Quince,Ebony and Cocobolo

[JohnAnglin]

Hello

Could somebody tell me which of these would hold up better with regards to daily carry. Thanks John

 

[Kevin Jones]

I can only address Cocobolo as I have a William Henry folder that I carry with Cocobolo scales and I have owned customs with it also.
IMO, it's one of the most beautiful woods in terms of grain and color, holds up well under use and feels good in the hand. Oils from your hand seem to make it more beautiful with age. :thumbup:

Be warned however, as you can get serious negative skin and respiratory reactions from it's dust/residue from working/sanding it. :thumbdn:

You should be able to get information from the many collectors and makers here that have experience with Ebony.

Quince, now a little more difficult in finding information.

 

[roughedges]

I believe that, generally speaking, the denser the wood the better it will hold up under use. Cocobolo is a very dense wood with only desert ironwood and perhaps lignum vitae being moreso. Ebony is also a rather dense wood, closely approaching the density of cocobolo and lignum vitae, dependent upon the exact species. But it also should hold up quite well. Quince I know nothing about.


I've been looking for an indepth wood density chart I used to have. You can find a few on the 'net but most are very far from being complete. If I find it, I'll edit and update my post.

 

[lambertiana]

The pieces of ebony that I have are as dense as the cocobolo that I have, if not more so.

Another measure of wear characteristics is the Janka hardness, which is used by the flooring industry.

http://www.becklerscarpet.com/hardwood/janka_hardness.php

The solid black ebony favored by knifemakers is Gabon (or African) ebony. This table doesn't list cocobolo, but in my experience it is not as resistant to denting as ebony.

Cocobolo is well know for causing severe allergic reactions. I don't have any problems with it. But once when I cut some Gabon ebony, I had a really bad reaction. Cocobolo is very oily - when cut with a bandsaw, I have seen it leave no loose sawdust, it all remained as an oily paste on the wood. Ebony is not oily.

One time I was cutting scales out of larger blocks of cocobolo and Macassar ebony, which is very similar to Gabon ebony in hardness. Since I was doing it all in one sitting, I was able to see the difference between them. The cocobolo was significantly easier to cut.

 

[Alpha Knife Supply]

Quince is amboyna burl.

 

[tom mayo]

Of the three, cocobolo will experience the least amount of problems.

Ebony is up at the top in density, but cracks very easily, the burls have the same type of problems, whereas cocobolo is very stable and pretty trouble free.....the allergy problems come from the dust when you are working it, not from touching a knife handle.

 

[lambertiana]

Tom is right about the splitting issue with ebony. I collect antique slipjoints, and you can see the difference in how these woods hold up to long term use. The cocobolo will show wear and dents more, but usually does not split. Ebony won't dent as easily, but a lot of my older ebony handles have splits.

Tom - One day I will own one of your knives....but for now I will have to settle for the Buck versions. I just ordered a Waimea to complement my regular 172. I really like your designs.