Help identifying handle material

Former Schrade President Walley Gardner and principal Joe Hufnagel joined with nine master cutlers to form a group of US craftsmen with over 300 years of combined knife making experience to create Canal Street Cutlery. It was first located in upstate New York where a long and rich tradition of quality knife making dates back to the 19th century. Unfortunately, the company closed its doors in 2015, but not before making some great knives. The brand was resurrected in 2018 as Canal Street Cutlery Co-Op & focused on making very small batches of high quality traditional knives. As a Co-Op, it was owned by the knife makers who worked there. Unfortunately, the business model couldn't hold up & the entity again ceased production.
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Coreysbu
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Help identifying handle material

Post by Coreysbu »

I was looking through my knives today, and pulled this knife out. I remember buying this knife to use when going camping. It was sold to me as having a wooden handle. After looking ar it again, I think it could be some kind of bone. Anybody have any insight? Looks like the older model of the CSC drop point.
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kootenay joe
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Re: Help identifying handle material

Post by kootenay joe »

The handle is wood. Someone who knows CSC well can likely ID what species of wood it is.
kj
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Re: Help identifying handle material

Post by ea42 »

Corey I believe that's giraffe bone. That's an early model so I'm not sure who it was made for, by I'd say they didn't make a whole lot of them with that bone as that's only the second one I've seen.

Eric
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Coreysbu
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Re: Help identifying handle material

Post by Coreysbu »

Thanks Eric & KJ, I thought it was wood for the longest time. I think the cracks and color make it look like wood. It's lack of grain made me think it could be something else.
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Re: Help identifying handle material

Post by kootenay joe »

Wow ! Did i ever get it wrong !
But, it does look like wood to me, even now knowing it to be bone. I see hints of curved 'grain' that i associate with a burl in wood.
Hopefully i am not the only AAPK'er who was fooled by these handles ?
kj :oops:
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jerryd6818
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Re: Help identifying handle material

Post by jerryd6818 »

Look at the handles with magnification (the higher the better). If you see the haversian canals (the minute tubes which form a network in bone and contain blood vessels) then the material is bone. Other materials, i.e. Delrin, wood, ivory, etc would not have haversian canals. They show up as little dark spots. Refer to the image shown below comparing bone to Delrin.
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Comparison Bone (haversian canals) vs Delrin.JPG
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kootenay joe
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Re: Help identifying handle material

Post by kootenay joe »

I am sure the haversian canal dots are there but i cannot see them in the O.P. pictures.
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Coreysbu
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Re: Help identifying handle material

Post by Coreysbu »

I'll see if I can find a magnifying glass and take a closer look when I get home. I know you can only see so much from a few pics.
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Re: Help identifying handle material

Post by boykinlp »

Is there a number on the bolster? I think I see one.
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Coreysbu
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Re: Help identifying handle material

Post by Coreysbu »

Hey Larry, #088
ea42
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Re: Help identifying handle material

Post by ea42 »

Corey from what I can gather here, what you have is amber camel bone. That was used twice very early on, once in an edition of 25 knives for Cumberland knife Works, and another time for A.G. Russell in a set of two knives; the hunting knife and a small stockman. Yours is likely from the set since your serial number is too high for the Cumberland edition.

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Coreysbu
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Re: Help identifying handle material

Post by Coreysbu »

Thanks Eric. Mind blown.

Do you have some kind of inventory list or are you the three eyed raven of Canal Street? (Apologizing for the Game of Thrones reference in advance)
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Coreysbu
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Re: Help identifying handle material

Post by Coreysbu »

... and here's a pic that may be consistent with the little dark spots that Jerry was referring to.
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Doc B
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Re: Help identifying handle material

Post by Doc B »

Definitely bone. Very Nice!
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Re: Help identifying handle material

Post by LongBlade »

Coreysbu wrote:Thanks Eric. Mind blown.

Do you have some kind of inventory list or are you the three eyed raven of Canal Street? (Apologizing for the Game of Thrones reference in advance)
Eric is a cutler for Canal St Coreysbu ::nod:: .. it’s great that Eric is a member here... so his info is better than a 3-eyed raven :lol:
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