Paduk for Scales

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pairomedicsfish

Well-Known Member
On the advice of the guy at Woodcraft, I picked up a chunk of Paduk for some scales... It is not stabilized.... Once I cut it to scale thickness, I found that the grain is a little open. Not sure this will be on for a kitchen knife..... Thoughts on this open grain and any corrective measures? I did soak the scales for 24 hours in Pentacryl the dried it in the oven at a low temp all day....still has some texture....any help is appreciated!
 
I've used Paduak or Paduk on many culinary knives. Its already oily enough that you can't stabilize it.
It works fine as is. Even with what looks like open grain. I hand sand to 600 grit and that's it.
 
I have had good results using Padauk for handle material. It took me a little while to learn how to finish this wood the best way for knife scales. I had mine stabilized before use. Here is what I did. After finishing down to 600 grit, I used a CA (Super Glue) for a sealer and then GENTLY buffed for a high gloss shine. If you buff to aggressively, the CA will "melt" and you'll have a mess and have to start over with finishing. If you want something more subdued, after sanding down to whatever grit you want to use, gently buff and you will end up with a nice matte to semi gloss finish, but you'll still have that open grain structure. Experiment a little before you put it on a knife with what type of finish you want.

Things I found out while working Padauk.........
The open grain structure will hold dirt, saw dust and buffing compound etcetera if you use too much pressure while buffing and give the wood a "dirty" appearance, a gentle touch goes a long way. Even though padauk is not that hard of a wood, it seemed to dull my cutting tools quickly.
Padauk also changes color with exposure to light and with age. This is the main reason why I had mine stabilized before use. So far, after stabilization, I have not noticed any discoloration or darkening yet. And with the padauk I had, when freshly cut, the saw dust is bright orange, like traffic cone orange! I got a kick out of that. If you can put up with it's quirks, padauk, will make a very nice handle material.
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phatjohn said:
I have had good results using Padauk for handle material. It took me a little while to learn how to finish this wood the best way for knife scales. I had mine stabilized before use. Here is what I did. After finishing down to 600 grit, I used a CA (Super Glue) for a sealer and then GENTLY buffed for a high gloss shine. If you buff to aggressively, the CA will "melt" and you'll have a mess and have to start over with finishing. If you want something more subdued, after sanding down to whatever grit you want to use, gently buff and you will end up with a nice matte to semi gloss finish, but you'll still have that open grain structure. Experiment a little before you put it on a knife with what type of finish you want.

Things I found out while working Padauk.........
The open grain structure will hold dirt, saw dust and buffing compound etcetera if you use too much pressure while buffing and give the wood a "dirty" appearance, a gentle touch goes a long way. Even though padauk is not that hard of a wood, it seemed to dull my cutting tools quickly.
Padauk also changes color with exposure to light and with age. This is the main reason why I had mine stabilized before use. So far, after stabilization, I have not noticed any discoloration or darkening yet. And with the padauk I had, when freshly cut, the saw dust is bright orange, like traffic cone orange! I got a kick out of that. If you can put up with it's quirks, padauk, will make a very nice handle material.
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John,
I sent a batch of woods to Mike at WSSI who has been do this for over 25 years or so and he sent the Pauk back to me untouched along with all of the other woods he did stabilize saying it can't really be done. You can do CA but that's not really what I would consider stabilizing.

Were did you send it and what did they do if you don't mind?
 
Sent it to K&G for stabilization, as far as I know, they used their "thin" solution. I didn't say that CA was the stabilizer, just a sealer.

I've ran into the same thing, some people who do stabilization say that oily woods can't be stabilized. Or, makers who say you don't need to stabilize certain woods. From the research I've done, the jury is still out on whether you should stabilize certain woods or not. For my knives, and to err on the side of caution, I send it out to be stabilized. And, I have to admit, I am extremely lucky that I have a lumber yard that specializes in high end domestic and exotic hardwoods nearby so I source all of my handle material myself, I know where it came from and that it's dry enough to send out after I buy it. I would hate for a knife I made to come back in 5 years with a cracked handle. It still might happen but I'm hedging my bet. Am I wasting my money, I don't think so because I like the peace of mind.
 
John,
It all dependes on the weight gained by stabilizing as to if folks think its worth it?
I will keep a note about K & G doing Paduk if I ever want any done. Thanks for that info.

You can get a moisture tester for under $100.00 to check woods yourself before sending the out. I look for 10-12% or less moisture with my meter.
 
I made my wife a couple of kitchen knives with Padauk wood scales over a year ago. She uses them nearly every day and they have had no movement of the scales whatsoever. I did seal the outside surface with CA glue before finishing, and that was apparently enough to stop water from penetrating.
 
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