White Oak

Looks good. First batch of wood I ever sent off to WSSI was mostly Oak, mainly red Oak, but some white and water thrown in. Basically went through the fire wood pile for anything with an interesting figure, and they came out great. White oak and water oak have a much tighter grain than red oak, but they all looked good stabilized.
 
I have a good friend who likes and accumulates old furniture. Most of it is quarter sawn white oak and is some of the most beautiful wood I've laid eyes on. But it's hard to capture that 'look' in a piece as small as a knife handle, compared to a desk, or other piece of furniture.


james terrio said:
I don't care about that, just let me know next time you have more of that crotch walnut ;)
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Hopefully sometime this winter I'll have more walnut ready.
 
I agree the beauty of oak is seen best on objects larger then a knife handle.
I finnished an oak dining table here and love the rays and grain.
 
Burl Source said:
I like the look of quarter sawn oak with the rays and flecks that show up. Especially the curly figured stuff. But, if you flat saw a super curly piece the faces make really cool repeating ovals kind of like quilted maple. Too many people prejudge oak as a generic wood until they see good properly cut pieces.
My opinion on stabilizing is that even though it can be durable enough without being stabilized, stabilizing makes it look better because of pores getting filled and it is much easier to get a good finish. I have found the darker or dyed to be much more popular than the blonde.
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Slippery just like any stabalized wood though.

J. Oeser said:
I have never been into oak much either but that handle looks beautiful Andy! I'm going to have to keep my eyes out for some of that.
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I'll send you a piece of Red Oak that is exceptional. Send me an e-mail.

KFU said:
Its one if my favorite woods Andy! I usually use truoil to finish but the oak seems to like a soak in BLO. I have a guy up in Illinois that gets a ton of it.
Looks good.with orange;)
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I like to seal it with diluted poly, then wax it. Neato.

D_Golden said:
Not yet but your picture answered some questions for me. I would like to use some local woods from around here where I'm fortunate to have some sawmills that are privately owned. 90% of the time you always seem to see a big contrast between steel and scales (being dark). I think lighter woods work even better in some cases.
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I like earth tones a lot.

james terrio said:
Congratulations! I'm sure you'll do just fine. I hope to be at the show as a visitor, I'll be sure to stop and say howdy.
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The venue there is really excellent. Ky is beautiful. The location is in the downtown 'fun' area in Louisville. Lots to do for ladies, etc. I like the spot.

Hengelo_77 said:
I live in ´oak country´.
Almost averything solid and wood is oak and is made to last hundereds of years.
I have a blade ready for HT that I plan to put an oak handle on.

You can darken oak with amonia fumes. They react with the tannines in the wood.
There must be good tutorials on line but the general idea is to have the wood in an air tight enviroment (box)
together wit a dish full of amonia. The fumes react, not the liquid.
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You can get good darkness with Aquafortis as well. You have to use heat though. But to bring out curl and rays and curl in hardwoods, it is really nice.

Nathan the Machinist said:
Light tents can flatten an image and give it a dull flat look. You want some highlights and even a little glare.

I like to use a mix of artificial light and natural light. And white light reflectors rather than a full-on tent.

Jim Cooper (Sharp by Coop) has a well earned good reputation and I recommend him highly. He does everything from art knives to field grade stuff. He did this one for me and it was very difficult to photograph and his work was so excellent. http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/...st/Integral_dagger_092311/Carothersdagger.jpg

I think that wood will pop with better photography. You won't regret having it professionally photographed.
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I think I'm going to send it there Nathan. Thanks.

Don Hanson III said:
White Oak is my favorite firewood. I cut around 15 cords a year. :D
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Haha. You keep the curly stuff tho I bet. I check my firewood for spalting and figure.
 
That handle looks stellar, as does nice quartered white oak in fine Arts and Crafts furniture. I agree that fumed oak would look wonderful too.

I think oak gets a bad rap because of the bland, poorly stained, flatsawn red oak used in so many kitchens and bargain furniture. In my subconscious it always looks cheap to me.

Your oak handled knives have always elevated oak to a much higher level. The cuts you choose and the fact that you use the finer pored white oak help. Most red oak I've seen and used is much more coarse and not all that pretty.

I do have a quartered and curly board of red oak that is being saved for a nice project down the line, but overall red oak is "meh" to me.
 
Oh, and firewood piles are a treasure trove of figured and gorgeous wood that will never be found in a hardwood dealership.

It's cheap, maybe free and with a bit of sweat, can turn out some really nice smaller projects. Get a decent bandsaw and jointer and have at it.
 
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