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Ben Sons

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I am new to this and needing some help with handle material...
I have ordered some micarta but I have no idea where to start with a wood order. I was hoping for some input on a "sample order"
I.E. What wood you use the most, and what you would recommend.
Thank you for your time
Ben Sons
 
You can't go wrong with some Desert Ironwood, its hard, easy to work, and does not require being stabilized, and makes a great handle.
 
Take a look around this weekend and see what is available. There is usually a company out of Hot Springs that sells stabilized woods. Stabilized maple makes a nice looking handle and is somewhat inexpensive compared to some of the others available.
 
Trying to get a "list" together. I know if I don't, I'll be driving back from littlerock kicking myself because I forgot what I needed to buy.
 
I like Osage Orange and African Blackwood. Both are very stable as they come from the wood lot. Osage Orange will be a bright yellow after sanding but will develope a brown patina in a few days if exposed to the sun. There are several others. Take a look at some of the supplies and see what appeals to you. Post back to get an idea of any problems that one might encounter with that wood.
 
Anything stabilized will work great. That means you can just shop by what looks good to you. I use a lot of bocote and black walnut.
 
Smoke,

All sound advice given if your looking for PREMIUM handle materials.

When I was an Ultra newb I just wanted to build a small stockpile of materials so reguardless of my cashflow I had what I needed to make a knife.

Stabilized is great and the rage these days. That does NOT mean that an un-stabilized handle is junk.

If I needed a supply of wood at an affordable price to make "newbie" knives with I'd get in touch with Mike Jones right here on KD's. If you want premium stabilized woods then Mark of Burl Source fame can help you out with that.

Both of these guys can be found here-

http://www.knifedogs.com/forumdisplay.php?f=71

-Josh
 
Josh is right that you don't have to have stabilized wood to make a great wood handle. In fact, the bocote I use isn't stabilized, and neither is the walnut. It's more important on some woods than others, but not an absolute necessity, if you choose the right wood.
 
Thanks for the info, I will contact mike. I got a start on stabilized wood at the Arkansas show yesterday. Now to stock up the beginner woods. Thanks
 
Ive used broken shovel handles for knife handles before. Not the prettiest, but very serviceable. Something i was turned onto a couple of years ago was to walk the OLD fenclines looking for black locust or osage fence posts. The man that showed me this carved ducks from them, but man it can be pretty wood! Most is usually fairly well dried out, and will absorb almost any finish readily.

Im just outside of Russellville, if you get this way, give me a holler, stop by and look thru my stockpile, Ive got some walnut and maple I might be able to help you with.

God Bless
Mike
 
Smoke - I have quite a supply of domestic and exotic woods now, after several years of doing this knife making thing. However, when I first started, I routinely pillaged the firewood pile for those nice pieces of curly or crotch wood. Yellow Birch, the Maples, Cherry, Walnut, Yew, are all perfectly fine woods for handles. If you are in Arkansas, you likely have plenty of Osage Orange, Pecan, and a bunch others that are great for this use.

Also, keep an eye out in the sales forum here for good deals that come up all the time.
 
Old maple gym floors, pieces of firewood, shovel handles, walnut chair arms, plum stumps, fallen sycamore limbs, and many others have all ended up on knives of mine. If it's a hardwood and looks good it'll be fine for beginner woods, and most likely for non-beginner stuff too. I've sawn down probably 70% of what I use from logs, burls, or hardwood lumber I've come across for free, and nobody would know just by looking at the finished product.
 
When you are a knifemaker...everything looks like either blade material or handle material.

Keep an eye open for old furniture being tossed on trash day, ancient trees being cut down by a landscaper, and wooden objects at yard sales and flea markets.

I once bought a 3 foot tall, hand carved statue of an African woman.....made in ebony. It was very old and had a crack in it. I paid $5 for it at a yard sale.

Estate sales are great places to find old ivory and wooden objects.
Another past bonanza was at an estate auction where the deceased was a woodworker. I went to buy some equipment. Stacked in the rafters and in the corners ( covered in dirt and dust) was hundreds of pounds of exotic and highly figured wood. I asked the auctioneer if the wood would be one lot or in several lots. He just looked at me like I was stupid, and said, "If you want any of that wood, just take it." I loaded the car right then.

Stacy
 
I like most burls and curly maple and curly koa. Snakewood looks great, but shrinks and cracks.
-John
 
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