Using bamboo for a handle material?

sph3ric pyramid

sph3ric pyramid

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Jul 24, 2002
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I'm having a hard time finding any decent wood for a decent price, for handle materials. This is mostly because the Japanese seem to think consumers don't particularly need to know anything about the products they buy; wood is labeled "suitable for making furniture", "rough wood", etc. with no specification, steel isn't labeled (hardware store employees don't know what "steel" is :rolleyes: ), so on and so forth (a rant for another day).

I thought about dumpster diving for furniture parts, as I recently found a place where they store or recycle such materials, there were some nice resinous woods. But getting over the fence with pieces of wood seemed a bit much... ;) Not to mention the cameras.

So, anyway, I thought about using bamboo, since it's seen as an "oriental" thing, and it's abundant. Abundant, as in the construction guys are clearing away thousands of stalks, and there's still more, all in what could be considered my "backyard", free for the taking, and I could screw up several thousand times and still not be out of any money.

Is there any way to prepare raw bamboo for a handle material? Any tips, hints? Is there any way to layer bamboo to make a thicker material, or should I just stick to conventional woods (obviously I'm just a newbie, so bear that in mind)?
 
hi,

bamboo should make an interesting handle material-as it is rel. light but very strong. Actually, i've made a small knife with handles from bamboo floor boards (I don't know the correct name for the material), its basically bamboo laminated together. So if you cut your bamboo into flat strips, you should be able to laminate them together.


Another option would be to make a narrow tang knife and fit it into a piece of bamboo with suitable diameter.

180_p1350.jpg
 
Here's a thought on bamboo...

Could you "build up" a handle, by putting progressingly larger diameters of bamboo over one another? That would give your handle a good bit more weight, and I have to imagine that it would be stronger, too. Especially if you filled any space between the layers with epoxy, to bind it all together and make it one piece. Who knows, if you used colouring in your epoxy, you might even be able to work through the various layers, and get an interesting effect, much likened to the colour variation in composite materials like micarta or diamondwood.

Just wondering...
 
That's what I was thinking as well, but how well would epoxy hold everything together? The idea of making some kind of laminate is highly appealing, because bamboo's so easy to acquire, and it does look nice if treated correctly. But if I wanted to make a hidden-tang knife, I'd like to start from a block of material. On a full tang knife, it'd probably be simpler.

It would be better, though, if there was a simpler way to go from raw or dried bamboo to using it as a handle material. Maybe I should stick with wood?

Edited: Looked up some stuff, I'm pretty sure the laminate idea is out of reach, I would need a large press of some sort, along with treating the material beforehand. Will experiment with raw/dried bamboo, with different treatments.
 
Bamboo is pretty strong stuff when used properly. If it were me, I'd try to stabilize some dried out pieces and then laminate some together. Then again, there's always mail order for handle material.
 
Unless you know what wood you are using, and how it would work for a handle, I would rather go with the bamboo. I have some bamboo flooring samples that I have considered using some day. It really is nice stuff, and I do think bamboo would make a decent handle. The bamboo should be easily dried and epoxied, my 2 cent's worth.
 
Most of those flooring samples and such are laminates, and are somewhat out of reach for a simple hobbyist (such as me).

Prepping the bamboo isn't as simple as I thought it might be:

http://members.aol.com/woinem1/index/bamboo.htm

[English section at the bottom]

I'll have to leach out the starch, which may take a while, and straighten the bamboo, in addition to splitting it, getting the waxy stuff out, and so on. It may be more trouble than it's worth, even considering the strength/durability of bamboo. Although, I'll probably try it anyway if I can find time.
 
The bamboo flooring is made by cutting canes lengthwise in halves (or maybe thirds, or possibly they just slit it and open it up), and then pressing it flat while compressing it sideways as well. This retains the natural pattern. A very hard, tough wood and flooring.
I have bamboo in the yard, but unfortunately none of the giant timber Moso that grows so well in Japan. Moso has a wall thickness of about one centimeter, or even thicker. Depending on how wide, and what type of handle you're making I think it would work. You could even try making a simple homemade press. Stacking progressively larger diameters and filling in between with epoxy might also work very well. To quick cure green bamboo, use a propane torch and "paint" the bamboo with it. The green comes out rapidly and it turns a multi-toned tan-brown color. Light sanding might even out the color. This process also brings out the natural resins which act as a varnish. Be careful of the steam created as you work--hot! I've seen balisongs with bamboo used as the insert material and it looks very nice. Good luck.
 
i use the bamboo lamanite flooring on my japanese style culinary blades. i get scrap pieces from a friend that installs flooring. they always have scrap around.
 
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