Wood question

[Sawce]

Can someone please help me identify this wood and whether or not it needs to be stabilized? My wife wants me to use this one on the knife i'm working on but i'm really not sure if it can be used in it's current state.

Thanks in advance for the help. Angelo

 

[go mike]

One inaccurate test for the hardness is to take a hard object (a knife will do) and push it with moderate pressure into the corner of the block, then compare it to doing that with other woods. Another way is to see how heavy it is compared to similar sized woods. The grain pattern on the wood is a very common type, but it looks a little like walnut.

One other thing you can do to see if it would stabilize well is to cut part of it, and see how shiny (oily) it is. Oily woods do not stabilize well.

 

[KnifeMaker.ca]

I'm leaning towards walnut. Does it need to be stabilized? No more than your gun stock. Will it be better if it is stabilized. IMHO yup! Walnut, exposed to extremes of humidity and temperature can warp swell and twist like a worm on a hook.

Rob!

 

[Sawce]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll probably just save it until I have enough wood to send out for stabilization.