Sisau the wonderful

L

littleknife

Joined
Nov 29, 2000
Messages
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Recently I scored 2 DOD villager BAS from Bura, both with sisau (Dalbergia sissoo) handles.

If Yangdu would have not told us, I would have thought they were darker saatisal (Dalbergia latifolia).
According to on-line sources not only are saatisal and sisau closely related hardwood species, but both are frequently marketed as the same furniture wood (Indian Rosewood or sheesham), and have similar woodworking properties.

All the sisau handles I've seen here recently seem to be darker than the regular saatisal offering.
The surprise is, that when I cleaned the handles with some mineral oil, a beautiful grain appeared. The wood seems multicolored too, as the saatisal: darker brown, and brighter reddish streaks alternate with yellowish/golden ones. The wood changes its color and figure depending on the angle of the light too.

These are the times when I am truly sorry that I don't have the means to take and post pictures.

I've seen sisau in the past in Indian made furniture or as an incense burner/ash catcher, and it can vary very much in color and figure.

The recent sisau HI khukuri handle batch is evidently made of some nice, darker heartwood.:thumbup:

Just wanted to bring your attention to the beauties of this new (in the HI offerings) wood.

We are truly fortunate to have such an astonishing variety of handle materials.
Not only are the HI khukuries, knives and swords handcrafted by true masters, artisans of their trade, but also we get exotic, beautiful and durable hardwoods too.

Thank You Yangdu, and thank you, kamis and newaris.
 
I'm interested in any tips you might have for cleaning the wooden HI handles to see better grain like you experienced.

Does mineral oil really clean? Does it make for a slippery grip?

I've also read something, here, about Murphy's Wood Soap, if I have that right.

How will you finish your handle now that you have cleaned it?
 
Great steel; check
wonderful and varied wood: check
Finest Kamis in Nepal: check
return to traditional bolster:check
replication of old and new forms: check
New products: check


ABout the only thing HI hasn't done for us this year is assure us if under the rare circumstance a pest, worm, should be discovered inside a handle, it will be a budhist worm and blessed by the High Power Llama





munk
 
Littleknife, post a pic- and if you can't, email it to me & I'll post it up.


Ad Astra
 
Steve, I am not a woodchuck, so I hope the true experts will answer your questions.

I start with the warning, that mineral oil might not be the best treatment for showy wood!

I always clean my khukuries (all are HI) with mineral oil, boith the horn and the wood handled ones. I never soak them in mineral oil, just repeatedly wipe them with paper towels soaked with mineral oil. This cleaning might not be the best, because some rouge can seep deeper into the wood, but not too much.
At the end, I wipe away the excess, so the surface is not slippery at all. Actually, because it removes the rouge and the wood-dust from the pores, the surface becomes a little bit rougher.

I remember reading here that mineral oil, especially in excess, tends to soften the wood, and my wood handles definitely feel a little bit softer after the cleaning. It also tends to darken quite the wood surface.
In time they tend to dry out though, becoming once again harder and a little bit lighter.

So if you are trying to achieve a more natural or lighter wood finish, mineral oil probably it is not the best to use.
The experts here will tell you how to clean, sand, coat and finish the wood.
Ferguson, Arty and others have posted some wonderfully treated wood handles, which show spectacular grains, colors.

Ater cleaning the handles, I don't treat the wood ones any more.
In the case of some villagers I applied a little bit of mineral oil during the last winter, to prevent damage due to the extremely dry air in my home.

Ad Astra, I don't have digital camera and the scanner at my workplace is used by the whole department, so I can't scan either. This is an uber-sheeple place; I just can't pull out a khukuri to scan.:o :grumpy: :D
 
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