Which Woods Do Not Need to be Stabilized?

J

JH225

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Feb 7, 1999
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Out of the many various hardwoods, which ones DO NOT need to be stabilized? In other words, which woods can be cut, profiled, sealed or oiled and put into use without the worry of cracking or shrinking?

I have access to many different woods (Purpleheart, Zebrawood, Cocobolo, , and pretty much any exotic) and would like to know which ones I could start to use without the added cost of stabilization.

Also, which type of oil or sealer is best?

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C.O.'s-"It takes balls to work behind the walls "


[This message has been edited by Jailhack (edited 05-10-2001).]
 
I had the best luck with Paduk. It starts out mottled tan and brown and turns different shades of green in the sun. It's very dense, and has really nice whirling grain. I have used Watco Danish Oil on all my handles with good results. It actually hardens when drying. Gabon(sp?) Ebony is really nice too.

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A Paladin in Hell
 
I had an article on natural handle materials in the December issue of knives illustrated.

Summing up what I said on wood, the following commonly used woods do not need to/should not be stabilized:

Desert Ironwood
Snakewood
members of the Rosewood family
Lignum Vitae
any other dense or oily wood.

Fine sanding (at least 800 grit) followed by buffing and a coat of Renaissance wax (or Johnson's paste floor wax) is all you need for an attractive and durable finish, easily restored by the user.

Don Cowles
www.cowlesknives.com
 
Hello!

There'S a lot of woods that can be used without being stabilized. To name a few, desert ironwood (the best!), lignum vitae (gaïac), bruyère, maple, ziricote, wenge, bongossi, greenheart, grenadill, pink ivory, teak, camphor, sonokeling, arctic birch, mediterranean yewtree and many others are very good. Some of them are quiet open grained and need a sealer. Some of them are difficult to cut and work because they have long, hard fibres. Most produce a toxic or carcinogenic dust when ground (that's why the critters stay away from them!)
I had bad experiences with ebony and snakewood, because these tend to crack even after long drying periods.
I use danish oil on all wood handles.
I love and prefer by far to make handles from antler because it's a lot more stable than any kind of wood.

Achim
 
Good info. I heard that ironwood needs an oil to bring out the patterns. Is this true? If so, does it still need a wax sealer after it's oiled?

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John Gonzalez
Exclusive Dealer
Mineral Mountain Hatchet Works
 
And don't forget to put on that respirator when cutting and sanding these woods!!!!
I speak from experience...no sense of taste for over a month, and that's the least of the problems!!!
 
Lot's of ideas so far, thanks.

What about Purpleheart? I really like the way this wood looks, is it dense and oily enough?

BTW, No question that a respirator will be used.

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C.O.'s-"It takes balls to work behind the walls "
 
Over the years my dad as a wood shop teacher worked with EVERY wood imaginable. He found that many of the "oily" woods that cannot be stabilized, polish nice and make VERY tough handle materials. In addition to the woods mentioned above, I would also include Persimon (used as golf driver heads at one time), Osage Orange, Lemon Wood and I believe Ipe is another one. When making knife handles from these, special care must be taken because sometimes glues and epoxies wont stick to them very well!!
Neil


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Talonite......Stellite
Hand Made Knives..High Tech Materials
blackwoodknives.com
 
Just an interesting fact: Persimmon is in the Ebony family and is sometimes called "White Ebony". It is not considered as stable as other in the family, but I don't know how it would work as a knife handle. Has anybody used Persimmon?

Jeff
 
Doc Lathe brought up an interesting point.

At what point does a wood become "too" oily and will not be able to be affixed with epoxy? And if this is the case, which woods would fall into this catagory and is there any cure?

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C.O.'s-"It takes balls to work behind the walls "
 
JH- just another word of caution. I am allergic to cocobolo and have heard of other folks being allergic to other species. Be careful!
 
Sand up a block of whatever you intend to use. If, on a good sharp edge of this wood block, you can indent your thumbnail easily, then it probably needs stabilization. I just attended the spring hammer-in at the Washington Arkansas forge this past weekend and indeed we had a siminar on just this very subject.

regards, mitch
 
Most "SuperGlues" work well with ironwood. Sand to 500 or so and lightly buff with white rouge. No further finish is required.

As you buff, you'll notice the wax slightly darkens the wood and brightens the colors!

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Tom Anderson
Hand Crafted Knives


www.andersoncustomknives.com
 
On really oily woods like ebony, snakewood or Ironwood. Wipe down any areas that are glue points with a cloth wet with Laquer Thinner or Acetone. Keep wiping and turning the cloth till you stop getting alot of color on the rag. (do it and you will understand what I mean by color) But DO NOT soak the wood. You just want to dry out the surface. If you dry it too much it will check on ya. Its an old cabinet makers trick.

R.W.Clark
 
R.W.,

If the surface to be glued is wiped down until the color stops bleeding onto the rag as you said, and the slabs are then epoxied and pinned (just to hold in place), will oil that is still in the wood eventually seep through to the wiped area and cause the epoxy to be compromised?

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C.O.'s-"It takes balls to work behind the walls "
 
You can also grind some slots or drill "blind rivets" into the tang side of the wood partways thru to give the glue some points to anchor to. Corresponding holes in the tang help as well, & can lighten the tang also.
As to the oil migrating after degreasing, I think the epoxy will have formed its bond long before the oils will affect it.
Harry Jensen
 
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