Wood for scales

[1894]

I've been enjoying the pics of the fine wood on the knifes here. :thumbup:

My questions are: What goes into choosing a nice piece of wood ?
And, what goes into the stabilizeing / drying of it ?
I ask because a small pear tree has been drying out for a few years in my garage, and I have several Paper Birch trees that need to come down at camp because they are either dead or too close to to camp and need to get cut down. Also , a couple Apple trees that need some hard pruning in my yard.
Any advice is welcome

Phil

 

[Fiddleback]

OK. Here goes.

Almost any hard wood is good for a handle. What you choose is subjective. Stay away from limbs. They are under compression and tend to crack badly. Try to quartersaw the trunks. This means that the rings of the tree are 90 degrees to the face of the board. That'll show the most figure in most hardwoods.

Fruitwoods are pretty. Good choice.

I don't do any dying, or staining. If the wood in question is prone to cracking I get it stabalized from someone else. Otherwise, I coat it with a few coats of Watco's Danish Oil. And periodically, recoat.

I'm not particularly fond of Oak. Especially in knives. Its large poores are a prime breeding ground for bacteria, so if you use Oak, fill the poores. Superglue is good for this.

If you're willing to purchase something nice, ebay is a good place to start.

 

[ajcz]

talk to dan koster i got some awesome bocote from him good thickness and long enough for good scales for 5.45

 

[1894]

Thanks , I'll just have to see what I saw

Phil

 

[Daniel Koster]

You can use just about any wood for a handle. Just depends what you want it to be. For me, premium stabilized woods are worth the extra money...dependability, aesthetics, machinability. However, I have certainly picked up a piece of osage orange off the ground and used it for a knife handle before (and will again). There are trade-offs. Get what you pay for, etc.

 

[RokJok]

What goes into choosing a nice piece of wood ?

It's based on your definition of what is either "pretty enough" or "adequately strong" depending on which characteristic is more important to you at the moment. The choice of wood for a handle is a personal preference thing, whether you are making a rustic re-enactment knife or a high-glitz art knife or anything in between.

what goes into the stabilizeing / drying of it?

Drying can be as simple as laying it on something so air can get at all sides of the piece and waiting for the moisture content (MC) to stabilize. If you are drying it indoors, it will usually stabilize in the 6-15% moisture range depending on where you live and time of year. Obviously, a desert summer environment will dry the wood to a lower MC than the soggy winters along the NW coast of the USA.

Since wood loses moisture faster through the end grain than the face grain, if the wood is green (freshly cut) it helps to seal the end grain with either wax or whatever paint you have laying around. Anchor Seal is a commercial product for just this purpose. Sealing the end grain helps prevent the wood cracking (called checking) due to the ends of the wood piece drying faster than the interior parts of the piece.

For stabilizing wood, let me point you at the gold standard for it: Wood Stabilizing Specialists, International (WSSI). These are the folks that many professional knifemakers use and count on for stabilizing their knife scale handle material. You send them the wood and they stabilize it. They also sell pre-stabilized scales. WSSI enjoys a reputation for quality work and high customer service.

pear tree...paper Birch trees...apple trees

Any of these woods can make knife scales. But, as noted, the fruitwoods will likely have a little more character than the birch. However, I've seen some mighty impressive figured birch wood, most notably Masur birch and flame birch.

If you want to buy some wood to make your own handle material, here are a few vendors with some amazing wood available (plus other knifemaking supplies):
http://www.gilmerwood.com/ (specifically http://www.gilmerwood.com/knife-block.htm)
http://www.alphaknifesupply.com/
http://www.knifeandgun.com (K&G)
http://www.knifemaking.com/ (Jantz Supply)
http://www.texasknife.com/store/s-pages/TKS_MainframeStore.htm
http://www.knifescales.com/

eBay always has a bunch of knife scales sets for sale as well.

... and a page with a lot of info on some of the various species of wood used on knife handles.
http://www.jayfisher.com/Custom_Knife_Handle_Materials_Woods.htm

 

[StretchNM]

OK. Here goes.

Almost any hard wood is good for a handle. What you choose is subjective. Stay away from limbs. They are under compression and tend to crack badly. Try to quartersaw the trunks. This means that the rings of the tree are 90 degrees to the face of the board. That'll show the most figure in most hardwoods.

