non stabilized wood

[shgeo]

Ray,
I haven't had any problems with wood on kitchen knives, but I don't put them in the dishwasher or soak them in the sink for long periods. This is as much for the epoxy as for the wood. I haven't made a lot of kitchen knives, though, just for presents, mainly

My daughter learned the hard way with a set of steak knives I made for her with Mesquite handles. She ignored my instructions and cleaned them in the dishwasher for months. The Danish oil finish came off and a few of the scales came loose even though they were pinned and didn't fall off. The wood didn't seem to be harmed, though. I am going to refinish them one of these days.

I did discover Teak oil recently for these hard oily woods. It seems to sink in more than the Danish oil finishes I had been using.

I live in a very dry area and that may color my perception of the durability of these woods.

[Ray Rogers]

Steve,

I haven't had any trouble with wood on kitchen knives either except for that one time and that was enough for me. Many of my kitchen knives are in commercial kitchens and I don't worry too much about them ending up in a dishwasher because I explain to the owners that I consider that abuse and the warranty is over if that happens.

What I'm shooting for is 100% reliablity on my kitchen knives. I realize that a problem with a well treated wood handle is very unlikely. At the same time, I believe that this fungus problem would never have happened with a stabilized wood or, at least, would be far more unlikely. My feeling is that , if I'm going to use wood at all, then stabilized wood gets me closer to that goal of 100% reliability even if the user makes a few mistakes .......

[Bearpaw]

Predator,

Wood Stabilizing Specialists did a fine job on a box of antler for me. Since then I have used an old pressure cooker and Minwax wood hardener. Thompson's brick sealer has been suggested.
I alternate vacuum then 50lbs air for about 3 cycles to soak up the medium until the handle material will not float. More porous material may need only one cycle. Take the handle material out and let it dry/harden on paper towels.
Minwax wood hardener is bad stuff, use a respirator which will filter out the fumes and stabilize in a well ventilated area.
Email me and I'll send a photo attachment of the lid of my rig.
Bearpaw

[Don Halter]

Originally posted by shgeo
The wood they call Texas ebony is actually mimosa. It is a hard dark wood, but is not ebony.

Just about any legume tree down here will have neat heartwood. If you ask for a mimosa tree, you'll get the pink flowered hawaiian version that seems to grow like a weed, though. I never cut into one of those. Hmmm...time to pull out the tree saw.

There's also a Texas persimmon tree which is in the same family as the african ebony. It's a scragly little tree that will have purplish/black heartwood and fruit that fall and make your yard smell like mad-dog cheap wine as they rot. It's pretty scarce compared to the Texas ebony.

Another tree with really neat colors is the grand magnolia. It definitely needs to be stabilized. It looks a lot like olive wood.

[Predator]

Everyone--I really appreciate you alls input--learned quite a bit. Thanks for the help.
To answer Don Robinson, The knife is mine and has never seen anything except a washcloth and warm water. I will be replacing the handle with another type of wood--don`t know yet but leaning towards Stabilized Oregon Myrtle.
Again--thanks to everyone.
Pred