To stabilize or not to stabilize?

D

Diligence

Joined
Jan 18, 2000
Messages
275
Quick poll:

How many of you regularily use non-stabilized materials for your handles and/or handle slabs?

 
Have used primarily unstablized products. I believe the stablized products are superior in many ways. I just have a shop full of wonderful woods that I am not certain I could reap enough reward from sending it off for processing. Terry
 
I would say at least half of what I use is not, because those are the materials that Mike (W.S.S. Int.) told me would have little benefit from it...i.e. cocobolo, ebony, african blackwood.

But anything that can benefit from it will get sent in. All less oily figured woods like maple and myrtle, spalted woods, ivory, oosic, Giraffe bone...

It's almost silly not to considering the benefits to cost. You are taking your natural materials up to a level much more competitive with micarta and the likes for long term stability.

Just my thoughts
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Nick
 
Everything but the ironwood. (You can even stabilize snakewood if you cut it thin enough!)

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Tom Anderson
Hand Crafted Knives
 
I think It depends on the material.I do not like what it does to mammoth ivory.It can change the color and make it hard to carve.In order for it to be properly stabized it has to be dry.If it is dry and care is taken when working with it it does not need to be stablized.Here are a couple of photos.First is some of my friend Vitaly's handles and the other is of myself with some plunder a few years ago. Chuck
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=1518296&a=11476130&p=40755243
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=1518296&a=11476130&p=40741617
 
akivory, wow, very nice handles by your friend... And man there are some tusks there!!!
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Tom- even ebony? I was always told it's too dense/oily to accept the polymer?

Nick
 
That was a 50 chevy. A friend left the state and I bought eighteen old cars from him for three thousand bucks.They were mostly from the forties and fiftys.The chevy was one of the few that ran.I sold them all.I didnt make much money but I had fun.I still have a 53 sedan delivery and a 51 panel.As a full time carver there does not seem to be enough time to work on all these projects.Maybe after I get all these kids grown. I really enjoy what I do and can sell every thing that I make but it is never enough. I guess that knife makers have the same problems.By the way,Vit gets about $200 for carving a handle on your knife like those in the photo.Chuck akivory@gci.net
 
Nick:

Sorry,I've never used ebony on a knife.

Perhaps a luthier could give you some pointers on how to properly seal ebony!


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Tom Anderson
Hand Crafted Knives

[This message has been edited by Tom Anderson (edited 02-20-2001).]
 
I am a former luthier, and I have also used ebony on knife handles. On musical instrument fingerboards, the only treatment give to the raw wood is a wipe with lemon oil on occasion. It seldom cracks in that application, although it splinters very badly when frets are pulled out.

Knife handles, for whatever reason, are much more prone to cracking. I have coated them with cyanoacrylate glue, and then fine-sanded down to a matte finish just to seal the wood a bit and retard changes in moisture content. The bad news: they still can crack. I think it's the nature of the beast.

Don Cowles
www.cowlesknives.com
 
Sounds like we should just avoid using ebony on knife handles!
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Well, there's always Micarta and G-10!

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Tom Anderson
Hand Crafted Knives
 
African Blackwood (Grenadillo) is an excellent substitute for ebony. Much less prone to cracking. It is the stuff of which bagpipes and oboes are made. Beautiful wood.
 
Oops! I thought the question pertained to the materials an individual maker used, not every material that's possible to use. Except for ironwood, all of the other woods I have used were stabilized. They include snakewood, lacewood, box elder burl, maple, black palm, redwood burl, thuya burl, myrtle, black bean, zebrano, and walnut. (I think that's the full list!)

I have some blocks of other types of wood "on hold" until I get the next batch together to send out to WSSI. (These are more "non-oily woods" like amboina burl and curly birch.) Of course, I have lots of small pieces of paduak, Thai rosewood (that's what the guy called it!) bubinga, koa, etc. left over from my gunstock making days that might get thrown in just for kicks!
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I use stabilized wood whenever possible. The only wood I have used that hasn't been stabilized is ironwood.

I apologize for being redundant, rudundant, redundant!

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Tom Anderson
Hand Crafted Knives

[This message has been edited by Tom Anderson (edited 02-20-2001).]
 
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