Thinking about buying one of these exotic hardwood packs, are they a good buy?

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GrizzlyBear

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http://www.woodcraft.com/Catalog/Pr...23493&ss=e9011475-777a-45ee-a025-7ec33ec71285

This seems like a really good deal for a fair amount of wood. 12 pieces, each measuring 2x2x6. 3 Ebony, 3 Mopani, 1 Quina, 3 East Indian Rosewood and 2 Chakte Viga.

Each piece could make 2 sets of scales. 24 sets of hardwood scales for $49.99, is a shade over $2 a set. Sounds like a good buy to me!

I've seen the Ebony and Rosewood used on knives before. What about the Mopani, Quina and Chakte Viga?
 
That link sent me to a bench grinder. This one may work better.

I think carving and turning blanks are usually moister than unstabilized wood should be for knife handles.
 
I have never dealt with those guys but I did get some off ebay really cheap and it did not have any flaws at all. Seller is elldamdam http://myworld.ebay.com/elldamdam/
The Afzelia I got from him is treated/stabilized and beautiful. 3-2x2x11 pieces for 31 bucks. He has a few more I might try and get also.
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DrThunder- I guess I copied the link from where I posted the link to the grinder in another thread, my bad lol :)

So that wood is not dried out enough for knife handle use?

montana- that wood is beautiful, might look into that seller sometime!
 
Here is what I think I am going to bid on next.
With this seller it is not a question of if but rather when.
I see a real nice handle in the lightest colored one, put that red spot right in the middle
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I have read other info that states ebony is not suited for handle use because of its tendency to split later.
 
montana guy said:
I have never dealt with those guys but I did get some off ebay really cheap and it did not have any flaws at all. Seller is elldamdam http://myworld.ebay.com/elldamdam/
The Afzelia I got from him is treated/stabilized and beautiful. 3-2x2x11 pieces for 31 bucks. He has a few more I might try and get also.
Click to expand...

I don't think that seller 'stabilizes' his wood.

Does anyone know if Afzelia (or Amboyna or Camphor) requires stabilization for a knife handle? He has nice stuff for sure.
 
a77 said:
I don't think that seller 'stabilizes' his wood.

Does anyone know if Afzelia (or Amboyna or Camphor) requires stabilization for a knife handle? He has nice stuff for sure.
Click to expand...

All I know is the pieces I bought have a covering of a epoxy type substance on the outside and all the way through them. I can see it and feel it in the wood. He may just soak them in something I do not know for sure.
 
If you don't mind spending some time looking for the good deals, Ebay is a great place to by wood for handles or what ever!!
One thing to watch out for though is wood that was waxed as soon as it was cut up! This offers two problems. The wax is a pain to remove and the wood is not dry enough to use. I bought some that was waxed up and wish I hadn't lol! I used a good scraper to remove as much of the wax as possible and then put a new 60 grit belt on my 6 x 48 sander and sanded the rest off, at least as much as I can tell. Then I just had to let the wood sit for a year or so to dry out good before it can be used or even stabilized.
 
I usually let the wood sit waxed for a year or so before removing the wax. That lets it dry more slowly.
 
I stabilize all my Afzelia, and most of my amboyina. Let it dry to below 10% before sending it off. Most wood sold at woodcraft is well dried. A lot of ebay wood is still quite wet. I let all wood that I am not sure of sit for at least a year to equalize and dry out. IMHO, almost all wood benefits from stabilization. I use a lot of ebony, and if it has sat for a couple years it is fine. I have maybe one in 100 handles develop a small check. The worst for checking is snakewood.

Camphor is sort of a mixed bag as to using it for handles. Some is OK, some will stabilize, and some is good for boxes and nothing more. I had some real nice red camphor burl that I dried for over five years and it still would not stabilize well.

All the woods in that bulk pack will work well for knives.
 
My good friend used to turn pens and the reason he gave me as to why pen blanks are often unstabalized is that they have less life in them, and that is especially apparent in something as small as a pen. I agree with him on that aspect, but for knifemaking it is often necessary due to the fact that knife handles take slightly more abuse than a pen.

The blanks are usually quite dry since turning wet wood sucks, and so does having your pen crack when it dries. However, since the blanks are pretty small, they can be dried out pretty quickly if they are wet.
 
Thanks guys, good info. It sure is nice looking wood, but maybe not right for knife scales (at least for me)
 
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