Woods for use in Knife handles *updated*

Oak pores are like the pores in ash or hickory.
Many axes, (sledge) hammers and other tools have handles out of those woods.
And there are ways to fill the pores. On this one I put an oil/varnish blend on the wood and wet sanded along the grain.
The surface ended up nice and smooth with the pores showing a bit darker.
12_zpszspeu8u8.jpg~original
 
Ive always thought that when i put hours into my knife i want to use some beautiful exotic. Some people much prefer the domestics. Too each his own!
 
I do like the looks of this one as well, but I picked the wood because of sentimental reasons.
It made the owner very happy :)
 
Plus what is domestic to one is exotic to an other.

"Euro beech" is exotic in Australia and fire wood over here.
Osaga Orange is used for fence posts on your side of the ocean and an exotic for me.
Along this line the only true exotic will be meteor ;)
 
jdm61 said:
Mark, how long do you figure that your stuff had ben drying? The other couple of pieces that I got from the guys from Belize a few years back had been cut at least 10 years before I ever played eyes on it and I am sure that makes a difference. I seem to recall you telling me that your stash had been stateside for quite a few years before you cam across it.
Click to expand...

The guy who's stash it came from had it for 7 or 8 years if I remember correctly. No telling how long ago it was originally cut before that.
 
My opinion on the subject of exotics vs domestic woods.
I don't judge a wood so much by it's species as I do by how it looks.
Many of the rare species of wood can be kind of bland.
Now days with the progress in stabilizing, a wood being extra hard and dense is no big deal.

Hengelo,
I like your oak handle. The way the flecks show from being quartersawn give a nice look to the handle.

Hellspawn,
About the Redwood I would suggest starting with small batches with the different looking stuff to see how it turns out. That way you can know first hand which ones turn out best without committing a lot of money up front. There can be lots of variations with redwood burl and with the straight grained stuff. I had a piece I had rejected in the past because I thought it was kind of plain. But I sent it in with a recent batch and it turned out like this.
5725a__94201.1444627187.1000.500.jpg


On the subject of meteorite;
Some of the higher end folder makers have been using slabs of Gibeon Meteorite for bolsters and sometimes whole handle slabs. Since the meteorite is composed of nickel and iron it shows a cool pattern when etched.
Muller20LL-AA20Flipper20BlueRed20Russian20Mammoth20Tooth20Scales20Metsala20Turkish20Twist20Damascus20Blade20Gibeon20Meteorite20Bolsters20IKB_zpslxr3iavf.jpg
 
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Would that include pieces off the same burl? I have 4 or 5 big chunks of lace burl from diffrent trees and im getting 4 slices from the same burl "it was about the size of a VW bug!" should i try one from each or several from each.
 
Ben, I can't seem to respond to your PM, as BF's server keeps crashing on me. Shoot me an email, please, or better yet, add an email address to your profile!
 
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Stacy, any chance you could add this to the stickies? They don't have much on handle making, and this is a great reference source for woods! Please consider adding a handle making section to the stickies and including this thread.
 
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