Did I cut this wrong?

Mark Barone

Mark Barone

Well-Known Member
I cut theses scales from a piece of walnut. The grain just doesn’t look appealing to me? Or is it me? EFD15A0D-7A43-4795-A2AD-FAA443894F7E.jpeg
 
Mark - I am going to disagree with you on the "appealling" comment. That piece of walnut has some nice color contrasts and an interesting grain pattern. I think it will finish out really well.
 
Chris Railey said:
Spray it with a little rubbing alcohol and see the beauty. (I would not use water, personally).
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Chris, if you lightly spray with water, then dry it with a heat gun or hair dryer, the grain will raise. Then by sanding that smooth and repeating, you can achieve a glass smooth finish. This process is called "whiskering" . It's used on fine gunstocks. It produces a remarkable finish, although it does require a substantial amount of effort.
 
Bruce McLeish said:
Chris, if you lightly spray with water, then dry it with a heat gun or hair dryer, the grain will raise. Then by sanding that smooth and repeating, you can achieve a glass smooth finish. This process is called "whiskering" . It's used on fine gunstocks. It produces a remarkable finish, although it does require a substantial amount of effort.
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To each their own. I do the exact same finish using rubbing alcohol with no heat needed and no moisture absorbed by the wood.
 
Spray it with a little rubbing alcohol and see the beauty. (I would not use water, personally).
Click to expand...

I totally agree....DO NOT use water! It's ok to use water on big chunks like gun stocks, but on material the size of knife handles....it's a train wreck in the making. It will cause bad warping, or cracking/splitting, especially if the material is installed on a knife, then sent to a location with a significantly different environment. I learned this the hard way....no need for anyone else to have to.

It's one of the reasons that I will only purchase natural handle materials first hand..... I've been hosed far too many times with people telling me they had not "wet the wood for photos"....only to receive it and find out they lied. The only real option is to put it in the handle material cabinet and wait for a year or more. I once purchase a full burl, that the seller assured me had cured "for over a year".... and when it arrived it was wet to the touch, and already so full of checks/cracks it was unusable. Funny thing.....when I called him on it, and asked for my money back, he suddenly went deaf to my messages and emails....image that.
If you sell knives, don't ever let a knowledgeable client know you wet natural materials.... they won't buy from you, and will quickly spread the word to anyone and everyone who might.
 
Somebody took this way out of context. Probably I didn't 'splain myself well enough, Lucy. When said wet with water, I assumed every one would know that I was talking about a MIST. Not a soaking deluge.
 
Not fussing at ya Bruce! But it doesn't matter.... if it's enough water to make the figure/grain pop out....it's too much. Like I said, you can get away with it on larger chunks, such as the gunstock you mentioned.....but on knife scales it's a serious "no-no".
 
I like the grain on that piece. I'm worried about the potential of breaking it in half while clamping or pushing pins though it though...
 
thanks for all the responses. I did wet it a little just to show the grain for the picture. I guess there is mixed feelings about it. It’s a really small
knife so at least I can be a little choosey about which section I want to use. I remember that wetting process of setting for soft woods like pine. I didn’t think it mattered with hard woods. I think I’ll use the piece. Thanks everybody for the input. Sorry it took me so long to read them all. Dealing with a very sick dog. Actually thought we were going to lose her. 105 temp for two weeks . But she seems to be doing better. This is her today.
CFA87F59-A56B-4EE8-8910-C69DA44B2AB4.jpeg
 
Mark Barone said:
thanks for all the responses. I did wet it a little just to show the grain for the picture. I guess there is mixed feelings about it. It’s a really small
knife so at least I can be a little choosey about which section I want to use. I remember that wetting process of setting for soft woods like pine. I didn’t think it mattered with hard woods. I think I’ll use the piece. Thanks everybody for the input. Sorry it took me so long to read them all. Dealing with a very sick dog. Actually thought we were going to lose her. 105 temp for two weeks . But she seems to be doing better. This is her today.
View attachment 72662
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Cute pooch. Glad she's doing better.
 
Most of the pro wood guys I talk to use 90% rubbing alcohol to see what the grain looks like. This avoids any issues with water warping.
 
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