- Joined
- Feb 19, 2013
- Messages
- 2,051
Many of you here know that I recently got into Fiddleback Forge Knives, and that I have been on somewhat of a buying spree. I picked up some nice examples from FbF as well as from the flea marked and exchange. Almost half of the examples that I now own (or are coming) are synthetic handle materials, so this question does not apply to these. I do not own but one safe queen knife of the 60+ that I own, and that was a limited run of a model that I already own an example of, else I would be thumping on that one as well.
My question is this, what methods do you guys use to treat and maintain Andy's wood handle knives? My father was a finish carpenter, my grandfather was a finish carpenter, and I have a love for the look of wooden handles among other things made of wood. I doubt that the ones that I own will be the last ones for me either. If I get a chance at an Ironwood burl (I missed two last week), it will be hard to control myself. One thing that many probably do not know about me is that I am also a bagpiper. The woods of choice for making Great Highland Bagpipes is either Ebony (rare due to cost and scarcity) or African Blackwood. Cocobolo is another common tone wood that gets used. These woods are very dense (will not float in water) which is what gives them their tonal qualities. However, when I am performing outside, and it begins to rain, I about have a cow as I really do not want expose my pipes to the rain. I am not familiar with the stabilization process that Andy uses, but I am looking for the best tips possible for keeping wooden handles in the best shape as possible on EDC and woods, wooden handled knives. Right now I have a section of drone on one of my Blackwood pipes that is cracked. From everything that I have read, cracking in bagpipes often comes from the wood not properly being seasoned prior to making the pipes. I own other manufacturers examples of wood handled knives where pins are palpable on the handles due to wood shrinkage after manufacture. These knives came from the distributor this way, so I can only assume that this is due primarily from improper seasoning of the wood before the handle was made. It is not a lot, but it is palpable. I have other examples where this is not the case from that and other makers. I appreciate that natural handle materials are prone to shrink, warp, crack and a host of other things compared to the synthetic counterparts. How do you guys minimize this from happening when you come back from the field from a 3 day trip that has been raining for 2 of those days?
Any and all suggestions are welcomed.
My question is this, what methods do you guys use to treat and maintain Andy's wood handle knives? My father was a finish carpenter, my grandfather was a finish carpenter, and I have a love for the look of wooden handles among other things made of wood. I doubt that the ones that I own will be the last ones for me either. If I get a chance at an Ironwood burl (I missed two last week), it will be hard to control myself. One thing that many probably do not know about me is that I am also a bagpiper. The woods of choice for making Great Highland Bagpipes is either Ebony (rare due to cost and scarcity) or African Blackwood. Cocobolo is another common tone wood that gets used. These woods are very dense (will not float in water) which is what gives them their tonal qualities. However, when I am performing outside, and it begins to rain, I about have a cow as I really do not want expose my pipes to the rain. I am not familiar with the stabilization process that Andy uses, but I am looking for the best tips possible for keeping wooden handles in the best shape as possible on EDC and woods, wooden handled knives. Right now I have a section of drone on one of my Blackwood pipes that is cracked. From everything that I have read, cracking in bagpipes often comes from the wood not properly being seasoned prior to making the pipes. I own other manufacturers examples of wood handled knives where pins are palpable on the handles due to wood shrinkage after manufacture. These knives came from the distributor this way, so I can only assume that this is due primarily from improper seasoning of the wood before the handle was made. It is not a lot, but it is palpable. I have other examples where this is not the case from that and other makers. I appreciate that natural handle materials are prone to shrink, warp, crack and a host of other things compared to the synthetic counterparts. How do you guys minimize this from happening when you come back from the field from a 3 day trip that has been raining for 2 of those days?
Any and all suggestions are welcomed.
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