PurpleHeart Wood?

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wassomeoneelse

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Jan 19, 2007
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I have come across 7"x6"x 50" pieces of purple heart wood here that the goverment was going to throw away. I want to know the feasibility of using this wood for handles on knives. It seems to be a very hard wood. I was wondering if it would need to have anything added to it. Just curious if anyone has worked with this wood before. Thanks.
 
Here is a link to some info on Purpleheart. I have used it for knife handles and it worked okay, but after sanding it I could never get it back to that nice purple color I started with. Supposedly, if you put it out in the sun or expose it to UV rays it will turn purple again, but I didn't have much luck doing that. Mine just ended up brown.

It sounds like you found some nice thick pieces. It seems like a waste to cut them up into knife handles. I think that I would try to use if for something larger, like furniture or turnings.
 
I've been wondering if a UV light would do better than sunlight on purpleheart. Anybody have any clue? I've got some here I could try with, but I'd need to find my old blacklight and I haven't been 18 for a while...memory is the first thing to go they say ;)

-d
 
That is some interesting info that you have given me. I kinda thought that I might have made a good find. I will continue to study it and go from there. I appreciate the feedback. Thanks for the feedback.
 
It's not sunlight, it's oxygen. Whenever I've used it, it's brown as soon as it's cut, but after a day or so it turns purple. Don't seal it until it turns purple, that would slow it down. :)
 
Phillip Patton said:
It's not sunlight, it's oxygen. Whenever I've used it, it's brown as soon as it's cut, but after a day or so it turns purple. Don't seal it until it turns purple, that would slow it down. :)
Click to expand...

So what you're saying is that I should dunk it in liquid oxygen... :)

-d
 
Makes beautiful handles but don't breathe the dust! :eek:

That pretty much goes for everything, but it would be a shame if somehow nobody told you :)

Mike :thumbup:
 
Ive used it in the past, the stuff I had was a bit soft, but man it sure looks nice.
 
I got a little tip on purpleheart from someone who taught me most of what I know about making knives. He told me to take a torch and lightly heat the purpleheart, and it will turn a deep purple. Be careful not to burn the wood, you just want to oxidize it, (if wood can be oxidized, I dont know) I do know that it works, I have turned purpleheart a nice deep purple using his method.
 
deker said:
So what you're saying is that I should dunk it in liquid oxygen... :)

-d
Click to expand...

Um, that might not work. :D On the other hand, it might. :eek:

I was going to mention that heat will do it also, but Derkins beat me to it.
 
I use my heat gun I form Kydex with...ever so carefully. You can control how deep a purple you get and make it fairly even all over.
 
Awesome info on the heat! I'll have to give that a shot...*runs to the wood box and the oven...*

-d
 
Stag and steel,

Heatgun, great idea, I will have to give it a shot on my next one. I bet it would be easier to keep it from burning than with a torch.
 
I made a purple hart handle knife and it was my first ebay sale. I found if left on the bench it went nicley purple.
 
That's a great link Rob. This thread has answered the nagging question that caused me to stop using Purpleheart. I have some good size chunks of it but, since I couldn't get that purple color, its just been sitting in my basement. Now I'll have to try it again.

Conventional wisdom seems to be that it's a waste to stabilize Purpleheart because then you can't get the color change. However, has anyone ever tried heating it in an oven (ala Rob's link) so the color goes all the way through, then stabilizing it? Alternatively, what about heating it after stabilizing it? Is that possible, or would the heat ruin the stabilization? I'm willing to send some out to try it, but if someone has already done it I'd like to know what happened.
 
I've used purple heart on a number of knives over the years. I've also made a rocking chair out of purple heart and walnut. All of the above suggestions are great for getting the color to come out. The most important one is to wait before sealing it. If you seal it, you stop the oxidation process and you won't achieve the color you're after.

I found a piece of "curly" purpleheart at a gun show a few years back. I'm planning on making a "high end" kitchen set with it. It has a lot of curly grain and a nice satiny sheen to it. Almost like a three dimensional look to it.
 
I never thought I would get so many great suggestions on this topic. So let me see if I have this right. Heat treat the wood. Then stabilize it. Then you can shape it to the handle. Thanks for all the help guys.
 
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