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Interesting stuff here. As a relatively new knife maker but ancient woodworker I'll kick in my two cents. The mix of holly and ebony will create problems when sanding the surface. The holly will "cut" much faster than the ebony which may leave a sort of washboard surface. Maybe try maple or...

I’m lucky, happy, and frustrated having worked with horn for several years. We live in Mexico and there’s lots of ranchers who will sell cow horn for a buck apiece so the raw material is widely available. Of course cow horn ain’t buffalo but close. And both smell the same! There’s a long...

Haven't quite gotten brave enough to grind my own steel, especially when I can get pretty good made-up blanks for $20-30USD. So, here's a Skinner with blackwood handles and his little brother, a tricked out Swiss Army knife, same handles. These hardwood scales include the sap wood which makes a...

Doug, we’d all like to hear how this turns out. Especially, how does it seem in comparison to un-roasted wood? And, if you've used stabilized woods in the past, how does your new stuff compare? Hauler - Yes, the roasting process darkens maple and makes the curl stand out in sharper contrast...

OK, with all this discussion about vacuum/acrylic stabilization I seem to have lost focus on this: IS ANYBODY USING THERMALLY MODIFIED WOOD IN YOUR KNIFE MAKING? If so, what's it like? I'm with tkroenlein <above> about maybe it's worth a try but it's danged expensive. Another problem is that I...

Bruce - Secret way to.......? Make pretty wood? Here's what I know about vacuum chamber/acrylic stabilization but I'm just a trial & error type learner. Lots of stuff published by TurnTex.Com. 1) Forget about drying wood as you've known it. The stuff you process must be SUPER dry and must be...

Absolutely right! I started out by sending a mix & match pack of woods to a pro stabilizer and it’s excellent. After a couple-three years of tinkering with my homey set I've gotten good at it and can make some quality material. But it’s taken a while to learn how to make the beauty stuff that’s...

OK, further looking has led me to a place near L.A. that has the cooked, figured wood I’ve been seeking. They seem to cater to the instrument makers so prices are high but the stock's beautiful. Heck, one board foot for a hundred bucks? Probably last a year or more making folders. The owner...

The word "stabilized " is getting used a lot lately in various forms. I have the vacuum chamber, acrylic infusion rig sold by TurnTex which uses Cactus Juice so that’s where my bell rings when we’re talkin' stabilized. Diamondwood is a different critter, basically a thin layered plywood that...

Hey Dogs I have been reading about thermally treated lumber and would like to get a bit for knife handles. As we all know there's not much real estate involved with a handle so I’m looking for something with character like curly/burly/squirrelly stuff. I have bandsaw, etc. so I could make my own...

Sean, thanks for the kind words. The Baja IS still beautiful, quiet, cheap, and warm. Couldn’t ask for much more. PLUS, it’s like living in 1950 with no sulking democrats or republicans!

Kinda like yours but for my big old carpenter hand. Handle is spalted, deep dyed bay laurel burl.

Hey guys I’m making more and more kitchen knives because, frankly, they sell better. But the question is what’s to be used on wood handles to keep 'em shiny and nice? I'm using the usual suspects in hardwoods (maple, ebony, ironwood, walnut) and some stabilized wood material. My default finish...

Nice work, man. Especially liked your presentations of the build. Takes a while to "tool up" for this kind of work so just MASTER what you’ve got on hand now and you’ll do good. BTW, how many fingers wrap the handle of that cool build you showed? I like/make little Skinners like yours but...

Hey howdy from the sunny Baja peninsula (Baja California Sur, Mexico actually) Wife and I retired here 12 years ago and totally love it. I’ve been a wood butcher/builder all my life and started doing knife work a few years ago in my open-air shop here. This has developed into a hobby time...

Hi, jumping in a little late on this thread but WTH. I work in ironwood too, totally love it, but it’s got the same problem of most woods, it browns down. Can’t tell if this is oxidation or UV exposure but it surely does happen. Have you (ya'll) found anything to block this darkening down on...