Question On CRK Inlays I Pose To You....????????

nyefmaker

nyefmaker

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How about this question I pose to you....??? Do you buy an inlay because of the woods durability......?........for instance its Janka Scale Hardness......???

I find I do this a lot since I am a user of my knives. If I see a particular inlay I think I may be interested in, I look up its Janka Scale Hardness. If its say 1000 or 1500, I know the wood is on the softer side, even though oak and hickory fall into this area. When I got my Lignum Vitae small 21, its Janka reading is in the 4500-5000 range as its one of the hardest woods in the world if not the hardest depending on which scale you look at. So to me, that means the wood is more durable and able to withstand the rigors of edc over the years without worry of gouging or chipping.........as its basically as hard and tough as the sebenza itself.

Perhaps thats me overkilling it a little, but I do this all the time, every time I look at an inlay.
 
Great topic, Nyfemaker!

My weighting for inlay selection for a user seb is approximiately 40/30/30 = moisture resistance/hardness/aesthetics. I'm probably overly sensitive to moisture damage because I once put an Mnandi through the wash with gorgeous camelthorn inlays, and ruined them. Since so few inlays have great moisture resistance, that really narrows the playing field for me. Between the two great moisture resistant inlays offered, cocobolo and lignum vitae, I like the appearance of cocobolo best. With a Janka rating in the 2900 range, cocobolo is pretty hard stuff (seems to be conflicting sources out there, with some quoting more in the 1100 range). My cocobolo small Seb EDC has held up quite well to my abusive nature, having been carried in wet clothes on fishing trips, and dropped more times than I'd care to admit. :o
 
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I only use plain Jane knives as they will always eventually get scratched up, dropped, knocked, wet, dried, hot, cold and other wise treated badly. The wood deserves a bit more respect than I can give it so I keep that for the likes of the Mnandi that will see far more reasonable use from me. If I'm looking for wood on a nice custom for for example that will be in my collection and will not be used any way I want beauty over durability of course. I'm a fan of curley anything as well as golden coloured iron wood and dark woods like Ebony, Rose and African Black Wood. As for users of any sort canvas micarta is the best handle material there is, IMO, I know it's not wood but it's just the best. :p:thumbup:
 
Haze, do they do different kinds of micarta inlays in Sebenzas? I just realized that I have no idea what kind they use.

OT, but has anyone ever heard of CRK using wood that was not sourced by themselves? I ask because my favorite custom maker uses the most amazing Black Ash Burl I've ever seen. It's simply stunning and would look unreal on a Sebbie.
 
CRK use black canvas micarta on their fixed blades as well as Sebenza inlays. They obviously use brown canvas on the Nyala though. :)
 
Hardness generally equals durability, but some woods are more brittle as a result.

Perhaps the way to look at it is that the two most common woods used for knife handles over the last 100+ years are Cocobolo and Ebony. Ebony is much harder than Cocobolo, but search out any collection of old knives (which were normally used for many years, not like today's collectors), and they both held up. People back then used their knives a lot, wearing them out and replacing them every few years.
 
Don M said:
Hardness generally equals durability, but some woods are more brittle as a result.

Perhaps the way to look at it is that the two most common woods used for knife handles over the last 100+ years are Cocobolo and Ebony. Ebony is much harder than Cocobolo, but search out any collection of old knives (which were normally used for many years, not like today's collectors), and they both held up. People back then used their knives a lot, wearing them out and replacing them every few years.
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I agree with you on the ebony. Probably the most common folding knife in history, the Buck 110 has used ebony for most of its production life and has held up Very Well.
 
I buy inlays for their aesthetics ... I look for grain, pattern, texture, color. Normally I don't use them. My users are plain janes.

Hardness can be an interesting discussion: Wouldn't a higher hardness number imply brittleness?
 
I'm like MasterSerg; I don't carry my inlays. My small box-elder may not be impressive by its Janka numbers, but it is my favorite.
 
Interesting topic nyefmaker.

If I'm going to carry the knife, I will look for Cocobolo or Lignum Vitae. Otherwise I'm looking to collect the knife and then I look for an inlay that is beautiful to my eye.
 
Interesting topic, I have never owned a plane Jane. Well i do have a Farid's Custom K2 that is plane.
I have been carrying inlay Sebenza's for more than ten years and have never had a major sign of ware. The snakewood, bloodwood, ironwood all fall into the top ten hardest woods in the world. The lignum, is number one and heaviest and hardest. Most have high oil content, that makes them less brittle. My hat is off to Chris for finding a way to glue them in. The oil makes gluing very hard to keep the inlay in place and I have never had a Mnandi or Sebenza issue thus far. Have always keep my EDC in the leather sheath in my pocket, that provides some protection. I do use Johnson paste wax on the titanium and wood to keep the luster and protect the finish. There is just something beautiful and special about every Mnandi and Sebenza, for me it is the beauty of the inlay that takes it over the top.
 
I actually carry and use all my Mnandis....regardless of their material(both blade and handle). I prefer damascus blades......handle material is totally a choice of esthetics. I will admit to using a damascus/ivory Mnandi while tearing out a 40,000 gallon outdoor pool this spring.....it got sloppy and nasty but a bit of love and tenderness ensured it looked like new when I was done. I figure if the mammoth ivory was good enough for those beasts walking the earth 15,000 years ago it would work for me in new england!!!
 
I am the same, I look at the type of wood before I buy an inlayed knife. However.....sometimes with softer woods they are stabilized, with means they hold up better than some "unstable" woods that are harder or more durable.
Great question though, one I have though about myself!
 
Do a search for. Wood data base. The site has every wood by common name and all the details about them. It will cover the scale, explain how it is the pressure to push a ball half way into the wood. Even better it the specific weights. A few woods weight are 1.0+ so there too heavy to floor in water. It covers the, ten heaviest woods in one of the reports. It is a great site with lot of good information, check it out.
 
Is there an apples to oranges issue here, since some inlay woods are stabilized and others aren't? That would affect the "performance" of woods in relative terms.
 
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I would think that the stabilization process would render the inlays almost like micarta. Also the inlays are very thin and sit on a perfectly flat surface so I think that breaking them would be unlikely.
 
Scott Dog said:
I would think that the stabilization process would render the inlays almost like micarta. Also the inlays are very thin and sit on a perfectly flat surface so I think that breaking them would be unlikely.
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That depends a lot on the technique and on both the wood species and the specific piece of wood. I've worked with stabilized wood and even the same species can be very inconsistent; heck, even a single piece can be very inconsistent. :)
 
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