Wood this wood be good?

[Fish30114]

I have quite a few large crepe myrtle trees on my property and the landscaping guys cut a substantial amount of branches out of them every year when they 'prune' em back. I kept a couple chunks of them this year, so I just wanted to ask for input--would this wood be any good for handle material--The slight amount I have cut in half has very plain straight grain. Any info feedback is welcome.

Thanks--Don

 

[Randydb]

Personally I want unique, highly figured eye catching wood for my handles. I figure I put in enough hours on a knife I want it to look beautiful too. I have been finding and resawing wood for a while now. Cut a fair bit of wood that turned out to be plain and went on the firewood pile. But then there is the beautiful stuff. I got a piece of myrtle from my neighbor. Plain grain too, I cut the crotch of a Y part and got some reasonable figuring (like fiddleback) but it wasn't interesting enough that I wanted to use it on a handle. Look for a gnarly bend or joint and cut there. It may be interesting then.

 

[Fish30114]

Good thought Randy, I think the parts I've got are going to become file handles. Appreciate the input brother.

 

[John Andrews]

Personally I want unique, highly figured eye catching wood for my handles. I figure I put in enough hours on a knife I want it to look beautiful too. I have been finding and resawing wood for a while now. Cut a fair bit of wood that turned out to be plain and went on the firewood pile. But then there is the beautiful stuff. I got a piece of myrtle from my neighbor. Plain grain too, I cut the crotch of a Y part and got some reasonable figuring (like fiddleback) but it wasn't interesting enough that I wanted to use it on a handle. Look for a gnarly bend or joint and cut there. It may be interesting then.

Exactly the route to go. It's what I do and it certainly pays off. We cut a heck of a lot more than we use but it makes for happy clients.

Some years ago I spent a goodly sum for what was thought to be Osage Orange burl, bought it from a nice fella in Maryland. Well, only about 2% was burl when I worked it down but most of the rest was absolutely great looking wood. I certainly didn't get hurt with the deal and I understand why the seller thought is was all burl. He was certainly honest with his deal and guess. The actual Osage burl was dark brown.

 

[Hengelo_77]

I have kept some branches I cut of a plum tree that groes on my property.
No dramatic grain, but it has sentimental value that can't be bought
That might be a way to look at your myrtle wood.

If you have kids that grow up at that property you can make them something very special for when they move out

 

[treewizzard]

i got a bit of crate myrtle that is super curly, it seems pretty nice to work with but i havent done much with it yet, i also got another piece that was not curly at all.
its pretty plain colored but i think the curls make it a really nice plain looking wood.
i found mine on the side of the road, someone thought it was trash!

 

[Randydb]

I have kept some branches I cut of a plum tree that groes on my property.
No dramatic grain, but it has sentimental value that can't be bought
That might be a way to look at your myrtle wood.

If you have kids that grow up at that property you can make them something very special for when they move out

"Sentimental value" is a good point. The knives I made with my students and for some friends all had wood that came from a place they connect with. Brings a whole other meaning to the knife for them. If those myrtle pieces have that kind of value then keep cutting. Like I said before, find a gnarled part or crotch and see what you get there. Keep cutting til you get something nice. When I cut the crotch pieces (Y or V shapes) the direction I cut is like I am taking slabs of the shape. So I get a bunch of 1.5" thick Y or V shapes. If I think I have some reasonable figuring I get out the belt sander and take it smoother to see what I have.

Randy

 

[boy&hisdogs]

I say go for it. Regardless of how unique it may or may not look, you'll never be able to beat "I made this from the tree in my yard".

Just be sure to let it dry about a year per inch thickness of wood. I had a 5-6-ish inch diameter section of redwood limb sitting in my yard for a year, it had been cut for firewood before that (not by me, found it in a campsite, leftovers from the previous campers) so there's no telling how long it sat before I found it. I used it to make a "bandsaw box" for my girlfriend. It felt fairly dry while working with it but still a tad bit moist in the core. I figured it wouldn't matter since I was removing the core anyway, but the next morning I went outside to find my newly cut, thin walled redwood tube had a massive crack about 80% of the way down one side. After a few minutes of running in circles and pulling my hair out, I filled the gap with epoxy and luckily I had chosen a very rich colored stain anyway because it hid my repair nicely.

 

[Randydb]

I say go for it. Regardless of how unique it may or may not look, you'll never be able to beat "I made this from the tree in my yard".

Just be sure to let it dry about a year per inch thickness of wood. I had a 5-6-ish inch diameter section of redwood limb sitting in my yard for a year, it had been cut for firewood before that (not by me, found it in a campsite, leftovers from the previous campers) so there's no telling how long it sat before I found it. I used it to make a "bandsaw box" for my girlfriend. It felt fairly dry while working with it but still a tad bit moist in the core. I figured it wouldn't matter since I was removing the core anyway, but the next morning I went outside to find my newly cut, thin walled redwood tube had a massive crack about 80% of the way down one side. After a few minutes of running in circles and pulling my hair out, I filled the gap with epoxy and luckily I had chosen a very rich colored stain anyway because it hid my repair nicely.

I like local from my property, but I know that there is enough wood on the ground that I can get "local and looks beautiful." So that is what I hold out for.
These three knives are all from wood that I collected. The saya on the chef knife is wood that one of my students found for me.