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Its stabilized, then loaded with numerous coats of super glue. While this one is satin finished the whole surface
is uniformly smooth. The knife is a swayback.
Ken.
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Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
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Pros and Cons of Red Oak
- Thread starter Brock Cutlery
- Start date
Its stabilized, then loaded with numerous coats of super glue. While this one is satin finished the whole surface
is uniformly smooth. The knife is a swayback.
Ken.
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- Dec 27, 2013
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- 2,670
I recently pulled apart an old english dresser! Guess who has 150 year old english oak now!
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And Brock, if you want to see all the options for handles and how stabalized wood handles "and check out my shop set up" Im in town for about another week and a half. Im over by UCLA. It might be a bit of a trek but I have a lot of stuff to see. Shoot me a PM
I've used a decent amount of red oak for handles, I stumbled across some really nice crotch pieces a few years ago. Once the handle was shaped and polished, I soaked it in thinned boiled linseed oil until it would absorb no more... I let the oil polymerize for a few weeks, then coated it with wax. It has held up well.
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I appreciate the offer Ben. I've been eyeing one of your redwood blocks this week. Can't make up my mind. It would be interesting to see your shop but I don't know if I can find some time this week.
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I have an in shop discount
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Don, greetings... K & G ? we have some Osage and some Apple we need stabilized. How do I find their info? You could PM me.... Thanks...
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Knife & Gun Finishing Supplies. One of the oldest knife making supply companies out there and the best place to have stuff stabilized.
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I have to update this post. (No way has it been a year...)
I sent this off to K and G for stabilization just to see how it would come out. I have to say K and G are great to work with. They called me when my wood got there and discussed the various options and what I wanted to do. This for 4 pieces of oak. Great service! If you have a hankering to stabilize some blocks I can't recommend them enough.
Anyways, these came back and I sanded to 1200 grit and buffed quickly just to get an idea how the wood might look on a handle. It is very interesting.
There is a ton of character in this stuff, and quite good contrast. It does show pores as some have noted here, so CA finish is likely the best bet, then buff.
I have a 52100 Gyuto to finish up and am seriously considering using this oak with perhaps African blackwood as a bolster.
The grain on top/bottom is different from this side view. You can see it in my first post. So on a rounded Wa handle the transition should be a very interesting characteristic.
Thoughts?
I sent this off to K and G for stabilization just to see how it would come out. I have to say K and G are great to work with. They called me when my wood got there and discussed the various options and what I wanted to do. This for 4 pieces of oak. Great service! If you have a hankering to stabilize some blocks I can't recommend them enough.
Anyways, these came back and I sanded to 1200 grit and buffed quickly just to get an idea how the wood might look on a handle. It is very interesting.
There is a ton of character in this stuff, and quite good contrast. It does show pores as some have noted here, so CA finish is likely the best bet, then buff.
I have a 52100 Gyuto to finish up and am seriously considering using this oak with perhaps African blackwood as a bolster.
The grain on top/bottom is different from this side view. You can see it in my first post. So on a rounded Wa handle the transition should be a very interesting characteristic.
Thoughts?
My experience with red oak is from a wood turning perspective. When I use an air hose to blow dust off of a bowl I've turned I can blow the dust and air through the annual rings on the side of the bowl. A you-tube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6t2AZubF8U demonstrates how red oak readily absorbs water while white does not.
I think that the very porous nature of red oak makes it more susceptible to coming apart at the annual rings when turning a bowl made from it, especially when a gouge or other tool catches and digs in while it is spinning. This makes it a little more exciting to turn a bowel from red oak.
Because of its absorbent nature I think it would be a good idea to stabilize red oak for long-term durability and to strengthen it at the annual rings.
- Paul Meske, Chippewa Falls, WI
I think that the very porous nature of red oak makes it more susceptible to coming apart at the annual rings when turning a bowl made from it, especially when a gouge or other tool catches and digs in while it is spinning. This makes it a little more exciting to turn a bowel from red oak.
Because of its absorbent nature I think it would be a good idea to stabilize red oak for long-term durability and to strengthen it at the annual rings.
- Paul Meske, Chippewa Falls, WI
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I appreciate the info Paul. I like understanding the details. Do you turn stabilized wood? It's been 15 years since I turned anything on a wood lathe.
I put the handle together today using this piece and I am absolutely thrilled with it. I love using local woods.
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This wood is great! 
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- Jun 17, 2015
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I like using things I find in my normal environment. So I have plenty of the normal Florida hardwoods. I milled out some big red oak planks for bench tops in my shop. They shrank like crazy and also cupped so in large pieces I would say Red Oak in Florida is not too "stable." Tough and straight grain though. Live oak is far stronger but it twists and warps as it dries. However as you drive around Florida, you will see the skeletons of live oaks that have been dead for years. That stuff is HARD. I get into the roots of those dead trees and find some interesting grain. I sent some off to a professional stabilizer who generously offered to test it for me. It would not take up any resin. I just fill the cracks with G Flex and go with it. So far so good.
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That sounds pretty cool. Do you have pics?