Wood question

[wkfl]

My cuz has a piece of snakewood enveloped in wax. Is this wood ready to go for a handle, or does it need to be stripped and dried. It's purdy, and we want to use it for a knife for a friend that just met hard times. Thanks all, Mike.

 

[Jrmysell]

What are the dimensions and how long has it been in wax? The wax helps it dry slowly so it doesn't crack. The usual recommendation that I have heard is 1 year per 1" thickness plus 1 year. So 2 years minimum for a 1" thick piece, 3 years for a 2" piece, etc...

 

[Greenberg Woods]

My cuz has a piece of snakewood enveloped in wax. Is this wood ready to go for a handle, or does it need to be stripped and dried. It's purdy, and we want to use it for a knife for a friend that just met hard times. Thanks all, Mike.

In a word

NO!

A lot of people have this assumption that when they buy wood its ready to use. If it is covered in wax, thats because someone waxed it when it was green! Never assume a block is dry if you dont have a reason to know it is "I.E buying old stock, having it sit around for a while"

and snakewood is THE WORST about cracking. Literally, i have never known a wood to be more finicky about cracking and splitting. I process my snakewood at least a year before hand, and most of my pieces have already been in the country for well over a decade.

Let it sit in your shop a while, you can take the wax off the faces but leave the end grain.

If you want to be sure your wood is 100% ready to use a on a knife, buy from a reputable seller of Knife blocks, Alpha knife supply, Burl source and myself all supply wood specifically meant for knives.

 

[wkfl]

In a word

NO!

A lot of people have this assumption that when they buy wood its ready to use. If it is covered in wax, thats because someone waxed it when it was green! Never assume a block is dry if you dont have a reason to know it is "I.E buying old stock, having it sit around for a while"

and snakewood is THE WORST about cracking. Literally, i have never known a wood to be more finicky about cracking and splitting. I process my snakewood at least a year before hand, and most of my pieces have already been in the country for well over a decade.

Let it sit in your shop a while, you can take the wax off the faces but leave the end grain.

If you want to be sure your wood is 100% ready to use a on a knife, buy from a reputable seller of Knife blocks, Alpha knife supply, Burl source and myself all supply wood specifically meant for knives.

Fair enough! Thank you for that, I will abide for sure.

 

[Mahoney]

The best way to know if a block is ready for use is to test it with a moisture meter. 8% or lower is good, but if it is humid where you are that target may vary. If you don't have a meter, ask a friend who is serious about wood working if they have one and can test the block for you

 

[Randydb]

The best way to know if a block is ready for use is to test it with a moisture meter. 8% or lower is good, but if it is humid where you are that target may vary. If you don't have a meter, ask a friend who is serious about wood working if they have one and can test the block for you

Yes it is relative! I live on the Wet Coast of Canada and we are a temperate rainforest. "Dry" around here is 11-12%. I would wait a lifetime to hit 8%....might have gotten it two summers ago when we had a super long dry hot summer. There are tables on the web that give you general ideas of what is dry for your area.