Public service announcement for owners of natural handle materials.....

Walking Man

Walking Man

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Joined
May 28, 2003
Messages
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I know there's a lot of new folks out there, picking up some very nice extravaganza items.
Please consider this a public service announcement......
Use a little mineral oil (or other oil or stuff), about once every two years or other products OR the natural materials will shrink!
I don't think the natural material Jerry uses are stabilized, but I've never really checked either.
This includes:
Any Bone....
any horn, or.... antler.... ram's sheep's buffalo, stag, etc.
AND SOME WOOD too! (stabilized wood will not shrink)
If you don't have mineral oil, make sure what you use will fit the intended purpose. Check the Himalayan imports for more info, as there is or was much discussion concerning this.
Enjoy your knives!
 
As good as natural handles look...they just can't hold up like micarta or g10. That is why they never appealed to me, actually it was a HI Khuk that really reinforced this. It split in half on me......
 
Advice that came with my HI 15" Ang Khola Khukuri...

Wood handles - boiled linseed oil

Horn handles - commerical hoof lubricant, sold at feed and grain stores

Leather sheaths - Kiwi shoe polish
 
I would be very surprised if Jerry didn’t use stabilized woods for his handles. The wood handles I have seen looked like they had been stabilized.
Ironwood does not need it. It is so dense that the resins don’t penetrate much anyway.
Horn and Ivory Definitely need a little mineral oil on them once a year if they have not been stabilized.

Can anybody confirm or deny if Busse wood is Stabilized or not?
 
The materials used in the last couple of Ganzaas are all stablized (I asked the shop). Don't know about older Custom Shop knives.

Greg
 
Certain woods are dense enough and oily enough that they don't need to be oiled, such as Ebony, Ironwood, and Quince. I'm not sure about which others don't need to be oiled.
 
I am pretty sure that natural stuff that Busse has been putting out are stabilized. Stuff like bone are quite fragile if not first stabilized before working.

Knowing Jerry and his tendency to overbuild stuff... I highly doubt that he will let this simple but important step slip by.
 
Ban said:
I am pretty sure that natural stuff that Busse has been putting out are stabilized. Stuff like bone are quite fragile if not first stabilized before working.

Knowing Jerry and his tendency to overbuild stuff... I highly doubt that he will let this simple but important step slip by.
Click to expand...
I'm not so sure about the buffalo horn and stag. I don't think most knifemakers stabilize those. Maybe they don't take the process very well?
I don't know, I'd call the shop before making any assumptions.
 
I don't currently own any wood handled Busse's and the ones that have been part of my home were safe queens.

For unfinished wood, like the trim on a canoe, we always used linseed oil. On my sailboat, it was teak oil.

This would be a great Blue Label question...
 
FWIW I was asking a custom knife-maker about natural handle materials recently and he said ALL natural materials are prone to shrinkage/cracking whether stabilised or not (in other words, he couldn't guarantee any of them).

That being said he rated desert ironwood as the best/most stable. It is still an organic substance though and can also shrink.
 
Jaxx said:
Anyone know if Ren Wax works good in this capacity?
Click to expand...
The Bully mentioned at Blade in June that Ren Wax would be a good protectant on Ironklad's custom GW w/ Bone Handles. Also mentioned that it would be a great protectant for the stripped M6 blade that I have.

Ironklad may be able to speak more on this...
 
Amy you out there?, lets get the big guns to respond to this one. I think we all want to rest assured that our natural handled Busses are meant to take a beating like the rest of the Busse line ;)

Greg
 
BusseCollector said:
Amy you out there?, lets get the big guns to respond to this one. I think we all want to rest assured that our natural handled Busses are meant to take a beating like the rest of the Busse line ;)

Greg
Click to expand...

Nearly all of the natural handle materials used in our custom shop are stabilized. The giraffe bone, mammoth tooth, and most of the exotic woods, are for sure. The sheep horn, buffalo horn, and desert ironwood are not readily available in a stabilized format.

Even stabilized wood and horn will "move" with humidity. They, typically, are not as strong or robust as the micartas and G-10s. There will be natural checking (cracks) and a variety of discolorations found throughout a single piece. We cannot guarantee natural handle materials against failure in extreme use situations because it is not realistic to have that level of performance expectation.

So, if you want distinctive, one-of-a-kind looks, then the natural materials are the only way to go. . .:thumbup:

If you want to beat your Busse Combat Knife like you just escaped from the fruit cup factory, then the micartas and G-10s are the only way to go!!! :thumbup:

Jerry :D





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