Scale materials to keep in the shop

[Absinthe]

Another dumb question: (I should mention ahead of time, that I am really only interested in making folding knives at this point, so my questions are relative to that)

I have a fair amount of wood, including some domestics (hickory, hard maple, walnut) and some exotics (ipe, rosewood, zebra, purple heart, african redwood, grapa, and so on...). Some of which is good for scales and obviously other is not.

What I am wondering is what is some good material to have on hand "just in case" for scale material. I assume that if I am going to do something special, I will reach out and get just enough of whatever that is and do it. However, it seems like everyone in the videos just magically reaches into their bag of tricks and has some chunk of G10 or Delrin or Mycarta of one sort or another. When looking for these materials, I seem to find either pre-made scales of it, or huge sheets that are way beyond my price range for something "just to have in stock".

Any recommendations?

On a related note, I have seen people do shadow patterns, implying they use no bolsters, but at what point is it okay to go with liner-less as well? Is this specific to thickness of the material, or some specific strength attribute?

 

[tkroenlein]

You should mention that "mainly folders" part over in your equipment priorities thread.

 

[John Wilson]

This is a very good question. There are some materials that are so universal that they belong in a drawer in every shop.

Curly Maple. This is one of the most versatile woods on the planet. You can dye it literally any color that strikes you. It takes dye well, it looks good natural, it takes oil well, it polishes up great, and it's beautiful and durable and doesn't need to be stabilized. It's the Swiss Army Knife of handle materials. If a customer doesn't have a specific request but tells me that they want a "light colored wood, but something interesting" or "I like red" or "how about blue??" this is immediately what I reach for.

Black linen micarta. It polishes to a slick shine (think Buck fixed blade handles), or you can rough it up and make it look gray. Works nice, drills nice, glues up nice. Aside from handle material it's just plain handy to have around when you need a piece of something to make a fixture or a jig or whatever. Way too handy not to have some, just because.

A couple of burls. (Desert Ironwood, Amboyna, whatever you like.) Burls can be hard to find on a moment's notice, so I keep some around to make sure I have it.

Nickel Silver bar stock and sheet stock. (bolsters and liners)

304 / 316 stainless bar sock and sheet stock. (bolsters and liners)