Purpleheart scales

M

MoldyJoe

Joined
Oct 19, 2010
Messages
18
I'm new to making my own and mostly have just done a few repairs and sharpening, other than a lot Hawk work for a Mtn Man club. I am in Afghanistan and found a piece of Purple heart wood that I was told was local. I had always heard it was a Central/South American wood. Does some grow over here and would it make nice scales? It is fairly straight grained, heavy and very hard to cut. Sorry I can't post pictures from here. Just with the weight factor I can only bring back a piece 2X12X18". That weighs at least 30 pounds and has to be completely sealed to bring home. I guess my question is would it be worth bringing it home? Also how is Red Oak to work with? Thanks, Joe
 
Joe - Purpleheart is a wonderful wood for knife handles. As you observed, its hard, dense and heavy, but it also takes a great finish and is fairly stable (as woods go)

The tree is native to the tropical forests of Central and South America, but it can be purchased here in N. America with no problem at all. I have some in the shop now. I can understand the "sentimental value" of the piece you have though, so......

As for Red Oak.... it does just fine for scales/ handle blocks.

Good luck and stay safe.
 
I've heard that purpleheart can fade over time if left in the sun a lot. I don't think that's a deal-breaker though. Maybe there's a UV-protecting sealer a person could get?
 
james terrio said:
I've heard that purpleheart can fade over time if left in the sun a lot. I don't think that's a deal-breaker though. Maybe there's a UV-protecting sealer a person could get?
Click to expand...

Yes. As James, just mentioned, it does fade to a light grayish/brown/purple over time.
 
I've used a fair amount of purpleheart, it's really nice wood. It does have open grain and wants to be sealed. I don't know about stabilizing, maybe it would be the right thing to do. I already had some of this wood in my shop when a random conversation I was in led to my being given a 4x"4"x6' solid piece. I'm making hammer handles out of it now... I Googled the spit out of it, was unable to find any mention of these tree species anywhere in asia, but did find a lot out- below is a link to a super extra detailed write up on this wood, all I would think anyone would ever need to know about it.

http://www.thewoodexplorer.com/maindata/we875.html
 
In my opinion and experience, a piece of wood 2"x12"x18" weighing 30 lbs. sounds too heavy for purple heart. Also, all the purple heart I have used, has not been that hard to cut.
You may have a piece of some other wood. If it's that's heavy and hard I would try to bring it home.
 
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