Where to buy large pieces of ironwood?

Joss

Joss

Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
7,351
Hi,

Do people know of good places to buy big pieces of ironwood? I'd rather pay for a larger block all in once than pay for the cost to cut slabs, etc...

Thanks,

JD
 
The thing that would concern me about buying a large piece of ironwood rather than small pieces is that not all ironwood is created equal. I am assuming that the ironwood is for a knife handle and as such figure and pattern in the ironwood are much desired. I have had large pieces of ironwood given to me, but have been disapointed in its plain Jane appearance when I cut into it. It's just like the various grades of walnut in gun stocks. If one could be sure the large piece had good figure, then that would be great. I might say that having cut and finished lots of handle material myself that the prices charged by the ironwood sellers high as they may be are not too far out of line. Just think of how much scrap is cut and thrown away for just one set of highly figured scales. Tom Lewis
 
I kinda figured this is the way it works. It's amazing how much waste there is if you want to cut your own piece.

JD
 
OK guys, enlighten me. I was under the impression that Desert Ironwood was what was used in knife handles. Here in the south Hornbeam is called Ironwood. I thought they were different. Are they?
 
peter, i know that Desert Ironwood, refer's to the Sonoran Desert, here in the southwestern USA. i do not know if what you have in you neck of the country is the same or related.
 
Have you ever seen the live tree Laurence. Hornbeam has a smoothe bark and the best description is it looks like it has muscles. The texture of the tree looks like the forearm of a blacksmith. The wood is very hard and was used at one time for machine gears. It is just as hard as Boxwood but is hard to dry without checking. I made a practise sword from some and have put it through hell. It just keeps on going.
 
Desert Ironwood (Olneya Tesota), grows only in the area generally known as the Sonoran Desert. Southern Arizona, southeastern California,southwestern New Mexico, and northern Mexico.
The bark looks like an Elephants skin, the leaves resemble the Mesquite, the Catclaw Acacia, the Palo Verde, but it has purple flowers in spring.
The Hornbeam, I dont know about, but it sounds very interesting.
 
Thanks Mike. Ithought it would be too good to be true. Hornbeam may work well for handles but is rather plain. It's a light color, a lot like Maple. If you like I'll look around for an aged piece for you.
 
Desert Ironwood is VERY difficult to cut. Not only is it extremely hard but very resinous and coats your blades very quickly. Because it grows in the desert it gets sand inside the wood. Desert Ironwood usually sparks a bit when you cut it with a bandsaw. It makes your blade dull in record time. If I were you I would buy the cut pieces.. but then, Im not you am I??

Lignum Vitae is also called Ironwood in the Caribbean....no relation whatsoever although lignum is one of the densest woods in the world and has a wax like resin thruout. Wants to bend and crack A LOT!

So does desert ironwood. :p
 
the desert (sonoran) ironwood also stains my work clothes. a dirt chocolate color. makes interesting shades on my jeans. i buy the scales pre cut. that way you have a pattern that you can see and match to compliment the design of knife you are working on.
 
I mean, now that I get all that info, I better understand the price drivers behind the cost of a 1.5 X 1.5 X 5 bloc of ironwood. But it seems that this cost is out of proportion to the cost of some other woods, with as much visual appeal. For example, one can get a 2 X 2 X 9 bloc of walnut burl (a favorite of mine) for $7 off eBay. Add to that the cost of stabilizing, and the time it will take you to cut the wood into pieces of the right size for scales or handles, and you still get enough for 2 to 4 handles for a few bucks per handle.

I recognize that at the end of the day, the cost of the material is a tiny part of the cost of the knife. However, this is only true if you do not carry a large quantity of wood in inventory. If you do, you end up having quite a bit of money just sitting there for months or more.

Make no mistake, I enjoy very much the appearance of beautiful ironwood, esp. burled. But I still wonder if there's not a fad phenomenon that creates an artificially high demand for a relatively pricey wood...

What do you think?

JD
 
Joss, I cut a lot of ironwood as I live in Arizona
and have 3 large logs out back of the shed, I also
have a Ironwood tree on my lot that my forge sets
under, there is no mistaking a Ironwood tree for any
thing els, it is covered with thorns, it is a cactus
tree that is why my shop is called Cactus Forge.
When it comes to cutting, it is like mining for Gold
I have a stack of Ironwoog that is 1 1/2 foot x1 1/2
foot square and 2 feet high the pieces have space
between for air circulrtion it took several days to
cut this amount and mabby 20% quilify as not having
defects, less than this would be good quility knife
handles. This amount of handles took several days to
cut from 20' of 8" to 15" logs I hauled way more to
the burn pile than I got in handles. Also burnt up
several saw blades. Hope this helps.
Gib
 
Yeah, like Gib said. You need a carbide tipped chainsaw to cut the stuff with any efficiency.
New laws enacted after nafta, forbid the cutting of Desert Ironwood on anything but private property. If you find it in a wash out type situation, and scavenge the stuff, you better be able to prove it was down when you got it, if caught.
These new laws plus problems getting it from Mexico, make this one of the rarest woods around, believe it or not. That accounts for the price. Like Gib also said, there is a tremendous amount of wastage when you cut this stuff up. The nicer the grain, the more the wastage, it seems.
Desert Ironwood is full of natural pesticides, and other nasties. When you work it, you better wear a respirator, it can give you a fungal infection of the lungs that can possibly lead to death.:eek:
 
If your looking to buy iron wood logs do a search on ebay.I seen some very large ones on there the other day for little money.If you find a log and have questions on whether or not its real im sure theres guys here that can help you out in determing that.
As for cutting large pieces,I too would suggest a carbide tipped chain.I have waisted chains simply cutting seasoned poplar"very very hard."You can purchase these chains herehttp://www.rapcoindustries.com/ or if you can gain acces to a gas powered cut off saw with a diamond blade,that would work too.
http://www.brandonrentalcenters.com/brcstihltools.html
 
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