Wood Handles for Hard-Use Knives..Your Experiece??

So,

There is this local maker who prefers to offer his knives with wood handles. And given that I really respect his style and artistry, I am planning on buying a couple of his knives with wood handles. But, I have very little experience with wood handles, and have heard all sorts of horror stories about them moving and cracking, etc.

To the point-

1) What has been your experience with wood handles in use?

2) Any wood rise to the top as a proven performer?

3) Sought after characteristics would be reistance to moisture, toughness, what else?

4) What 5 woods would be the best for a knife handle?

In short, what all do you all know about wood for knife handles that I should know?

Marion David Poff

top woods for handles;
Rosewood,Cocobolo,Bubinga,Osage orange(hedge),Hard rock maple,...there are so many . And then you have the wood that has been stabilized.If allowed to properly dry ,most do real well.Are you wanting a light toned wood or dark?

Mostly rosewood,desert ironwood,ebony,cocobolo,and curly maple.Softer woods need to be stabilized.

Thanks,

I am probably looking for a medium to darker tone, or better yet, a red or orange with dark brown and/or black. Contrast.

MDP

MDP-

If you have access to it, look at the article on handle materials in the December 2000 issue of Knive Illustrated. It might provide some insight.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp I tend to think that any hardwood properly cared for is going to last a lifetime. Proper care means maintaining the finish and avoiding any sudden changes in temperature or (depending on the finish) humidity. A dashboard on a sunny day will crack wood- or ivory for that matter. I have used maple, padauk, bubinga, purpleheart, canarywood, walnut, gancalo, bloodwood and a few others. Some woods like ironwood and cocobolo are noted for their stability and require less care than others.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp I finish my woods in an organic linseed oil. Many people do not realize that the chemical industry often "finds," a use for waste products from other processes. Most wood oils are a case in point with heavy-metal "drying agents," added to the oil to speed up curing times. Speeding up the drying process is IMHO only making the finish shallower. My finishes take up to two weeks to cure completely and penetrate 1/16"- 1/8". I know because onthe rare occasion I have to remove a finish... Grrrr!
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp I love the way stabilized materials work and finish. However, even with a capable ventilation system I find the fumes and dust from working exotic woods mixed with superglue to be just past my health-concern limit. I will only rarely work with stabilized material.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp So I say, get the wood handled knife! You only need take care of it once or twice a year for it to last indefinitely.

-J. Loose

Home grown stabilized woods may use super glue (cyanoacrylate) for a stabilizing agent, but commercially done work is done with acrylic. Definitely non-toxic. Sources I am referring to are K&G, WSSI, Wildwoods, etc.

I just assumed that all stabilizing was done with cryano-acrilate (i.e. superglue,) but it would be interesting to know otherwise. If there were a non-toxic alternative I'd use stabilized material more often. I'll see if the aforementioned companies can send me MSDS or something.

I'll post the results for other makers-

Thanks Don, for bringing that to my attention.

-J. Loose

Men,

Take a look at Jonathan's work over at the main site. Pretty slick ...

Alex