The Draw of Ebony Wood??

[Campbellclanman]

Campbell, Kens work is just fantastic, and it must be a pleasure knowing him, as wonderful as his Cottton Sampler turned out, I think your Remington still looks just fantastic.

 

[mqqn]

Campbell - that is just beautiful - and Mr. Erickson's work is impeccable! I did not have the pleasure of meeting him at Blade, every time I went by his table someone was talking to him and someone was waiting in line! I did get to talk briefly with his wife.

True ebony is so dense it does not even float, and it can be sanded to a mirror polish (although I do not see most makers doing that to the wood on knives).

You can see that the wood becomes polished over time, but it does not get serious dings and dents in it like some other woods.

I remember in woodshop when I was in high school - I made a checkerboard using mahogany and ebony - even back then the ebony was respected and higher priced than the other more common woods.

For the OP - it's ok to like what you like - maybe someday the allure of Ebony will sneak up on you.

Here are a couple of pictures of Ebony on protourist's (Mack) JK Cutlass - it is much more beautiful than my pictures show (and I think this knife falls into the traditional category...)

Charlie's (waynorth) Real Harness Knife is another outstanding example - GEC knows how to do it old-school......

Here is the RHK with a couple of other GEC Jacks - the Cocobolo and the 2011 BF EO -

Thanks to all for the wonderful pictures in this thread.

best

mqqn

 

[mike Berkovitch]

Great looking knives here, photos prove that it is great material in terms of preserving and beauty. I'll post few of mine after taking photos.
Mike

 

[Mack]

Ebony is addictive. Once you've had one ebony hafted knife you will need more. My first was the 2010 BFC Moose and since then I have acquired several others, including the Jk Cutlass that Mr Mqqn posted above. Here is my latest. The ebony just looks and feels classier than any other handle material I have held and wears incredibly well.

 

[lambertiana]

lambertiana, thanks for the show. Some fine old knives there. Which one is your favorite?

It would be a hard choice, but in the end I would probably pick this Challenge as my favorite from that group

 

[meako]

 

[mike Berkovitch]

Here are my knives with ebony. At first I didn't like the wood but it grew on me quiet nicely. I have another on its way to me.

Mike

 

[Gevonovich]

Mike
All beautiful!! I'm wondering about the one on the left? If you happen to have a picture with the blades open , I would love to see it.

 

[mike Berkovitch]

Thanks, this is Eagleton Cutlery co. a brand of Wester & Butz of Solingen, ca. 1890

Mike

 

[sitflyer]

Ebony stands the test of time...what's not to like

sometimes it's best viewed in direct lighting

 

[Humppa]

Here´s my Friedrich Hartkopf, Solingen I bought just today

I made pic of the grain, I hope it´s alright

The ebony feels great. It has a very nice structure. Somehow, I really like wooden handles very much...

Kind regards
Andi

 

[jazub]

Here´s my Friedrich Hartkopf, Solingen I bought just today

Kind regards
Andi

Now this is a fantastic looking combination of blade/tool/handle scale. I am unfamiliar with the maker. Can you share more about this? Is this still made?
Thanks for any info!

 

[black mamba]

Sitflyer, the picture of your #25 just pops! A real beauty.

 

[Humppa]

Hi Jazub!

F. Hartkopf is a traditional cutlery company here in Germany. They are founded in 1890 and still make knives. I sent you a PM with the companies homepage. But it´s only in german language. Look at "Taschenmesser", that means "pocket knife" in english.

I chose the knife because of its setup. The caplifter is gonna be a very useful tool for our beer

If wanted, I gonna make more pics about the knife.

Kind regards
Andi

 

[mike Berkovitch]

Sitflyer and Andy lovely knives you've got there.
Mike

 

[jazub]

Thanks for the info and link, Andi. Your example looks like an ideal setup. -Now time to try and decipher that web page

On topic: ebony is my favorite handle scale material. Here are 4 in ebony that were handy on top of the dresser today:

.

 

[navihawk]

It would be a hard choice, but in the end I would probably pick this Challenge as my favorite from that group

Nice.

 

[phillipsted]

I love looking at the shots of all the old ebony folders. I'm not sure why you don't see more of the "black and white" ebony on some of these knives - it is certainly an interesting material. Personally, I like ebony to work with, but it can be a bit splintery and it chips out easily if you don't treat it with care when filing it. To be honest, I prefer heavier, denser, woods when I make scales - rosewood, cocobolo, lignum vitae, blackwood, ironwood...

Here's a set of black-and-white ebony scales I'm shaping into scales now. My wife says they look like a calico cat. I'll post some pics when it is done.

TedP

 

[meako]

definitely would like to see more of that knife-it looks great.

Hi Jazub!

F. Hartkopf is a traditional cutlery company here in Germany. They are founded in 1890 and still make knives. I sent you a PM with the companies homepage. But it´s only in german language. Look at "Taschenmesser", that means "pocket knife" in english.

I chose the knife because of its setup. The caplifter is gonna be a very useful tool for our beer

If wanted, I gonna make more pics about the knife.

Kind regards
Andi

 

[Humppa]

Hi meako - I gonna make a threat about it - as a preview of this knife. The next few days

Kind regards
Andi