handle material?

[climberslacker]

Has anyone tried this? I made a knife, and pending a torch, I need handle material. So far my options are: Pine, Eucalyptus, oak and Ash. What one would be best for a full tang blade?

thanks!

 

[Chris the Cat]

Ask springs to mind if you are not going to stabilised it, tighter grain than Oak ( Although Oak would be ok!) Not sure about Eucalyptus and Pine would be too soft I would have thought!
Good luck!
Chris.

 

[JohnC]

I'd think ash as well. I think oak reacts with iron, though I'm not sure about steel. I have tried carving eucalyptus and it was very twisty and tough, but seemed too fibrous.

 

[Dave Budd]

any of the above will work, though the pine is a bit soft and so the pins would work proud quickly. Depending on the variety of the eucalyptus then it could work or it could be too soft (saying eucalyptus is like saying a table is made from wood, not very specific)

The theory of oak corroding steel is true, but only if you don't glue it together as well. The glue acts as a barrier and I've never had any of my oak handled tools/knives rust or fall apart as a result. Darkens and has a great character

Ash is great for handles, but as with oak the grain is very open and will need raising/sanding/raising/sanding or a sealer to prevent splinters in use.

 

[Ozhaggishead]

I don't find eucalyptus(gum trees) that useful as a wood for crafts but it makes the most amazing firewood.Ash is a truly great wood,I remember reading it was use for tool handles in Europe until hickory came from the new world.

 

[John Fenna]

I use Oak for a lot of knife handles and love it for its looks and feel.
I have never had a problem with it reacting with the steel, but then, the Oak I use is Victorian (from a slightly wormed and skipped chest of draws) so is super-seasoned and I use a good coat of epoxy which acts as a physical barrier between wood and steel...

 

[climberslacker]

can you describe the raising-sanding-raising-sanding method to me? Do I shave the handles then take it off and raise & sand, or what. Also how do I raise?

thanks!

 

[John Fenna]

make the handle to a finished state, that is, attached to the blade shaped and sanded to a good finish.
Then soak the wood in water - I wrap the handle in a soaking wet rag.
Once the wood is wet the grain "raises" as ridges. Dry the wood (slowly so as not to overheat any epoxy used in joining the wood to the metal - I have ruined more than one project by applying heat to speed up the drying!) and sand it smooth again.
Repeat until soaking the wood no longer raises any noticable grain.

 

[Native Justice]

make the handle to a finished state, that is, attached to the blade shaped and sanded to a good finish.
Then soak the wood in water - I wrap the handle in a soaking wet rag.
Once the wood is wet the grain "raises" as ridges. Dry the wood (slowly so as not to overheat any epoxy used in joining the wood to the metal - I have ruined more than one project by applying heat to speed up the drying!) and sand it smooth again.
Repeat until soaking the wood no longer raises any noticable grain.

I was taught this treatment with a spray bottle filled with luke warm water. Spray the wood enough to "lightly" wet the surface, wait for the wood grain to swell, sand it with a finishing grit (800-1500 grit wet-dry is what I used), repeat until grain stops rising with the water. Once dry, treat wood to your liking.

Good luck.

 

[Dave Budd]

I dip/drip/spray water over it to wet the surface and then force it dry with a hair dryer or gas flame. You only need to soak the fibres at the surface so there is no point soaking it completely and forcing the surface dry makes the fibres jump ap better and makes them stiffer (that makes it easier to sand them off )

just finish to desired grit paper, say 800 and wet/dry. Then refinish with fresh finest paper using light pressure so that the fibres don't get pushed back but are abraded. repeat until the grain stops raising