Recommendation? who is your Scale/Block material provider

G

George van Wageningen

Joined
Jan 19, 2018
Messages
1
I am very green to knife making but going at it full force and loving it!

I am using the stock removal method, only using hand tools at the moment. My knife is now ready for a handle and I am currently searching for the right scales, I will be using stabilized wood.

Question: Who do you get your materials from? looking for good quality materials and stock but not wanting to break the bank. I have been looking at USAknifemaker.com and TexasKnifeSupply.com websites. Looking for a stabilized wood that looks good but also beginner friendly. Also if you recommend reg. woods, burl, spalted wood and why?

Thanks...
 
There are many out there. Check Hoffman knives sells some nice stuff reasonable. Terry Dunn and Glens Burly Scales N More on facebook show nice stuff. Woodys wood same place.
 
Granted, I am a little bit biased ;)

If this is your first knife, I would recommend you check out some of the kingwood or Cocobolo on my site. They are very affordable "Expect to pay 30+ dollars for stabilized blocks" and will yield durable and beautiful results.

If you want more direct advice, you can send me an email.


George van Wageningen said:
I am very green to knife making but going at it full force and loving it!

I am using the stock removal method, only using hand tools at the moment. My knife is now ready for a handle and I am currently searching for the right scales, I will be using stabilized wood.

Question: Who do you get your materials from? looking for good quality materials and stock but not wanting to break the bank. I have been looking at USAknifemaker.com and TexasKnifeSupply.com websites. Looking for a stabilized wood that looks good but also beginner friendly. Also if you recommend reg. woods, burl, spalted wood and why?

Thanks...
Click to expand...
 
I enjoy searching ebay for materials.
Cocobolo is beautiful and makes a durable handle. (Wear a respirator)
I haven't used kingwood yet but it is on my wish list
 
Greenberg Woods said:
No. Those are "representative samples" ie nice examples of the wood. What you get may vary.
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Yeah, those are examples. I have been very happy with every piece though. There are a couple woods on there (one is cocobolo) that looks a bit strange and different from the pictures, but when I received them they looked like normal. Bad pictures for some.

The sight also has handpick boards which you can choose the exact board. They come in larger boards but a bunch are thin and can be used for scales.
 
The barefoot boy said:
Yeah, those are examples. I have been very happy with every piece though. There are a couple woods on there (one is cocobolo) that looks a bit strange and different from the pictures, but when I received them they looked like normal. Bad pictures for some.

The sight also has handpick boards which you can choose the exact board. They come in larger boards but a bunch are thin and can be used for scales.
Click to expand...
No way I will buy wood if I don t see first for what I pay......
 
Kevin McGovern said:
For highly figured/ burl and the like, I agree. Most of the species in the scales area, are pretty plain, unstabilized and cheap. I don't need to see a block of osage, african blackwood, or paduak to know what it's going to look like.
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Well than you can get something like this , are scale the same on both sides ? I prefer couple scale like this one on right side :) Anyway I like to see what I buy .......
dbt9iuu.jpg

tYvs77r.jpg
 
The barefoot boy said:
I respect that but the issue is pricing then. If I had the money I would do the same.
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After many hours of hard work on blade I want to glue some good looking wood .After all , handle is what make one knife to look good , excelent , or like . . . . ;)
 
Natlek said:
Well than you can get something like this , are scale the same on both sides ? I prefer couple scale like this one on right side :) Anyway I like to see what I buy .......
dbt9iuu.jpg

tYvs77r.jpg
Click to expand...
If it's. Solid block, you can match them yourself. All the scales are book matched.
 
Natlek said:
After many hours of hard work on blade I want to glue some good looking wood .After all , handle is what make one knife to look good , excelent , or like . . . . ;)
Click to expand...
I think you are confusing quality with high price. Sure, I expect to pay more for stabilized burl. But if what I want on the knife is a more understated look with plain grain, (like the knife you posted above) why would I pay a premium for that?
 
Natlek said:
Well than you can get something like this , are scale the same on both sides ? I prefer couple scale like this one on right side :) Anyway I like to see what I buy .......
dbt9iuu.jpg

tYvs77r.jpg
Click to expand...
They are bookmatched or blocks. They are clearly the same on both scales.
 
Like I said. Bells scales ARE book matched. It's not like it's that hard to cut a block in half and put a rubber band around the set. Which is what they do. Or, you can just buy blocks. So you can cut them yourself.
 
The barefoot boy said:
They are bookmatched or blocks. They are clearly the same on both scales.
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Guys , guys ..................it s my english I suppose :) Look again both side on my knife and tell me which side you like more ? Now , you want bookmatched set like left side ..............or bookmatched set scale like right side ?? That s way I want first to look THAT bookmatched scale before I buy them .Same with block , I want first to see what I will cut in scale or make hidden tang ..........
 
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