so I got this 10ft piece of semi curly ipe...

[gixxer]

I got a board of semi curly ipe today for free, looks okay. not complaining cause it was donated. my father in law is doing a job for a local marina, and they have almost 2 miles of dock with this stuff as the footboards! I was in awe walking down this dock. Fiddleback, mottled, spalted, burl, you name the wood figure anomoly, I saw it! I wanted to pull up a couple boards and take them home! Anyhow, I got a board of the stuff, not as crazy as the stuff they let people walk on day in and out . Do I need to stabilize it?


<<EDIT>> After doing some research, I have found out that Ipe is 290% harder than red oak. Not to mention that they use the stuff for decking, so I would think it is pretty stable.

<<EDIT AGAIN>> After looking at a Janka hardness scale, the only thing harder is lignum vitae!

 

[DC KNIVES]

I have quite a bit too.I wouldn't worry about stabilizing it.It's not the most fun wood that I have worked with, as it is incredibly hard as you stated.The dust when sanding is very fine and is tough to sand so you should cut your scales very close to finish size.The stuff I have has very little pattern so I just use it on heavy-duty users type knives.I usually sand to 600 and just buff it.Dave

 

[Gossman Knives]

I've used a good bit of IPE also called Brazillian ironwood. What I have is pretty plain grain like DC said. All I do is put one coat of tung oil on it as a final finish.
Scott