Thuya Burl. Anyone ever use it for handles?

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godogs57

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Apr 16, 2004
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A first for me. Friend loves it and ordered a blade with that for handle material.

Does it need stabilizing? From what I've read, it sounds like it may or may not require it.

Does it "behave" well when attached or does it move all over the place with changes in humidity, etc.

Not the most profound question on the board but figured some may have used it. Have a great week coming up!
 
Yes, I used to use a lot of thuya burl. It is the wood that is used in the interior of a Bently. It is pronounced "too-ya". Only negative is it is a bit on the soft side. Smells interesting when cutting and sanding it. The smell is sort of like cedar and has a nickname ... "Old Pencil Sharpened Smell". It isn't a bad smell, just not spicy like many other exotic woods.
It works like koa or other softer figured woods. I had it stabilized and it worked well. If used unstabilized you will be fine, as it does not move much at all.. Use a good finish to seal it well.
Our forumite Ben, at Goldberg Woods can probably provide it and give you lots of info. If not, Bell Forest has it. You could also check with Ken at K&G to see if he has it already stabilized. It is best to get #1 grade.
 
K&G is all I will use. It being soft, I'm sure I'll stabilize it then.

Thanks for the info! Much appreciated.
 
I tried it several years ago and found out I am highly allergic to it. I started sneezing and had a lot of mucus coming out of my nose. I gave away any extra I got.
 
Many suppliers and wood sellers, like Ben, myself, and others, use K&G to stabilize their wood. They usually post it proudly.
That said, there is a certain pride in selecting your own piece of wood and sending it off to K&G.

Tips to save $$$ on stabilizing costs -
You pay by the pound of the finished blocks. If it started at 1# and ended at 1.1#, you pay for 1.1# of stabilizing.
Light weight wood starts at a lower weight, so you get more stabilizing for your money. Most light woods need stabilizing and are improved a lot by it.
Heavy woods cost a lot for stabilizing that you aren't getting as well as most dense woods don't really need stabilizing. Think about these woods before sending off a big batch.
Make sure the wood is fully dry, because water both weighs as well as affects the quality of the stabilizing and warp.
It is best to stabilize blocks and cur=t scales after stabilizing. Scales warp easier in the process than blocks. Also, you may cut two sets of scales from one block after stabilizing. I cut blocks that will be scales at 1.5X2X5". I easily get two knives from one block. You also get perfect bookmatched sets this way.
Most important, if you know the knife the wood will be used on, cut the wood to roughly the size needed. Make it about 10-15% oversize. I often even drill out the tang hole on a hidden tang knife and roughly oval the block to remove wood I will be sanding away anyway. This can save 50% of the stabilizing cost in some cases. No need to stabilize a 2X2.5X6" block when the handle will be 1X1.5X4.5".
 
Get with Ben at Greenberg Woods. He uses K&G to stabilize and will talk you through finishing and whatever else you need to know. Met him at Bladeshow and he has some super nice handle material.
 
ScarFoot said:
Get with Ben at Greenberg Woods. He uses K&G to stabilize and will talk you through finishing and whatever else you need to know. Met him at Bladeshow and he has some super nice handle material.
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Yep, Ben's a great guy. Been buying some very nice Siam Rosewood from him over the last year. Met him Friday morning at the Blade and spent $$$$$ on more Siam. Amboyna Burl is his favorite wood and his table was loaded with it.

Here he is looting me of the remainder of my discretionary funds Friday. He was loaded with the good, high grade stuff. He even had some one of a kind cocobolo burl I'd never seen before. Pretty!

IMG-6055.jpg
 
godogs57 said:
Yep, Ben's a great guy. Been buying some very nice Siam Rosewood from him over the last year. Met him Friday morning at the Blade and spent $$$$$ on more Siam. Amboyna Burl is his favorite wood and his table was loaded with it.

Here he is looting me of the remainder of my discretionary funds Friday. He was loaded with the good, high grade stuff. He even had some one of a kind cocobolo burl I'd never seen before. Pretty!

IMG-6055.jpg
Click to expand...
I met him Saturday and he took a lot of my money as well. He was like “thank you! My wife doesn’t want to have to drag all this through the airport again”. Super nice guy.
 
ScarFoot said:
I met him Saturday and he took a lot of my money as well. He was like “thank you! My wife doesn’t want to have to drag all this through the airport again”. Super nice guy.
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And he's much more competitively priced than the other guys that I won't name.

His products there were finished beautifully, for display. Better than usual. Asked him about it and he told me he only took his blocks down to 220 grit then polished😳. Here I am taking mine down to 1500-2000 grit...guess I need to relearn some things.
 
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godogs57 said:
And he's much more competitively priced than the other guys

His products there were finished beautifully, for display. Asked him about it and he told me he only took his blocks down to 220 grit then polished😳. Here I am taking mine down to 1509-2000 grit...guess I need to relearn some things.
Click to expand...
Agreed on pricing.

Remember when it comes to finish, his blocks are flat and made to show the grain. In the woodworking world 220 is generally considered “fine” grit but most everything is flat and square. When you shape handles, any lines or unevenness sticks out like a sore thumb. I consider 400 grit and under shaping. After that I’m finishing. You won’t regret sanding to a finer grit especially if you’re buffing and/or using a wood finish.
 
I used unstabilized thuya on a few of my very early pieces. I still have a fair bit but mostly in odd shape hunks. It is soft like that, and very resinous. It clogs sand paper and you need to keep a file card handy if filing it. That natural resin content can mean oil finishes take a lot longer to cure than on things like maple.

I too saw Ben at at the show. He relieved me of money also, and I agree his prices vs quality was top notch. Most of what he had really deserved a better maker than I, and a maker of fancier knives!
 
I have a little Thuya burl, most of what I have had lately is an interesting wood, Cupressus funebris burl which i get in from S.E asia. Its a little lighter than thuya in color, but the density and strength of aroma is very similar. They use it as a wood for coffins or beads, as the aroma is a big part of the wood in Asia
 
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