Recommendation? Stablizing Pitchwood/Fatwood/Pine Heartwood

Joined
May 18, 2011
Messages
1,476
Hello all!

I'm finally getting more equipment together to start making my own blades. I cant heat treat by myself, do not have an etch machine or logo, but I got a decent sander, some 80CRv2, some decent tools and alot of ideas. I love hidden tangs, and want to experiment with a bunch of different handle materials. I have to modify the sander i have already because it wont take ceramic belts....but thats another story...

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One of these materials I really want to try is Pitchwood. Great Eastern Cutlery did a limited run of some knives with pitchwood covers and I was wondering if you could stabilize it, and if not, how to finish it like they did. I havent gotten any response from them, and Im not angry about that, but its made me want to understand how to use it for knife handles.

More specifically, my three questions are

1. How to polish it since its so sticky? It gums up sandpaper
2. Can you stabilize it since its so resinous? Will the juice even permeate the wood?
3. Will stabilizing it ruin its color?

Thank you all for looking, I appreciate your time. I hope to be sharing my work on the forums soon outside of just handles i've done for Puronvarsi blanks. Please have a wonderful day.

I hope you and your families are well.
Cheers!

-DeadFall27
 
Try giving K&G a call, they have been extremely helpful when I’ve had questions about what to send in and necessary preparation on my end.
 
i would be afraid the pitch might leak after the knife is finished ? being in a pocket would make it warmer, and the pitch more likely to flow?. i would do a sample first. sand a piece 220-400-600-1000-2000 grit. try wet sanding with water that may help gumming up the paper. great eastern cutlery may have baked the pitch out, and/or stabilized what they used, that why i suggest trying your own experiment. i doubt it would stabilize except for any cracks or voids. if the stabilizing juice will not penetrate, the color should not change.
 
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