Poplar for Handle Material

Stark Knives

Stark Knives

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Mar 19, 2010
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I found a piece of poplar lumber at Home Depot that has wonderful grain. Can I use that as handle scales?
 
Poplar is pretty soft for a knife handle, and has little natural resistance to moisture. If properly stabilized or sealed it could make a serviceable handle but it seems like a strange choice to me, in regards to both appearance and stability/durability.
 
I haven't found any poplar that would be hard/durable enough for knife handles. It would be easy to shape and sand - and could probably be brought to a nice finish - but when you started using it, it would get dinged up, dented and scratched very quickly.

TedP
 
I actually do use poplar for knife handles, but only on test knives or prototypes.
I like it for that use because it is inexpensive, quick and easy to mill/finish and easy to remove and change if I want to later.

I agree with the above posters, though. It is much to soft for general use long term. It does get dinged up and scratched very easily.

Brome
 
Poplar isn't really much good for knife handles, as it is too soft. It works well for making wooden sheath liners and covering them with leather. I often make shira-saya from poplar.
 
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This is rainbow poplar. It is a tree I cut for firewood a couple years ago. It is about the same density as black walnut. It is quite a bit harder than a lot of wood that is called poplar. There are numerous varieties of poplar in North America, and some are quite dense.
 
The poplar from home depot is definately not ment for knife handles as it is very soft. It is not much harder than pine.
 
It would be nice if they used the Latin name of the wood in the hardware store wouldn't it? I have 4 different types trees growing within 1 mile of me that are "poplar." They vary from balsa wood density, up to the wood in this scale above. I was shocked when I saw the wood when I cut the tree. I later found its often used for wood turning, and even is available pre cut for knife scales. I like to use local, as in cut by me, whenever I can.

http://stores.ebay.ca/AppalachianArtisanWoodCo/SPALTED-YELLOW-TULIP-POPLAR-/_i.html?_fsub=2033424015
 
Just to throw in my 2 cents.
You can use anything as handle material.
But.....
The thumbnail test will give you an idea whether the wood will become dented and dinged up with use.
A good finish on dry wood will help to prevent or limit cracking and warping.
 
Willie, I am interested in how you can tell the different varieties out, I've not run into poplar looking like that when chopping wood or sctioning pieces for carving. Is it a readily visible difference. Grew up my whole life in Sturgeon County- Kimura Lake/Redwater, so I want to know what I'm missing!!
 
I live in Sturgeon County!!! I'm 5 miles west of Morinville. The wood is double the weight you would expect from poplar. From what I read, its minerals in the soil that stain the wood. I'll post pics of some stumps I am drying right now. The color doesn't come out as strong until it gets oiled, but it looks like satin walnut pre-oiling. I am using a custom mix of 4 oil based finishes similar to danish oil. The handles feel like soap stone when finished, but never get a full gloss.
 
Nice handle wood on that knife, Willie.
From what I have read and seen down at the sawyer, rainbow poplar is just a term for a mineral streaked piece of Liriodendron tulipifera - AKA yellow or tulip poplar.
While different names are used, poplar is poplar...which is why it is such a popular ( pun intended) wood for cabinet and furniture makers.

The rainbow poplar I have seen has been streaked with blue-grey colored stripes that ran along the grain.
I can't say why your piece is so hard, but wood from stumps and crotches is often many times harder than the rest of the same tree. The twisting grain tends to make me think this piece came from near the rootball section of a stump. These areas also have a darker and more involved pattern of colors. Buckeye burl greatly displays this.
 
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If you like the grain, just get it stabilized - it makes almost any wood usable...
 
bladsmth said:
Nice handle wood on that knife, Willie.
From what I have read and seen down at the sawyer, rainbow poplar is just a term for a mineral streaked piece of Liriodendron tulipifera - AKA yellow or tulip poplar.
While different names are used, poplar is poplar...which is why it is source a popular ( pun intended) wood for cabinet and furniture makers.

The rainbow poplar I have seen has been streaked with blue-grey colored stripes that ran along the grain.
I can't say why your piece is so hard, but wood from stumps and crotches is often many times harder than the rest of the same tree. The twisting grain tends to make me think this piece came from near the rootball section of a stump. These areas also have a darker and more involved pattern of colors. Buckeye burl greatly displays this.
Click to expand...

The stained part of the tree seems to be only the bottom 1/3 pf the trees I've cut. They are typically in lower areas, where they grow slower than the trees even a few meters away. Some of the trees are only 8-10" in diameter, where adjacent trees are 16-18" in diameter. It is not tulip poplar. This tree does not flower, does not produce the fluff that is associated with poplar. The leaves are larger, darker, and glossier than aspen, which is one of the other forms of poplar I have access to. My dad planted them as windbreak in 1977, and they are starting to die off. These are the ones I am cutting. I asked him and he remembers the name Baron Poplar, but I can't find any reference to it. He suspects it is a hybrid.
 
Japanese kitchen knives use poplar wood. But that's a whole diff beast then what you are after. I wouldn't use it on a edc type knife for the reasons listed above
 
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Its easy to see the staining in the wood once cut. The pieces here are 35 year old trees. I did some searching on my break today, and the trees are actually a cottonwood hybrid, but called Griffin Poplar, AKA Brooks Poplar. The Tulip Poplar isn't actually poplar, but is called poplar in its common name. The cottonwood is actually poplar. The density is quite variable, and the non stunted trees would fit in the range of specific density according to the charts. These are quite a bit more dense, and are closer to the Black Walnut I mentioned before. These trees burn hot, almost as hot as Birch. I have a bunch of box elder aka manitoba maple cut as well. I need to look for figured pieces.

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Ignore the lousy steel work. The wood polishes nicely. The second and 4th handles are from these trees. It looks glossier than it really is, as the wax is still damp, and the flash overexposed the pic a bit.
 
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Thanks for the picture, I've seen that look in a fair bit of wood, just never thought about it as knife handles. We used to cook on a wood stove for the large majority of the time, so I've cut a fair bit of fallen poplar. Those pieces are harder to split with my 8# hewing axe. What type of soil were they in, near slough or sandhills?
 
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