purpleheart color consistency?

daizee

daizee

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Dec 30, 2009
Messages
11,176
Hi All,

I'm thinking about using a piece of purpleheart to handle a little stick tang knife, but don't understand how to deal with the color inconsistency. Some parts of it seem nice and purple, others a faded brown. Sanding doesn't seem to bring out the purple, but a certain amount of heat from a cutting blade clearly did in the past.

The only piece I actually used on a knife was very well dried, and it was purple all the way through (split on the bandsaw for scales), which is why this newer, larger chunk confuses me.

What's the recommended procedure here? I've had these pieces in a cool, dryish area for about 18 months. Not sure how old they were before they came to me.

Thanks,

-Daizee
 
Heat and/or sunlight seem to bring it out for me whenever I've used it. I've used a heatgun to bring it out, and just sitting it out in the sun.
 
Ohh, a heat gun, ok. So it may be temperature or UV. I'll try a little of both and see what gives results.
Thanks!

-Daizee
 
On my last one with purple heart, after finish sanding the handle but before applying the finish oil, i just let it sit in the shop for a few days, i turned it over a few times, and the purple color came out nice. I dont know if it was soemthing to do with air getting to it, or the florecent lights in the shop. But it turned the nice purple color. Then i oiled it and it looked great.
 
Great, thanks, Joe!
You guys have made me a little more confident about committing to this piece.
A little heat from the heat gun didn't do it alone, so I left the block on the kitchen table to remind myself to put it in the sun tomorrow.
 
i have repeatedly heard that sunlight changes purpleheart from purple to brown so you want to keep it out of the sun . . . ?
 
I finished this one about three weeks ago. I did no extra-ordinary treatment. For this wood I sand to 800, light coat of tung - let dry, white diamond buff(lightly), clean buff. I think the color and figure are pretty good and just as it was three years ago when I got this piece of wood(as part of a larger piece). I haven't tried the heat treatment thing, but I might test it on some scrap and see what happens.


http://postimage.org/
 
Color in wood almost always darkens with exposure to light , natural or synthetic. The original color is dependent on minerals in the soil. If there are two scales on the knife cut them from the same piece. For variations in one piece -well that's wood ! Otherwise use something like composite etc.
 
I worked with purpleheart only once before. I made a hand carved photo album for my mother out of it. I discovered that to get it to turn REALLY purple, I VERY lightly ran the very tip of a propane torch over it. Not enough to over heat the wood and warp it, or burn it. Its as purple today as it was 12 years ago when I made it.
 
I use a worn out 1000 grit belt on the craftsman 2x42.
It generates a good deal of heat and leaves little to no hand sanding to do.
I'll snap a picture when I get home if my memory works today.
 
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