What kind of wood do you like for your High End Knives?

and the wenge wood looks great on that knife. Like Steven said, if the wood is premium quality and the type of wood fits the style of knife, then you're good.

Pete
 
How about something like this?
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Ironwood and Snakewood are always personal favorites. As mentioned by others, quality is key and some woods just go right on some knives.

This knife that I picked up from Kevin Casey at the NY show in Nov 2008 has Tasmanian Eucalyptus Burl that grabbed my eyeballs as I was approaching his table. Between the wood, fittings, steel, and Larry Parsons sheath...well, I was hypnotized.

cid_08881CF6-E0A4-4743-B1DC-D966FBB.jpg
 
butcher_block said:
im a big fan of blocks you can work the sapwood into as i love the contrast
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That is not something I buy into....ever..a sapwood/heartwood mix is simply, imo, substandard wood..and find makers who enjoy that are USUALLY outside of my purchasing radar.;)

Best Regards,

Steven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
That is not something I buy into....ever..a sapwood/heartwood mix is simply, imo, substandard wood..and find makers who enjoy that are USUALLY outside of my purchasing radar.;)

Best Regards,

Steven Garsson
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true that it can be sub par but if you use the right wood and pair it in the right combo it can look great.

about the only woods that i like that are truly nice to me are the great ironwood burls with lots of contrast and buckeye burl that has nice dark tones to it
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I'm very fond of Ironwood and Cocobolo.
However personally, I prefer stag and ivory for what I consider high end knives.
 
Kevin Jones said:
I'm very fond of Ironwood and Cocobolo.
However personally, I prefer stag and ivory for what I consider high end knives.
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I used to love cocobolo, but have found over the years that not only does it shrink over time, but darkens(as many others) with UV exposure....badly.

I prefer stag and pearl myself, but sometimes that best from a maker comes in wood...ie...Moran/Hendrickson in flamed maple with silver wire inlay...or carved African Blackwood from J.D. Smith....not to say these makers did not or will not work in other materials, but they have become as well known for wood handles as Don Hanson has become for his ivory handles.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
I prefer stag and pearl myself, but sometimes that best from a maker comes in wood...ie...Moran/Hendrickson in flamed maple with silver wire inlay...or carved African Blackwood from J.D. Smith....not to say these makers did not or will not work in other materials, but they have become as well known for wood handles as Don Hanson has become for his ivory handles.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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Some tremendous wood-handled pieces from Don Fogg and many others as well.

Roger
 
I've never had a shrinking problem with the two Cocobolo handle knives I have or had.

Speaking of Jay Hendrickson wood handles here's one of Cocobolo that I had for quite a few years. I often carry an older Limited Addition Wm. Henry folder with Cocobolo scales. I will try to get a photo to post up. Picked up an extremely nice block of it at the Ohio Classic Show, however will probably be a couple years before it goes on a knife.

I actually like wood finishes after they have naturally aged a bit. Hard to beat mahogany or cherry cabinetry that has darkened over the years.

JAYHENDRICKSONDamuscushunter003.jpg
 
Some beautiful wood here - many of them I've never seen before. For my own preference, it's Desert Ironwood and Cocobolo (I have rather pedestrian tastes:)).

- Mark
 
At the risk of annoying STeven again with my unconventional taste in subhilts :D .........


I will say the my number 1 wood is figured Koa by a long shot due to the complexity of grain patterns and variegated colors. The Chatoyancy is also up there with any wood. I posted some other "Koa Knives" in the fighter and subhilt threads

Bill
 

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Kevin Jones said:
..... here's one of Cocobolo that I had for quite a few years. I often carry an older Limited Addition Wm. Henry folder with Cocobolo scales.

JAYHENDRICKSONDamuscushunter003.jpg
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That looks like no cocobolo that I have ever seen....must be some special stuff!:thumbup:

billf said:
At the risk of annoying STeven again with my unconventional taste in subhilts :D .........

I will say the my number 1 wood is figured Koa by a long shot due to the complexity of grain patterns and variegated colors.
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Koa is a great, great wood, and I would like to hold that "semi-conventional" Broadwell subhilt and see how it balances.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
That looks like no cocobolo that I have ever seen....must be some special stuff!:thumbup:
STeven Garsson
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Actually, I have found that cocobolo varies a bit in color and grain.
I have a block and two sets of cocobolo scales and all three vary in color from reddish to fairly dark brown and one has very straight grain, one curves a little and the block is much like the above. When I purchased my block the vendor had about 1/3 of an 8' table stacked about 8" high with cocobolo and I was amazed how the pieces varied, making my selection quite time consuming.
The color is a little off in the photo.
 
I'm really liking this thread, wood is my favorite handle material.

DI, Blackwood, Walnut, Curly Maple, Cocobolo, Koa and Eucalyptus are probably my favorites.
Haven't had any problem with my cocobolo darkening yet, crosses fingers :),
and I've had one of Shiva's Spirit blades in cocobolo for almost 10 years.

Not just curly maple but any of the permutations of maple, tiger stripe or maple burl even birdseye maple if it looks nice.
Same goes for walnut, whether it's claro or black, my favorite though is Ozark walnut such as what DH3 used on a hunter for me.
Koa and curly koa are really interesting.
Amboyna and Ebony are nice as well, very striking example of the former that STeven posted.

Almost forgot Buckeye or California Buckeye, burl or not.
Have a couple Matt Roberts pieces with it and they look very nice to me.

I think that's about it, but as was said, there are striking examples of any and many wood types.

Doug
 
Kevin Jones said:
Actually, I have found that cocobolo varies a bit in color and grain.
I have a block and two sets of cocobolo scales and all three vary in color from reddish to fairly dark brown and one has very straight grain, one curves a little and the block is much like the above. When I purchased my block the vendor had about 1/3 of an 8' table stacked about 8" high with cocobolo and I was amazed how the pieces varied, making my selection quite time consuming.
The color is a little off in the photo.
Click to expand...
I have seen some wildly figured cocobolo, but suffice to say that it seems to be fairly rare. I have seen the same thing with real old growth Brazilian rosewood. Bill Moran used a fair amount of rosewood back in the day and I have owned one Hendrickson and seen a few others where he went off script so to speak and used walnut for his inlayed handles. That looked very nice. According to the Bill Moran videos that i have, the trick is to find a piece of wood that won't split or chip when you go across the grain doing the inlay and maple seems to be the best for that.
 
I like the feel and warmth of wood, I some makers do an excellent job of carving wood. There is a lot variability with wood and I was wondering what most would consider premium. For example, desert ironwood, I've seem some beautiful examples of some burls and grain with highlights with gold iridescence (some of my favorite), and some with dark streaks, but more brown tones (my least favorite). I do like Cocobolo, but favor the vey dark maroon tones. Blackwood, in my opinion, if to be considered premium should be very, very dark, with little, or no grain visible. How are these woods graded?
Bob
 
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