pure black handle material?

B

BearPawBlacksmithing

Joined
Mar 27, 2017
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I am in the beginning stages of a dagger build and am considering handle materials. I think I want a pure black material to contrast polished stainless bolsters but am having a hard time finding a material that fits the bill.
I have tried black paper Micarta on previous projects and found it has added character that I am not looking for in this particular project.
Black buffalo horn may work fine if I were to find a piece with very little streaking.
Any ideas or suggestions for other materials?
 
Someone will have to help as I can’t remember the exact name. Seems like it’s called tough wood or something like that. IMarc4, can’t remember that either, made a Bowie once that was all black. I’ve been wanting to try it out so hopefully someone will remember.
 
Maybe it was from jephco supplies? They have some black acrylic. Tero-tuf? I really need some of that memory medicine. You know...what’s it called?
 
African Blackwood (they make Clarinets out of it) can be pretty darn black if you get the right piece. It is nice stuff and does not need a wood finish or stabilization.

Double black canvas micarta...

Zirconium, tricky stuff to work with though.
 
Why not black paper micarta? That's the cleanest most consistent solid black material I've found. I do have a block of black buffalo horn tucked away for a project like this too but you never really know if it will streak. Outside of a cast acrylic, all of the other synthetic options will have some kind of grain pattern from the substrate in my experience.
 
weo said:
See above. On the piece I'm working on now for a bolster, I'm having a hard time seeing which way the grain is so I can drill the slot for the tang....

~billyO
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I’ve had the same problem. Some Blackwood is just really dark brown though. It’s hard to find ebony the right size for knife or dagger handles too. I’m thinking of having some of my really straight grained poplar dyed black when I get it stabilized.
 
Matt R said:
Maybe it was from jephco supplies? They have some black acrylic. Tero-tuf? I really need some of that memory medicine. You know...what’s it called?
Click to expand...

Warwood, from Jephco supplies, is what you're thinking of. It's fun stuff, but it's not pure black either. It has imperfections and inclusions.
 
Tenebr0s said:
Warwood, from Jephco supplies, is what you're thinking of. It's fun stuff, but it's not pure black either. It has imperfections and inclusions.
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That’s it! It’s solid black in color but not solid in texture? Corian is also an option.
 
Nigerian Ebony would be another option. A good piece is solid black with hardly any visable grain. African blackwood is noticeably brown in comparison.
 
Sorry Matt, I'm a bit late responding but Tenebr0s has it. It's Warwood. But as has been mentioned it can have inclusions and tiny speckles here and there. Corian is an option but it adds a bit of weight.
 
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