Some tasty walnut
- Thread starter AkWildman
- Start date
Sean Jones
Well-Known Member
Nice!
Many years ago I ran across a gentleman that would go to furniture manuf's and pick up their leftovers. He had a small store where he would sell these "toss outs". One day I was buying small pieces of walnut and he asked "You really do like walnut don't you to which I replied YES, I love to work with it and it looks great (besides liking the smell of it which is not a good idea when you're cutting/sanding without a mask (bad for you))! He told me he had a stack of it in his warehouse (10 ft x 10 ft x different lengths) and would sell it to me for $250. My response: SOLD! I've made a huge entertainment center with it and other things for wifey and the family and still have a good stack of it remaining. One of the best deals I've ever scored! Doesn't look quite as good as your Turkish Walnut but some pieces are outstanding. Once I get into knife making more aggressively, I will start using the stash. Awesome looking piece of Turkish Walnut by the way!!!!
Randy Lucius
Well-Known Member
Try to make friends with your local woodworkers. Some have clubs in your area. This black walnut came from a local guy who was making cutting boards. He was burning the scraps before he was saving it for me. I have about 50 blocks of this "scrap" material now. 
Great suggestion to seek out local woodworkers. I have many scraps of walnut saved in plastic bins hoping to start turning and making writing pens (when I retire) out of them but IF I decide to move forward and buy knife making tools, I know what I will be using them for.
KentuckyFisherman
Well-Known Member
Randy, your story about the woodworkers burning the "scrap" walnut is similar to a score I made a few years ago. My neighbor across the street had some professionals come in and cut what I always thought was a huge, old maple in his side yard. Turns out it wasn't maple, it was a cherry tree, but I didn't learn that for a while. He then hired a guy to set up a portable sawmill in his front yard and they proceeded to turn the logs into boards. All this time, I still thought it was maple. One morning we'd had a thundershower, then the sun popped out bright. I looked over at the "scrap" pile and it was shining like red gold. That afternoon I asked my neighbor what he planned to do with the scrap pile. He said, "Well, I have a wood stove, so I'll burn most of it. I know you smoke meat, so do you want some?" Silly question, right?
He gave me probably 200-300 pounds of smoking chunks, plus maybe a half-dozen boards that had more warp than he wanted to fool with. Here's what I did with the nicest slab, and I've also made numerous sets of knife scales. You can't see it well in this photo, but the chatoyance in this wood, especially the light areas, is absolutely incredible.
He gave me probably 200-300 pounds of smoking chunks, plus maybe a half-dozen boards that had more warp than he wanted to fool with. Here's what I did with the nicest slab, and I've also made numerous sets of knife scales. You can't see it well in this photo, but the chatoyance in this wood, especially the light areas, is absolutely incredible.
Try to make friends with your local woodworkers. Some have clubs in your area. This black walnut came from a local guy who was making cutting boards. He was burning the scraps before he was saving it for me. I have about 50 blocks of this "scrap" material now.
I get all of my stuff from a local gunsmith. He specializes in best quality doubles, mostly Holland’s, Purdeys and such. I get the scraps from the new blanks, as well as some of the old broken stocks. Pretty sweet gig.