, I could actually see this being somewhat cool, if I recall many modern snowboards use stacked wood, metal, and composite, so you could get sort of a stacked liner effect if it was the right board.

I would say yes and no, depending on the board.
 
Go for it! Show the rest of us how cool this idea really is. There's certainly no shortage of snowboards and skis at thrift shops.
 
Wiki says beech, poplar, bamboo, or birch are the most common types of wood and are usually laminated with fiberglass. So kind of a mixed bag. I bet someone would want it though just because of what its made of. Especially a snow hippy if you tell em its recycled snowboards.
 
That was the main reason I made the exception... I've seen higher end ones with exotic laminates, which I would suspect would make a pretty darn cool knife scale to be completely honest.

Usually I'm a bit cynical about the "can I use this for this?" threads, but this is actually a pretty good one.
 
Thank you very much for this example - I guess I didn't try hard enough to search.
I actually cut the board up (cheap thriftshop impulse buy) to see what it was made of, and it looks like a sandwich. The thin top decorated layer looks like fiberglass, the inner core is stacked wood, and the bottom layer is slick plasticy stuff. The wood doesn't look too attractive, but perhaps some creative shaping and paint will help.
I was wondering how well the bottom plastic layer (after roughening a bit) will epoxy to steel, or should I sand that layer off?
Great comments from everyone -- many thanks.
 
Right! Those were my exact thoughts. "Recycled" or "Upcycled" or "Repurposed" - can't go wrong with those buzzwords.
 
I question how many snowboarders want high-end knives, and vice versa.
 
james terrio said:
I question how many snowboarders want high-end knives, and vice versa.
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I'm going to guess not many, with funds already going towards boarding,its not a cheap sport/hobby.

On the flip side however, if its a good looking knife and the rest is made out of good materials, you may hit a different crowd with it.
 
Here is my thought process as to if snowboarders would want a high end knife or not. What would a snowboarder need a knife for? Most snowboarders board at a ski lodge or other mountain area where there is quick access to aid in case of an emergency so they don't really have a use for a knife and would be silly to carry one while boarding down a mountain. Boarders in the back country MAY need a knife in case of an avalanche or sudden weather that prevents them from getting out from where they are. If they want a knife for back country boarding are they going to want a high end knife that may get damaged or lost in the back country, especially while boarding? I doubt it. Most likely they will want a production knife that costs them less than 50 bucks. Also recycling, reusing, and re purposing are all great things. I do it as a part of my life style, that being said I would be wary of buying a expensive hand made custom with "recycled" handle material. Just .02 cents.
 
use corbies for the scales.
I'd like it if you can still see the colours of the snowboard. Show what it is.
Some sculpting might let you play with the colour.
Since you have it, just go for it :)
 
You guys are talking like 'snowboarders' are a certain type of person. Maybe in 1993. A person who snowboards may not need a knife specifically for the hill, but I'm sure he/she could use it day to day like the rest of us (me being a snowboarding knifemaker). The mountains are full of people from every age and day job these days.
 
I agree with my northern counterpart Mark here. I know another maker who is an avid snowboarder, Kirby Lambert.
 
I'm from the north. I was an Outdoor Recreation major. My sister lives in Montana where there are people out on the mountains all the time. Most people out there, resort hill or back country, don't have a knife. They don't think they need one because they don't think they will be out there for more than a few hours. Yes there are a lot more back country skiers and snowboarders. Yes more of them are realizing that they should be prepared. These facts still don't mean that they are going to want an expensive hand made custom knife. If I were out in the back country boarding, aka breaking my ankles cause I suck, I wouldn't bring my nice knife. I'd bring my crappy production para frame. It's light and reliable. I was not trying to generalize snowboarders. I am simply talking through the experiences that I have had with them over many years.

On a completely different note. I don't think that the board will keep its paint when you are going to shape the handle, unless you are going to completely keep the scales flat and un touched which would be uncomfortable in the hand. I cant imagine the fiberglass coating is thick enough to shape with out touching the paint on the board, and once you are past that it looks a lot like particle board. It IS a great idea. You are obviously thinking about how to market to a crowd. That's good. I just don't see it working out with this exact example.
 
You know what I meant :rolleyes: :p

There's only one way to find out. Make one, run it up the flagpole and see who salutes.
 
I think it would be pretty cool. just grind the wood down as much as needed and do as little to the top fiberglass layer as possible. I know a few snowboarders who are into a lot of outdoors stuff and do a lot of hiking, camping, kayaking etc when it's not snowboard season. Probably don't want to make skinners or bowies out of it but EDCs or camp knives might make sense.
 
MarkJeffrey said:
You guys are talking like 'snowboarders' are a certain type of person. Maybe in 1993. A person who snowboards may not need a knife specifically for the hill, but I'm sure he/she could use it day to day like the rest of us (me being a snowboarding knifemaker). The mountains are full of people from every age and day job these days.
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Agreed. also all of the skiers/ snowboarders I know are actually into pricey high end gear ...its kind of like a high end sport.

Snowboard scales coul be a cool use of a broken board, although I dont think they break too easy.
 
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