Your favorite woods....

T

thegeek574

Joined
Sep 3, 2010
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Everyone,
I was planning, for my first build, to use G10. however, after seeing some different knives, i think i am going to switch to wood. I found a decent deal on some black walnut blanks, and i was wondering what your favorite woods were. the only criteria is that it is not hugely expensive. this is already looking bad for the budget....
 
I love the spalteds, and more figured hardwoods, but those can be tough to shape. Good luck on your first build.
 
Bear in mind that the cost of a piece of wood might not be the whole story of the cost of materials for the handle. Most woods should be stabilized before use as handle material, which will add to the cost. Some of the richer, more exotic (and expensive) woods don't require stabilization, so the cost can effectively even out.

Among woods that need stabilization I like Maple Burl. if you have more money to spend, Amboyna burl is also quite lovely.

Among those that don't need stabilization I like African Blackwood and Lignum Vitae.
I've seen ironwood that I thought was fabulous too.
- Greg
 
If you have the time, Ebay is your friend.
Bid low on wood you wouldn't mind having. 9/10 times you get outbid. The 10th time, it's bingo!
Buying more from one seller spreads shippingcosts.

Old furniture is made out of wood as well ;)
And it also grows on trees!
(not being smart here, but look and ask around, you'll be amazed what you can get for free)
I have a knife here with fine handle scales made out of an old fence post. It is osaga orange.

Blackwood, olive wood and desert ironwood are among my faforites.
But I wouldn't mind getting my hands on some nice pieces of black walnut!
 
My favorite wood to play with is figured black walnut. it finishes like glass. is easy to work, gives a pleasant scent, I get mine here as it's VERY resonably priced, and you get a alot of good figure! :thumbup:
http://www.woodworkerssource.com/fig_wal_pk-p-garage_sale.html

I'll get alot of mine from my family's 16 acre woods. when a old tree falls it usually gives me a lot of figure as well as spalt in places. so I luck out then.


Jason
 
Stabilized Amboyna Burl or Desert Ironwood are my two favorites,followed closely by stabilized Box Elder Burl.
Stan
 
Can i use normal wood?i might be able to scrounge up some cherry/peach/apple......
is stabilized a must?
 
Walnut,Cherryand Maple can be used without being stabilized.Also Cocobolo,Bocote and most of the rosewood family.
Stabilization is almost a must with any spalted or burl woods,IMO.
Do you prefer dark or light colored woods?
Send me an e-mail,your is not enabled.May be able to fix you up.
Stan
 
thegeek574 said:
Can i use normal wood?i might be able to scrounge up some cherry/peach/apple......
is stabilized a must?
Click to expand...

Those are some traditional handle materials.
They have been usen unstabilised for centuries.

Plum wood is also nice. I like its dark brown colour

But do make sure it is dry.
 
One of my favorites. Double Dyed Black and Red Box Elder Burl ;)

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A paticular favorite of mine is Arizona Desert Ironwood. That includes all of the variations, light, dark, highly figured and of course the burls.

Tim H
 
I like the look of Bubinga, Osage, and even Black Palm, but there really is something about Bubinga and the light red woods (would most of these be in the Rosewood family?) that draws me in.
 
I like black walnut, lignum vitae, bamboo, eastern hard maple, and ipe. With the exception of the lignum vitae, I've gotten pieces of these woods at a local building materials recycling place. Most of them are flooring scraps. Made a nice handle out of some maple birdseye flooring for a kitchen knife. I am currently replacing the scales on a Kershaw Chill with some ipe (brazillian walnut) which was also flooring scrap.

Ric
 
Hengelo_77 said:
Old furniture is made out of wood as well ;)
And it also grows on trees!
(not being smart here, but look and ask around, you'll be amazed what you can get for free)
I have a knife here with fine handle scales made out of an old fence post. It is osaga orange.
Click to expand...

I really like Osage Orange and acquired an old fence post myself. It had been in and on the ground for about 75 years. The colors it ended up with are phenomenal.
 

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I love Desert Ironwood, Cocobolo, Black Walnut...heck, there's not many woods I don't like.

Black walnut is easily attained from a large stash my cousin had cut up a few years ago, probably my favorite non-exotic wood.

Go to www.woodcraft.com and look at their wood choices. You can find 2x2x6 or 2x2x12 blocks of wood for fairly cheap and cut them into scales yourself.
 
I love the Dyed box elder burls too!! There is a guy on ebay called staburl he always has top notch stuff:thumbup: If you have more time than money look in the wood pile,thrift stores or the like.I got a killer deal on some figured wood by looking on craigslist too!! Once you know what to look for you'll start to find it everywhere :cool:

Now I'm off to start eyeballing fenceposts :eek:
 
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