Exotic Hardwood Knife Handle Finish?

[Jeffinn]

I’m just finishing up a knife with some hardwood slabs that I purchased awhile ago.
If you use hardwood for knife handles, should it be sealed with something or just left raw?
Thanks.
Jeff

[Steve Warden]

Personally I wouldn't leave it raw. I'd rub it down with numerous coats of linseed oil.

But that's me.

[Reverand]

I have also used Tru Oil, just because I had it around.
Treating it with something like that will keep a lot of dirt and grime from out of the wood.

[FRJ]

Personally, I would get something on them even if it were just mineral oil but there are better long term choices.
Are they pinned?

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Jeff, I think I have read some ebay sellers that sell hard wood slabs that mention that the wood is stabilized. Some will put it in some kind of resin and use a vacuum to impregnate the resin into the wood.
I have been thinking about trying this myself. We have a lot of hardwoods that my wife’s father accumulated over 60 years before he passed. Some have a just incredible grain and look to it. I would love to make these into knives. I have toyed w/ the idea of buying chef knife blanks and putting these on them and giving them out to the family to have something to remember her dad for. Please let us know how the project goes.
I wouldn’t put unstablilized wood on a knife. I think someone will be very unhappy if it cracks later, swells or the finish comes off.

[KleenCut61]

Ebony Class woods don't need it Jeff , @38lbs a square foot its a no wonder , Iron Wood ,Prolly Not , I think the Origin has a lot to do with it , Tropical , Rain forest Prolly a must , Woods from Tropical islands though is a different story , I Believe , Just to give you a heads up K.C.

[Bill DeShivs]

It completely depends on what "hard wood" you're using.

[Jeffinn]

It completely depends on what "hard wood" you're using.

Thanks Bill,
For this particular project I'm using some bocote. This description is taken from Bell Forest website: Bocote is an exotic wood native to Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. It features a wide range of grain patterns from straight to wild, with curved lines and swirls. The color ranges from golden brown to tan to golden yellow. It is a hard, heavy, and dense wood, strong and stiff, with a medium texture.

[Jeffinn]

Personally, I would get something on them even if it were just mineral oil but there are better long term choices.
Are they pinned?

Yes, they're pinned and epoxied in place.

[Jeffinn]

Personally I wouldn't leave it raw. I'd rub it down with numerous coats of linseed oil.

But that's me.

I was thinking they need something but I just wasn't sure what.
I looked online a bit and the suggestions are all over the board. Oils make the knife slippery, acrylics may chip or peel, raw wood may absorb some oils and other contaminants that change the wood, etc. Linseed oil, tung oil and a few others were mentioned in quite a few places along with some products used on gun stocks.

[Jeffinn]

Ebony Class woods don't need it Jeff , @38lbs a square foot its a no wonder , Iron Wood ,Prolly Not , I think the Origin has a lot to do with it , Tropical , Rain forest Prolly a must , Woods from Tropical islands though is a different story , I Believe , Just to give you a heads up K.C.

Thanks for the info.

[Tony_Wood]

Jeff, I have personally used Lindseed oil on bocote with success.
Was looking for photos, but can’t locate at the moment. This oil will not leave them slick.

[Jeffinn]

Jeff, I think I have read some ebay sellers that sell hard wood slabs that mention that the wood is stabilized. Some will put it in some kind of resin and use a vacuum to impregnate the resin into the wood.
I have been thinking about trying this myself. We have a lot of hardwoods that my wife’s father accumulated over 60 years before he passed. Some have a just incredible grain and look to it. I would love to make these into knives. I have toyed w/ the idea of buying chef knife blanks and putting these on them and giving them out to the family to have something to remember her dad for. Please let us know how the project goes.
I wouldn’t put unstablilized wood on a knife. I think someone will be very unhappy if it cracks later, swells or the finish comes off.

These are not stabilized, they're natural wood (as far as I can tell anyway).
I've done a fair amount of woodworking in the past but this is a wood that I haven't worked with before. It seems hard and dense and its got a great color and grain pattern. I figured Id give it a try and see how it goes!

[Jeffinn]

Jeff, I have personally used Lindseed oil on bocote with success.
Was looking for photos, but can’t locate at the moment. This oil will not leave them slick.

Good to know, Ill have to check out the local hardware or big box store and pick some linseed oil up.
Thanks Tony!
Jeff

[Bill DeShivs]

You might try just a coat of paste wax.
I have never worked bocote. Some dense woods will not accept linseed oil/tung oil finishes.

[orvet]

Some words that I have worked with that will not accept the finish are:
Kingwood which is a very oily member of the Rosewood family. The Mexican version is Dalbergia congestiflora. There is also a Brazilian version that I have not used. The Mexican Kingwood is so oily it started a fire in the sawdust under my table saw. Fortunately I was prepared for it and other than a little smoke there was no problem.
I don't think Kingwood is one that can be stabilized because of the oil content. Lignum vitae is another wood that cannot be successfully stabilized. Some of the oilier Rosewood's like the Madagascar Rosewood, Dalbergia maritima, also known as Bois de Rose is one of three species from Madagascar. I also had sparking and fire problems with this member of the Rosewood family. Because of the hardness and high oil content I doubt the heartwood could be stabilized, although the sap wood could probably be stabilized. Ebony and Cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa), also a member of the Rosewood family, were used historically in the cutlery industry without being stabilized.


