Standard 110 Scales?

Getahl

Getahl

Joined
Dec 22, 2007
Messages
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Hi all,

This doesn't just apply to the 110, but to just about any production Buck, I suppose. What type of wood is used in the common production scales, the type that is seen on the Wally World 110s, standard 112s, etc? Are they the same scales that are used on China Bucks? I've seen the material around for years, but never got around to asking.

Thanks in advance,

Keith
 
Keith,

The 110 standard production knife uses a laminated wood called Obeechee Wood. I believe it is stained to looked like the macassar golden ebony used for years. I think its safe to say all the various inlays (indigo blue, fiji orange, heritage walnut, cherry, rosewood) that you commonly see in 110/112s are this laminated wood.

Now what is used to make the laminate? I'm not sure...birch keeps popping to mind but I'm not positive.

Keep checking this thread as someone will come along and know for sure.
 
Are you sure about that David. I have the indigo blue and cherry and both are laminates. The rosewood on my AG and BPs was also a laminate.

Can anyone else clear this up?
 
Well,I'm not an authority on it and should not have spoke up in the beganning.The rose wood on my AG and Alpha Hunter's as well as the walnut handles on others look to be one piece.Please excuse my first posting.I'd say this is a good opening for someone who is an authority to step in.DM
 
one can see layers in all the laminates ...
and i also believe they are burch
you may have to use a mag glass
the laminates make lot of good use but..
i still like solid.. even with it flaws..
 
David,

Sorry about sounding snippish there. It's just that they appear to be laminates to me. I certainly may be wrong.
I'd say this is a good opening for someone who is an authority to step in
Click to expand...

Dave does this mean your an authority???;););)
 
Thanks all for the great replies! I figured the standard scales were some kind of laminate, but wasn't sure exactly what.
 
Obeche used on the current 110s and 112s is a laminate. The Macassar ebony inlays used prior to '93 or '94 were solid. The Pakkawood/Fibron inlays used on most other knives are a stained birch laminate. I am not familiar with the China knives. Further, a few limited edition knives have had solid wood inlays but not many. All the laminated inlays are epoxy impregnated to make them hard and somewhat water resistant. The laminations show up really well on the birch. The other woods may hide the laminations better so even if the wood doesn't look laminated I would not be too quick to assume the wood is not laminated. The laminations add quite a bit to the stability of the wood.
 
Thank you Richard.I've wondered about the 800 series (LE).Buck used walnut and checkered it.Sure looks like a solid and would they have checkered a laminate? DM
 
This is a long story that begins with the visual of cockroaches longer then your fingers...a strange beginning you might say but when the shipments of maccassar ebony strips would come in they would be crawling with the huge insects. There were two reasons we switched away from the ebony...one was that we were moving away from the degreasing chemicals and into a waterwash system. It used sonic agitation and heat which was not good for natural woods. Also we had been using the laminate wood for a while on collectibles and it really held up well. I do not remember the year we switched.

On the lamination they take birch logs, soak them in a steam bath and put them on a giant lathe. A planing blade then extends to the spinning log (and I mean a big blade and a big log) and a continous sheet (like unrolling a roll of paper towels) of birch veneer (check spelling there) which they cut into squares, dry, place in a vaccum tank, draw a vaccum, flood the tank with resin dyed with a color, and let the resin get sucked into the pores of the wood.

they then take these resin impregnated sheets and press then together under high heat and high pressure. The resin melts enough to bond the sheets together and you get a resin impregnated birch plywood. Based on how many layers you can make anything from a rifle stock to a knife handle.

There is enought natural variation in the wood that it appears natural looking.

On the folding hunters...we then had the company make the top layer out of a different material that is even more natural looking. Most felt it was a big looks improvement over the natural ebony which could look more like plastic then plastic if a piece had no color variation in it.

We do checker the laminate material. China uses the same basic material from an asian source.
 
I wouldn't say they are all laminates and the walnut they use is one wood where it is very hard to tell if it is a laminate. I am not familiar with the 800 series so someone will have to take a good look to tell. However, in general, I would start by assuming that the knife in question is a laminate until proven otherwise.
 
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