Some unusual woods out of Texas

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kossetx

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Howdy Folks, Not often I venture from the Buck forum but I thought you all might like to see some of the unusual Texican woods I use. I always enjoy searching out new and different things. These trees were all taken from my place in central TX or some land within a few hundred yards of it, by me.

first up, post oak....all pieces made from that great barbecue wood.


The next knife is also post oak but burl.


Some blackjack oak...


A few eastern red cedars....



And lastly, a willow I pushed down on my pond. I didn't know willow looked like this.
 
Thanks for the reply. Tough crowd here. I think I'll slink back to the Buck forum with my tail tucked.
 
Very nice!
I used to own a knife that had willow burl scales. It was very cool.
 
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Do you stabilize the oak (and the others)?

I make the odd handle here and there, and have a little experience with some spalted oak. It had to be stabilized. I've wondered how solid material would work unstabilized, but sealed well.
 
Those are some fine examples and equally fine execution. I know your oaks are hard woods but not oily, I’d imagine the cedar and willow to be on the softer side. How were these dried and were they stabilized? Got to keep an eye out for some spalted pecan next.
 
Great examples and pics. :thumbsup:

I used to live in central Texas, near Austin (Travis & Bastrop counties), and had lots of Post Oaks on my property, as well as a very pretty Willow in the front yard, which got split down the middle, like a wishbone from a turkey, by heavy ice during a storm. Also had some mesquite on the property. There was one mesquite that I wish I'd saved some wood from, a tree that had to be taken down to make room for the house. It had been the largest mesquite on that lot, about 14" - 16" across at the base. I'd sawed a dead limb off another mesquite, and was impressed at the deeply rust-red heartwood inside it. That same limb was hollow inside and was occupied by a colony of big, red wasps. Had to drop the saw and retreat for a while. I'd always wondered what the woodworking possibilities were, with such wood. And the sawdust smelled like a good barbecue. :D
 
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Thanks Folks, I recon whining does work...:rolleyes:.

Its funny how different people take to different woods. Just about every wood has been admired by different people.

I love the hunt, no matter what it is. Wood, junk, antiques, knifes... and the hunt for something different is the thrill. The first ones I did was the top post oaks. When I finished I showed them to my wife and she commented that "those were as exotic as any wood" and I looked at them and thought... she's right. The fact that they come from my place just makes it a little nicer. She chose the tree the burled PO came from and I did the 113 for her for our 35th anniversary. Well, the knife... and a trip to Europe, but hey, she was happy.

I have few mesquites ready for another transformation.



As you see they are stabilized, but by me. Most of these woods didn't require stabilization so I did it just to make sure they didn't move. Most were air dried for years but some get the "put it in my truck in the August Texas sun" drying treatment.
 
Gorgeous material. I love that part of TX too (especially around Marble Falls)! I'm determined to own land there eventually.
 
That's some nice work with some nice material. I, too, love the hunt for local woods, and it is amazing what you can tease out of so-called "common" species.
 
Beautiful woods and beautiful work. :thumbsup: One more good thing about central Texas.

Andrew
 
That cedar is good looking! The mesquite block is also nice. I’ve always enjoyed working with mesquite. We have some property just north of Hondo that is overrun with the stuff. Mesquite burl can be quite appealing. Not a fan of oak much, but it makes a decent handle material.
 
This is the tree the blackjack came from. The drought of 2011 ended its life.

This is the post oak at the gate of my wife's old homeplace. This tree has to be 3-400 years old as they are slow growing trees here. The broken limb at the top left is where it was.
 
The pic of that Blackjack Oak is beautiful. When I think of the area where I used to live down there, those open fields with big oaks (Live Oaks and Post Oaks, mostly) and the ground fog in the morning come vividly to mind. I had some shrub-size Blackjack Oak on my lot, but nothing that impressive. The Post Oaks on my property were up to maybe ~ 14" - 16" trunk diameter at the largest. Lots of Cedar Elms as well, and even a few Honey Locust, with the spines all up & down the trunk.
 
Thanks David, the blackjack was probably 32" and that post oak is probably 42". I now have a caliper I built to measure trunk diameter that will measure up to 34". It can't touch that PO. I have a PO here on my place that's even bigger in diameter. It's rotted/hollow inside and vultures sometimes nest inside it.

Pete
 
kossetx said:
Howdy Folks, Not often I venture from the Buck forum but I thought you all might like to see some of the unusual Texican woods I use. I always enjoy searching out new and different things. These trees were all taken from my place in central TX or some land within a few hundred yards of it, by me.

first up, post oak....all pieces made from that great barbecue wood.


The next knife is also post oak but burl.


Some blackjack oak...


A few eastern red cedars....



And lastly, a willow I pushed down on my pond. I didn't know willow looked like this.
Click to expand...
kossetx said:
Howdy Folks, Not often I venture from the Buck forum but I thought you all might like to see some of the unusual Texican woods I use. I always enjoy searching out new and different things. These trees were all taken from my place in central TX or some land within a few hundred yards of it, by me.

first up, post oak....all pieces made from that great barbecue wood.


The next knife is also post oak but burl.


Some blackjack oak...


A few eastern red cedars....



And lastly, a willow I pushed down on my pond. I didn't know willow looked like this.
Click to expand...
 
Howdy, neighbor - Im right down the road from you about 30 miles in the thriving metropolis of New Baden, Texas. I was wondering if you have or could get any mesquite burl I could use for an upcoming knife project. Please e-mail me at : stephen@gtcfranklin.com. Thanks.
 
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