What is your favorite piece in your personal stash of handle material?

I have a few but some redwood burl from Mark is high up there.
I also have a pair of camel bone scales that I realy like. Not special or expensive, but I like the subtile yellow striping in the white bone.
I also have a piece of olive wood burl that looks very pretty. I love olive wood :)
(can´t have enough olive wood)
 
Here are a few pieces of claro walnut I am saving for when I actually get a decent bowie or three worked up that I wont feel bad about putting these guys on. The first IMHO is my favorite but the other two I think are going to look really good. They are natural and sanded to about 220 or 320 (cant remember) and a little bit of BOL I put on a while back.





 
That's some great looking Walnut, Quint!

I'm a hoarder [almost...] and have at least 35 kinds of wood stashed around here. It would take me weeks to find a 'favorite piece'. I'll see if I can find a batch worth sharing.
 
Trying to photo the black lip pearl......not a very good photographer anyway, but I keep trying.

Each piece is about 3" x 1" x 3/32" thick.....big enough for a decent sized slipjoint with bolsters, or an interframe.


The price on all of these was about $160.00 for each set....I consider it a bargain.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
That is some really nice stuff Steve. Would look amazing as some inlay work. Wish I had been into knife making a while back when I was over seas. I remember seeing that stuff in several spots in the med and in the UAE. Just at the time I wasnt looking to do knife work.

Here is what is left of a piece of madrone burl I processed a while back, should probably have hung onto more of it but oh well. Sold off some, traded most of the rest for various things. Ive got this set of scales (they are book matched this is just the outside since it is all thats cleaned up), and two little blocks left.

 
Kohai999 said:
Whoever moved this to Shop Talk......really?

Might want to switch to decaf.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

I could not agree with you more. I saw this thread while travelling on Amtrak and wanted to post something on it, but i could not at that time. When I logged on today, it was disappeared. I think it fit in very well where it was, but . . . not my website. Indeed, I thought this had the potential to be one of teh most fun and interesting threads in the C&HK Forum in a long, long time. Alas!

Anyway, glad I finally found it.

I have a LOT of handle material of all types, but this is my favorite (sorry for all the crappy reflections in the picture):


bluemammothknifescalest.jpg


Phil Boguszewsi and I had discussed it and he was going to make me a fancy Cobra with this next year. Now . . . I don't really know what I am going to do with it.
 
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This thread was of great benefit to the s/f that it was originally posted in as it was primarily geared towards COLLECTOR's who purchase materials and possibly makers who hold back materials for that special knife....thus, my post above.

Ken, that blue fossil ivory material you posted up screams Don Hanson knife to me.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Great thread however it is a mean thing to do to a burl addict like myself. I allways end up falling off the horse and getting more burl. I have many favorites but I will start with one chittam rarest burl on earth.chittam.jpg
 
Mark, my favourite is an exceptional hunk of Redwood burl which I haven't yet received from you...it will be arriving soon I'm sure.:) It will eventually grace some exceptional sharp and beautiful damascus.
Thanks Mark!

CaliforniaRedwoodBurl#4816_6x2 3,8x1.25.jpgCaliforniaRedwoodBurl#4816.jpg
 
The Virginian said:
Never heard of this before. Can you tell us anything about it (where does it come from, is it a hardwood or softwood, etc.)? TIA!
Click to expand...

CHITTAMWOOD

Sideroxylon lanuginosum

Sideroxylon lanuginosum (syn. Bumelia lanuginosa and Bumelia rufa) of the family Sapotaceae. Native to Northern Mexico and the Southern part of the USA from Arizona across to South Carolina and in the middle of the country up to Illinois.

The scientific name was recently changed from Bumelia lanuginosa and while the plant is commonly refered to as Gum Bumelia by botanists but the name chittamwood seems to be the name (along with chittam or chittum or chittumwood) more commonly used by craftspeople in the USA. Other common names include antswood, black haw, brazos bumelia, buckthorn, chittimwood, coma, ironwood, shittamwood, false buckthorn, gum bumelia, gum elastic, gum woolybucket, slowwood, stifftwig, tempesquistle (Mexico), Texas bumelia, woolybucket bumelia, wooly buckthorn, wooly bumelia, and zapotillo (Mexico).

Because of similarities in plant size and wood appearance (and cross-use of common names), it is sometimes confused with buckthorn and smoketree and it also looks similar to osage orange although not confused with that particular wood.

Grows as anything from a large shrub up to a small tree reaching a maximum of about 40ft high and 1ft in diameter, so is not available in lumber form and is generally seen only in craft projects such as pens and small bowls.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I have to sit on my hands to not buy way to much handle material.
But had to have this and just ordered a pair of mouflon horn scales :D :D :D
I'd love to get some good merano sheep horn scales some time as well

$T2eC16ZHJF8FFpkp5cLZBRg44pjomw~~60_58.JPG
 
Thanks, STeven. Sounds like a farily common tree or shrub. I wonder why the burl is so rare. Maybe because the trunk is kind of thin?

I really am the most ignorant person on the planet when it comes to botany, horticulture, forestry, etc. :o
 
lol yeah sorry but the above picture of chittam is not Sideroxylon lanuginosum. Chittam or smoke tree (Cotinus obovatus) has the chatoyancy I love, the burled figure, an unusual color (gold/yellow/orange), and is one of the rarest burls in the world, because it is only found in a few small areas of southeastern U.S.A, mainly Alabama. The reason it is so rare however is because the tree grows only or mostly on/in granite and limestone cliffs. The burl it self is root burl which is yes you guessed it in the granite and limestone. All of the areas were this tree grows naturally is illegal to harvest do to the fact that the cliffs are directly above major highways and freeways. Most of the chittam that is available or at least where I got mine is from freeway maintenance crew that get it after land sides and such.
 
That ironwood is beautifull.
This week I finished an ironwood handled knife (not worth showing)
I used some very plain growth ironwood, it was the first time I've used it,
It surprised me how beautifull, deep and almost alive even this plain ironwood is!

Mother nature is very good to people that take the time to work and finish materials.
 
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