First time Osage Orange.

Tod Lowe

Tod Lowe

Well-Known Member
I just finished this knife for a buddy . It was my first time using Osage Orange and this stuff was tough to use a grinder on. It just kept burning. I got it down close to how I wanted it and got the file out and it worked easier with the hand tools.huh1 I left some burn marks for character because this wood didnt have much character. I thought about burning it some with a torch. Maybe on the next one.
1080 stock removal.
Osage Orange wood.
 

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Thats a good looking knife.

Osage, or bois d'arc, is some really tough wood. It's been used for a long time around here for fence posts. On the old posts you can't even hammer a nail into the stuff.

As the wood ages it will darken. I know a bowyer near me who uses a LOT of osage. He suggested wrapping a string or cord around a bow and then sitting it on the dash of a car in the summer. Leave it for about a week, then turn it over and leave it for another week. When you remove the string your left with a pattern where the string was. The same could be done with tape or rope or whatever you can think up.

It doesn't usually have a lot of grain but sometimes you get lucky. I love the stuff after it ages.

SDS
 
SDS said:
Thats a good looking knife.

Osage, or bois d'arc, is some really tough wood. It's been used for a long time around here for fence posts. On the old posts you can't even hammer a nail into the stuff.

As the wood ages it will darken. I know a bowyer near me who uses a LOT of osage. He suggested wrapping a string or cord around a bow and then sitting it on the dash of a car in the summer. Leave it for about a week, then turn it over and leave it for another week. When you remove the string your left with a pattern where the string was. The same could be done with tape or rope or whatever you can think up.

It doesn't usually have a lot of grain but sometimes you get lucky. I love the stuff after it ages.


Thanks for the good words guys.
And thanks for the tips on the Osage SDS. This is some tough stuff and I will use it again so your tips will come in handy.
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Yeah good stuff, I live down the road from a lake called Bois d'arc so no one around here calls it Osage orange here, But it is good stuff. There are some old timers that turn it green and make duck calls out of it by soaking it in saltwater But I dont know the exact process.

That is a great looking knife by the way.
 
Good looking knife. cool 1:D


We call it Hedge. Millions of these trees lining the farmers fields. It will also burn hot enough to heat treat carbon steel. ;)
 
The guy who is getting this knife has a long bow made of Osage.

I have heard of it called hedge but not Bois d'arc. I cant even pronounce that.unsure
 
Very nice job on the filework. I'll bet it started running togther by the time you got finished. How far does it run around the butt?
 
p moore said:
Very nice job on the filework. I'll bet it started running togther by the time you got finished. How far does it run around the butt?
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I found something out on this type of filework. Its harder to do symmetrical shapes like these then to do a flowing vine or rope work. When something is not right it pokes you in the eye like a sharp stick. It was tougher then I anticipated because it looks so basic. I had to do each triangle one at a time to or I would screw it up. I couldnt just go up the spine on one side then the other so that made it a little more tedious.....but worth it.

I only ran it on the spine and stopped at the butt. I will post better pics when the sheath is finished.

Thanks for the good words too!
 
That file work is amazing!!!!

Nice looking blade and design.

Looking forward to further pics and more knife porn from ya sir.2thumbs

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