Wood for handles that’s not toxic

T

Tin.Man

Joined
Sep 5, 2010
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Ive stuck with g10 and micarta since I started a few years ago, I love the stability of those materials but I admit I miss the warmth of working with wood in my high school shop days.

Looking for something ideally that doesn’t need stabilization, isn’t prone to swelling or shrinking, and the dust isn’t gonna cause respiratory problems.

I’ve used rock maple and osage and bamboo and oak making bows but they all had fiberglass lams and matte epoxy coated.

Appreciate the help
 
Ipe? Not sure if it’s toxic or not, but it fits the rest of your requirements... not very interesting to look at usually though.
 
I’m dwfinitely not looking for figure but the warmth of wood. Haven’t tried Ipe appreciate that!

I’d love to try ironwood but the pieces I’ve held have always been oily
 
I use black walnut, maple, white and red oak, ambrosia maple, dogwood, and honey locust without issues. finish with oil or polyurethane.
 
I've used manzanita burl without stabilizing. Oil and beeswax (board cream) works well with it, but must be maintained probably monthly or so.

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I would think Maple and birch would have to be one of the least toxic woods . Most woods are somewhat irritating but maple is about the only one that my nose doesn't get itchy. I think any wood that has oils in it is going to be a little toxic. From my understanding the oils are a defensive measure against bacteria and fungus as well as other pest. That why they make great fence post or other things that are left outdoors .
 
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For use with foods like bowls, ash is said to be one of the best . It doesn't have much figure though. While I don't make knives the ones I have made for me are usually maple . It is hard so some makers don't even finish it or just use wax. Maple is available with many types of figure and available locally to me .Some of our suppliers have photos and you pick the one you like best !
 
I was leaning on rock maple. I don’t mind a lack of figure just so long as the dust doesn’t make me break out in hives and I don’t have to worry about it cracking or shrinking down the road.
 
Tin.Man said:
I’m dwfinitely not looking for figure but the warmth of wood. Haven’t tried Ipe appreciate that!

I’d love to try ironwood but the pieces I’ve held have always been oily
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Ipe is probably the last one I would try if you're trying to avoid health complications. I know several people that that gotten horrible reactions to the dust getting on their skin. I don't have a problem with it myself, but I know it's one of the worse woods for allergic reactions.
 
African blackwood may be one of the least potentially irritating of the rosewoods, cocobolo appearing to be the worst, but it is still a rosewood.
 
Tin.Man said:
I was leaning on rock maple. I don’t mind a lack of figure just so long as the dust doesn’t make me break out in hives and I don’t have to worry about it cracking or shrinking down the road.
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rock maple isn't a variety, just an ad gimick. hard maple, especially ambrosia hard maple would work well.
 
jdm61 said:
African blackwood may be one of the least potentially irritating of the rosewoods, cocobolo appearing to be the worst, but it is still a rosewood.
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Good advise. Blackwood is a great choice, polishes better than any domestic woods and is rather unreactive
 
scott.livesey said:
rock maple isn't a variety, just an ad gimick. hard maple, especially ambrosia hard maple would work well.
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Rock maple is a common trade name for hard maple. Acer saccharum is rock maple/ hard maple.

Basically all other maples like big leaf, silver, red and box elder are known as soft maples.
 
My recommendation is don't worry about the potential reactions to dust. wear a respirator with any serious dust producing operation. I have been doing wood working since I was a kid, worked with a ton of exotics, and especially when young didn't always wear a respirator. I have never had a reaction beyond wrong colored snot. That being said, I will use a respirator with anything that produces a fine dust. I will happily run a table saw/jointer/planer without a mask, but a sander/grinder/lathe/router/etc is just bad news. Same is true for micarta/G10. Don't breathe in the fine dust particles.

If you are worried about toxicity in the final product (eg. for a kitchen knife), I would just google it on a per species basis. If the knife was for personal use, I dont think there is a wood I am aware of that is sufficiently 'toxic' that I would be worried about incidental contact with the handle being bad for you. If there was a wood of sufficient toxicity, touching it would be risky regardless if it was used in food prep.
 
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