Fruitwoods are pretty. Good choice.

I don't do any dying, or staining. If the wood in question is prone to cracking I get it stabalized from someone else. Otherwise, I coat it with a few coats of Watco's Danish Oil. And periodically, recoat.

I'm not particularly fond of Oak. Especially in knives. Its large poores are a prime breeding ground for bacteria, so if you use Oak, fill the poores. Superglue is good for this.

......................

As a woodworker for over 3 decades, and a connesiuer of small pieces of exotics (cocobolo, wenge, zebrano, SA walnuts, etc), I can't argue with a single thing from the above post. Especially the part about not staining or dyeing. It isn;t that it harms the wood, it's just that if you want a dark handled wood scale, use a dark wood. Viceaversa for a light handled scale.

Fruitwoods, especially pear, are great for handle scales. Not that I've made alot of them, I haven;t, but I'll use fruitwoods for drawer handles and other accents on furniture, and I reason it will work perfect for knife scales.

It's based on your definition of what is either "pretty enough" or "adequately strong" depending on which characteristic is more important to you at the moment. The choice of wood for a handle is a personal preference thing, whether you are making a rustic re-enactment knife or a high-glitz art knife or anything in between.

Drying can be as simple as laying it on something so air can get at all sides of the piece and waiting for the moisture content (MC) to stabilize. If you are drying it indoors, it will usually stabilize in the 6-15% moisture range depending on where you live and time of year. Obviously, a desert summer environment will dry the wood to a lower MC than the soggy winters along the NW coast of the USA.

Since wood loses moisture faster through the end grain than the face grain, if the wood is green (freshly cut) it helps to seal the end grain with either wax or whatever paint you have laying around. Anchor Seal is a commercial product for just this purpose. Sealing the end grain helps prevent the wood cracking (called checking) due to the ends of the wood piece drying faster than the interior parts of the piece.

For stabilizing wood, let me point you at the gold standard for it: Wood Stabilizing Specialists, International (WSSI). These are the folks that many professional knifemakers use and count on for stabilizing their knife scale handle material. You send them the wood and they stabilize it. They also sell pre-stabilized scales. WSSI enjoys a reputation for quality work and high customer service.

Any of these woods can make knife scales. But, as noted, the fruitwoods will likely have a little more character than the birch. However, I've seen some mighty impressive figured birch wood, most notably Masur birch and flame birch.

If you want to buy some wood to make your own handle material, here are a few vendors with some amazing wood available (plus other knifemaking supplies):
http://www.gilmerwood.com/ (specifically http://www.gilmerwood.com/knife-block.htm)
http://www.alphaknifesupply.com/
http://www.knifeandgun.com (K&G)
http://www.knifemaking.com/ (Jantz Supply)
http://www.texasknife.com/store/s-pages/TKS_MainframeStore.htm
http://www.knifescales.com/

eBay always has a bunch of knife scales sets for sale as well.

... and a page with a lot of info on some of the various species of wood used on knife handles.
http://www.jayfisher.com/Custom_Knife_Handle_Materials_Woods.htm

The only thing I would say is: don;t stabilize. Dry the wood properly as RokJok says and leave stabilizing (i.e. BM's stabilized "winewood" [just exactly what the hell is that??!??] to the commercial knifemakers)

Where I am, Mesquite wood is abundant. I have a large chunk of root stump in the shop right now in the latter stages of airdrying. I've cut a little just for exploration but I haven;t ventured deep enough to see if I'll get some nice figured grain or a corner of burl or something.

Just moments ago (literally) my daughter was helping our neighbor pick peaches from their tree that hangs over on our property. My little girl comes back dragging this huge branch that was overloaded and broke, so they cut it off. Later tonight, they'll trim some more of that tree, and I'll get all the trimmings. It will all be branches but, if nothing else, it'll make good smoking chips for the barbecue ((D)))

 

[Fiddleback]

Especially the part about not staining or dyeing. It isn;t that it harms the wood, it's just that if you want a dark handled wood scale, use a dark wood. Viceaversa for a light handled scale.

Thats how I feel. Wood comes in every color and texture imaginable NATURALLY. Especially when you're working with small bits as for knife handles, use what God made especially for your purpose.