If you want to try having some wood stabilized K & G (Knife & Gun) does it very well. I have had them do some for me. The wood is weighed before it is placed in the vacuum chamber and it is weighed after it comes out and the increased weight gives you a indication of how much stabilizing mixture was absorbed by the wood. Extremely oily woods will actually contaminate the stabilizing material and can ruin other pieces of wood, I am told.
Here's the information page on stabilizing wood from K & G: http://www.kandgstabilizing.com/sending-in-wood.html

[Meridian_Mike]

Personally I wouldn't leave it raw. I'd rub it down with numerous coats of linseed oil.

But that's me.

That is what I do also. Use BOILED linseed oil.
BUT, the only hard wood I have ever tried in maple.

[orvet]

Personally I wouldn't leave it raw. I'd rub it down with numerous coats of linseed oil.

But that's me.

That is what I do also. Use BOILED linseed oil.
BUT, the only hard wood I have ever tried in maple.

Too bad they don't have a Rockwell scale for hardwoods. Personally, I wouldn't consider Maple to be very hard, and wouldn't use it on a knife handle without a full stabilization treatment by someone who does it professionally. That's just me personally because I have seen maple handles that have fingernail marks in them. I have used fine grained Oak for handles and that is probably the softest material I've used without having it stabilized, and even then I would prefer to have it stabilized if at all possible.
I love the graining and Birds Eye of maple but I don't use it for knife handles unless it's stabilized. Again that's just based on my experience and my preference.

[Meridian_Mike]

Too bad they don't have a Rockwell scale for hardwoods. Personally, I wouldn't consider Maple to be very hard, and wouldn't use it on a knife handle without a full stabilization treatment by someone who does it professionally. That's just me personally because I have seen maple handles that have fingernail marks in them. I have used fine grained Oak for handles and that is probably the softest material I've used without having it stabilized, and even then I would prefer to have it stabilized if at all possible.
I love the graining and Birds Eye of maple but I don't use it for knife handles unless it's stabilized. Again that's just based on my experience and my preference.

Thanks for pointing that out Dale.
I agree completely.... I am just now really learning the best materials for knife handles. AND especially folders! Stabilized is the way to go for wood for sure! The 51OT I re-covered recently with the Buckeye burl was supposed to be stabilized.... but, I don't think it was quite up to most standards. It sure was soft when I was sanding it (and maybe I don't quite understand stabilized woods). I guess it turned out OK.
.
I have only done a few FB knife handles for myself and a couple of other guys that do the "pre-1840 rendezvous" thing. Most of the nice flintlock rifles were stocked in tiger maple and they (and me....LOL) wanted a knife with a handle to match the gun stocks.
Billy Watson also made and sold FB knives in the 80's and 90's at these gatherings with maple handles. Billy's knives weren't expensive but nicely made. SO... I guess I just followed suit.
The knives I made were always just useful and not a work of art.
.
I continue to learn here at this area of our forum..... Thanks for EVERYONE's input!!

[Brumbydownunder]

Just some Pics
Australian Gidgee to 600 grit and fondled (just the natural 'oils' from my hands)

Sheoak (top) and Walnut Birchwood Casey Tru Oil

Desert Iron Wood Tru Oil

With Tru Oil I get the best results using just a tiny tiny drop and working it in with my thumb or heal of my hand to the point where in generates friction heat... let it dry thoroughly and repeat up to 8 - 10 coats over several days
I generally use a sanding sealer when I get down the the finer grits and then use the tru oil

Derek

[orvet]

With really hard woods like ebony, African Blackwood, some of the harder rosewood's like a hard piece of cocobolo, or Bois De Rose I will use a carnuba wax finish.

I sand the wood to at least 800 grit sometimes more depending on the wood and then I polish it with a clean buff and no scratch pink or another good fine jewelers Rouge, typically a white Rouge. I wipe down the handle real good to remove any grit left over and then I use a dedicated carnuba wax wheel and a block of hard carnauba wax. I believe Jantz has it still and it's not very expensive. The block I have has lasted close to 15 years and I still have half of it left.

I do several coats of Carnauba wax and then I will lean pretty heavy into the wheel to generate a little more heat to help the wax penetrate the grain a little bit better. Be careful doing this you don't want to throw a knife with your wheel. I usually only do this if I am using a hard sewn wheel, not a loose buff.

If you end up getting a piece of very oily wood, put a finish on it without wax. I learned this from a fella who'd been in the exotic hardwood business for years, it was his recipe. I don't have it in front of me at the moment, but if someone reads this and has it would handle that the Finish won't dry on, let me know and I'll dig out this formula. I have used it on most of the harder Woods to finish except for lignum vitae which really doesn't need to finish. Polish to 400 -600 grit-

[Jeffinn]

Lots of good info and ideas presented here.
Thanks everyone!
Jeff

[Meridian_Mike]

Lots of good info and ideas presented here.
Thanks everyone!
Jeff

YES.... thanks so much for the input!

[btrwtr]

I have used bacote for knife handles and it finishes and buffs out nicely. In my experience not as oily as cocobolo, not as hard or prone to cracking as ironwood. Sealing the wood helps to preserve the color contrast and handling will ultimately darken the wood if not sealed. Texas Knifemaker's Supply used to carry a spray on and buff off sealer that I have used in the past but they no longer carry it. I have used ultra thin super glue as a wood sealer with good results by hand finishing with 0000 steel wool.

https://www.texasknife.com/vcom/product ... 8cd194621f

Here is a cane that I made with bacote wood and a hippo tusk handle.

[doglegg]

Very knice Wayne.