Sandlewood: Tough Enough?

Jebadiah_Smith said:
How does sandlewood hold up to normal hard use?

Thats pretty much it. Thanks.
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Jeb there was a problem once with the regular sandalwood. Several handles cracked and had to be replaced. :(
I don't know about the bloody sandalwood though, or the dark like that on the WW II Sgt Karka I got today.
 
I have Sandlewood furniture and are really dense. Very heavy just for a simple chair. Seems that it might crack if too hot. Beautiful to feel and look. I think if stabilzed it would make a wonderful knife handle. I'll put some pics up later.
 
Jeb, you could try to home stabilize it using a thin alcohol based epoxy. This is something I've wanted to do for a while. The stuff is kind of expensive though, since you have to buy huge bottles, if you are willing to pay for part of it we could do your handle plus some other wood (and that elk horn you have).
 
Jebadiah_Smith said:
How does sandlewood hold up to normal hard use?

Thats pretty much it. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Jeb I probably should'a asked you some questions for clarification first. If this is in reference to a knife bought in the last year so far there seems too be no problems with them although I personally don't know how hard they are being worked.

If this is a knife from a couple of years or so back then you may possibly have problems with a Chandan, Sandalwood, handle but like I said, I'm not real sure when they came out." but it has been a while.
Also let me further clarify this by saying that the Chandan, Sandalwood, handles that failed was the type of Sandalwood that is ground up for incense.
The kamis or Pala or someone with BirGhorka found some Chandan boards in an old shed and it was set aside to make handles with.
Unfortunately those handles, or at least most of them, failed miserably.:(

Hope that clears the Sandalwood handle thing up a little better.;)

Edit:
Since there has been nothing said about the new Sandalwood handles being of the incense kind I wouldn't worry about one overly much.
Seems like Pala said the Chandan was worth more as an incense than it was used for handles.
With that in mind I can't see the kamis making handles out of the scented Sandalwood nor can I see Pala authorising it.
If it were me I would use it. I just got a Sgt Karka WW II with a Dark Sandalwood handle and I'm not going to worry about it. It's a really beautiful piece of wood. I can't detect the Chandan scent on it.:)
 
no problems with any of the Sandalwood that's passed through my hands.
 
The sandalwood GRS i'm selling, i found out it had a crack in the handle. i have only held it on a few occasions. i did notice that the sandlewood was real stubborn about absorbing linseed oil.

I can't fathom a guess, but i think that this cold, dry air has affected it somehow. funny thing is my other sandlewood handles seem to be completely fine. wait, i'm going to go and check now.

:(
 
The old sandalwood out of the 100+ year old barn was cracking when made into handles. I had one that had cracked and been returned to HI. Kami Sherpa repaired the handle with an epoxy dust mixture. After the first crack the stress was relieved and there were no further problems.

I gave that one to a good friend after keeping it a couple of years.

It is a beautiful wood. Deep and dark and old and mysterious. It contains lots of aromatic oil, which is why it is good for incense and why it doesn't absorb oil so well.
 
Sandewood is an excellent smooth grain , dense wood, but the oil contained within the wood is what maintains the grain from cracking. If you have any sandelwood then lightly sand and oil with a very light oil. The best way to determine if the wood needs care is by the color. The normal color is a light carmel or almond color, if the wood darkens to a tan or light brown then the oil needs th be applied.

Good Luck.
Sharks_Edge
Karl B. :cool:
 
sheesh Dave....lotsa cracked khuks at your place....dry up there?
 
it is profoundly dry at my place. i don't knwo if the humidifier is correct, but current humidity is a 20%. I have 2 humidifers that run 24/7.

i hope i haven't scared anyone off sandalwood. keep in mind that Dave is usually the exception.

when i sent my FF to Russ in Alabama, the horn had shrunk away from the bolster. I swear that when it came back, the horn had expanded.

saastial is the only handle material that really works up here. soaks up linseed pretty well.
 
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