Am I headed twards headache?

wall e

wall e

Well-Known Member
I have a friend who works at a custom floor shop and has gotten me a pice of tigerwood and acacia wood flooring. Are these a good idea for handle scales after being cut to size and the finish sanded off? They are close to 3/4" thick and 5" wide after trimming and shaving become 4 wide an 1/2 thick. Am I onto a good thing or just more headache?
 
Good morning Walt,
Yeah, I've used flooring before and also heard of guys on Knifedogs here using it. The drawback is that it is not stabilized so it is absolutely more susceptible to moisture and such stuff if it will be in an environment that is wet or is involved with chemicals/oils or the like. Now, this is not usually an issue if your making a show piece that will sit on a shelf or a box that will for the most part be in stable conditions. You'll probably just need to find a finish to apply to the wood when you have the knife complete.
Problem #2 is that the the resin really do what they say, they stabilize the wood so when you drill, sand , shape, pin, or clamp your scale or handle that it doesn't split, crack, or chip. Plus, in my opinion the wood finishes nicer and has a tighter look because of the resins that fill every pore in the wood.
Problem #3 is, and most will agree, that the process of stabilization really enhances the grain of most wood, so the look comes out a bit more enhanced, sort of making it pop!
All that aside, I'd definitely take advantage of the source with the thought that I am getting a chance to work and learn new products and procedures and hone my skills. It will definitely be worth the effort, and like you have stated in the past, you need the use the materials that are available to you. I always try to keep moving forward, even if I'm stepping out of the box so to speak, I'd rather be working on something and make the mistake than be sitting around not trying something new. Tigerwood and Acacia both are great wood for handles, so go for it, just find a way to finish it at the end.

Lastly Walt, what in the world were ya doin up at 4:45am on Sunday morning???? LOL!

Hope this helps, go for it! Time to get ready for Church.

Wayne
 
Wayne I work grave yard and just got done with a short shift at 330. Lol
So it would seem that a stabilization is in order for my wood collection to avoid future issues? Would a sealant or just danish or linseed be a better err cheaper option? Kinda kicking the self stabilizing idea around. Seems to be a simple ish concept one container for solution tied to an overflow with the pump above the potential fluid line.
I know there is a bit more science to it than that mabbe?
 
Walt, I to have pondered the stabilization idea, I try to be as self-sufficient as I can. After watching many you-tubers do it,, it looks doable but I haven't tried yet. That being said, if you can come up with the products and supporting cast of equipment, give it a try and let me know how it works. Like I said earlier, sometimes you gotta step out of the box to get the results your looking for! Good luck, whatever way you decide to go, keep us posted. Get some sleep, dude!
 
I may try the low buck low tech idea and see what happens
Just got up at 2300. Lol am planning on a nap and then back to sanding blades smooth to get all black and nasty only.to be smoothed again and turned into my early attempts at actual known steel knives.
 
Walt, I'll bet the tigerwood would work pretty good. The density of it is around .8 to .9, so while it will float in water, only a small part would be above water. With wood this dense, home methods of stabilization do not work very well, even with vacuum chamber. Home stabilization with vacuum chamber does work really good with a porous wood such as spalted pecan. To test, take a small scale size piece of wood and sand to 1000 to 1500 grit and see what it looks like. I'll bet it starts taking on a nice luster. Put a few coats of tru-oil and it will look even better. CA finish also gives a NICE shine to wood.

Ken H>
 
Hey Walt
One of my friends gave me a stack of nice acacia wood flooring. The only reason I haven't used it yet is because I have to split it in half to cover the full tang. I like the grain to look like some steel grew in the middle of the wood. That being said I like the look of acacia wood and its nice and hard.
 
i think you got a good deal, especially if it is solid wood not veneer. IMHO stabilized wood looks and feels like plastic, real wood has a feel all its own and if properly cared for, should last a long time. i use store bought wood and wood that i have harvested. no here to start "Wood Wars", just a tired old sailor who likes real natural stuff.
 
KenH, what is CA finish? The luster from the flooring finish is nice already but nothing like hand sanded and hand rubbed.
Slatroni am planning to make a paring knife out of each wood I get. Sand paper and finish and steel wool are in the future for me. Lol
Scott,livesley it is solid wood and is actually what I would expect an old sailor to say. Great grandpa and grandpa were both of the same mindset on natural wood. Grandpa was an old sailor. Lol
 
Use it up.
People have been putting wooden handles on lots of things for thousands of years. Some of us even remember a time before 'stabilized' wood. Check your material carefully for its' intended use and put some effort into sealing and finishing it. There's so many products available now that will give good results.

Rudy
 
Hi Walt,it sounds like solid wood and not plywood with a veneer ? That should work great .You might want to take it down to about 1/4 inch in thickness for scales,1/2 inch scales will leave you with a one inch thick plus blade thickness.That's kinda fat .Especially for a pairing knife.
 
AkWildman I make the paring knives hidden tang style with a thin brass piece to hide the hole in the wood. Will create a tigerwood wip after christmas.
Rudy is a solid wood is solid wood so have fun right? Im just trying to find out what to use, linseed or danish oils or a minwax sealant?
 
Walt - CA is nothing for superglue - Cyanoacrylates. I guess CA comes from the "Cyano-Acrylates" Use a thin type and rub it in. CA is what is usually used with wood pens and it gives a GREAT finish. It can be a trick to get it to go on smooth with no drips/runs, etc. Put several coats on allowing to dry between each coat. Then do a sanding with 1,000 grit wet, but don't sand thru CA to wood. You'll have a shine that will "knock your eyes out". The biggest problem is getting the CA off the metal parts and only on the wood.

I have used a thin transparent epoxy for a coating also that will give a nice finish. I wouldn't use linseed oil, Tru-Oil works pretty good. There have been several threads on applying Tru-Oil using several coats and allowing to dry a few days between coats.

As I said, I'll bet that Tigerwood will work much like Snakewood. Snakewood doesn't use stabilizing, but sure does take a NICE shine just by finishing to 2,000 grit and finish with a bit of protective wax.

Ken H>
 
Walt,

I made some handles out of hardwood flooring samples available at Home Depot. They were only $0.25 each. They worked well and I did not get any problems with them shrinking or cracking. The only issue was sanding off the very durable finish applied by the manufacture it plugged up by disk sander. I finally got it all off and used Danish oil to finish the handle. These samples work great for small knives as they are about 4 " long.


Dan
 
Use tung oil to finish your wood handles. You can hand rub it for a low sheen and follow that with buffing it if you want a a high polish look. I use flooring materials a lot. I have a client that manages a hardwood import company that gives me all kinds of South American hardwoods. I don't stabilize any of them. I do use Gator Juice to stabilize my soft woods in house. Works very well for in shop use and is easy to do.
 
Ok fellas I have tallied the votes and have 1 for danish oil, one for protective wax and one for true oil. Dad found some danish oil in his garage and the father in law has some polyeurethane or wax stuff also so am going to experiment and sand all the wood handles to 2000 and try one with danish oil this weekend and the paring knife with the wax or the poly whichever it is he has. Lol
 
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