Scale material idea

[S.Alexander]

So I had an idea for some new knife scales. I have some chunks of oak wine barrel laying around. The inside of the barrel is a beautiful ruby colour but only penetrates the wood very slightly . The slabs are about 3/4" thick, which is clearly too thick for scales. I'm planning on ripping them in half to get a thinner scale material. I don't think I'll have them stabilized as oak is pretty dense. I'll just add a few coats of polyurethane. Hopefully I don't end up sanding away all of the red colour. And thoughts on how to keep from sanding away all the red?

http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/10979854@N08/11675356035/

 

[Omega Leather Works]

As you point out, it's very thin. I think you'd be better off grinding to shape then coloring them.

 

[Overmountain]

As you point out, it's very thin. I think you'd be better off grinding to shape then coloring them.

Its basically just stained red from the wine anyway. If you like the color, cut a fresh piece, get a virgin surface prepped and start playing with the minwax... At the very least the wood has a story...
I don't know if they do for wine barrels, but in my neck of the woods whiskey barrels get charred inside before use.

 

[S.Alexander]

I think I'll start sanding with high grits and see where that takes me. I may have to dye it in the end I guess. I wonder if polishing it would work?
The wine barrels don't get a char on them like whisky barrels. Although that might look cool too.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

If you want a high gloss finish I like CA glue. Would be great for non-stabilized wood. Take a look at what the pen turners do.

I like a lot more curve in my scales than what could be accomplished while preserving that layer of color. You could try leaving only the highs colored like a contrasting color layer in g10, but yeah, I think you're better off looking for a stain.

 

[crank78]

cut it in thin layers and make a laminate out of it.

 

[S.Alexander]

If you want a high gloss finish I like CA glue. Would be great for non-stabilized wood. Take a look at what the pen turners do.

I like a lot more curve in my scales than what could be accomplished while preserving that layer of color. You could try leaving only the highs colored like a contrasting color layer in g10, but yeah, I think you're better off looking for a stain.

I started sanding a piece out of curiosity, and it seems to keep its colour until I started rounding the edges. It looked neat, and i could live with it. I'll use it on a knife one of these days. Likely when I run out of other materials.

 

[Carhold Arms]

Red wine makes an excellent woodstain all on its own. Coffe and tea as well. I've found if you boil them down a bit you can deepen the colors and bring out the tannic acids that help darken the wood. If you know anyone who makes wine as a hobby, oak frequently makes an appearance as a flavor additive. Maybe some scale pieces in the fermenting vat would saturate a bit more. Something like an Opinel would look great stained with wine for the Napa Valley crowd.