Toughest Natural Handle Material

The toughest I have used is "Ipe" from Brazil.They call it Brazillian Ironwood.Very dense, hard to work.Dave :)
 
I have to second the Lignum response. I read recently that a dig was being done in Brazil and that the only way to carbon date the site was from lignum posts that were buried in salt water and mud still intact. They were between 800 and 1000 years old and still there. Everything else was gone but some clay shards and gold and jade finds.

Thats tough stuff in my book.
 
On my opinion Wenge is toughest I know, followed by Zebrawood and Shadua. Desert Ironwood may be cracky - Lignum Vitae much better but sometimes it has cracks also.

BTW from Guaya close relative to Lignum Vitae (I forgot exact name but in translation from Latin it was Holly Guaya and Lignum Vitae is like Healing Guaya), USSR made bearing for nuclear submarine shafts.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
Osage orange. There are still fences standing that had posts made from Osage over a hundred years ago. :eek:

Lignum Vitae is tough too. As is Desert Ironwood. The Ironwood is definately the most beautiful.
 
I would say not ironwood and I'll tell you why. I have seen a lot of knives with ironwood handles chip, and not just from dropping the knife either. I've seen ironwood handles chip when bumped into something while carrying the knife on a hip. Ironwood burl is mainly what I'm complaining about. If I buy an ironwood handled knife nowadays, it's going to have a relatively straight to wavey grain to it, not burl.
 
I have heard lignum vitae called one of the two hardest woods in the world. I gather there is debate on this though in "wood guy" circles.

I've also heard it was used as driveshaft bearings in WWI era naval vessels.
 
I don't know about toughest, but I agree that osage orange is very tough. It will dull a chainsaw in nothing flat and lasts forever in the environment.

Jack
 
I'm very familiar with osage orange also known as Bois De Arc (pronounced Bodark.) Try repairing a barbed wire fence that has this wood for posts and drive a staple or nail in it. You will have a problem. When I was a kid and still on the ranch/farm, we kids used to get into "fights" with the fruit from these trees. We called them horseapples. About 50 miles west of where I live there is quite a bit of this growing.
 
This is not about knives, but I have a point about handle material. I am a musician. I play bass guitar. My main bass is a Warrior 6 string that is fretless. A fretted bass has frets which are essentially bars of metal that when the string is pushed down on it makes the string ring to the desired pitch and the string never touches the wood fingerboard. With a fretless bass it doesn't have these bars and so the steel string is depressed onto the wood directly for a more organic, buttery sound. Over time the spiral wrapped strings cause gouges in the fingerboard making the instrument play improperly and causes the notes to be stifled. Most players refinish their fretless boards once every 2 to 3 years.

My fingerboard is made of a fairly available wood called purpleheart. I have owned the bass for about 8 years and have NEVER refinished it. It is simply the most impressive, durable wood I've ever seen. It is also a beautiful purple that keeps getting darker and darker with use. This wood would (sorry) make a great handle.

Steve
 
I read Ivory and Sheep Horn.But not bone.Impala bone,when carved,stippled,Dremel-ed,whatever you want to do is"one of the best" grips there is dry,muddy,wet.Like beef bone or most any bone it can be dyed also.steve is your fretboard Ebony or Rosewood?
 
steve,sorry I see your fretwood is Purpleheart.I got to wrapped up in the thread and read right through your post.
 
I've always liked natural India stag antler because it's strong without being brittle and doesn't have a "grain" to crack along.
 
steve4765630 said:
This wood would (sorry) make a great handle.
Click to expand...

It is a beautiful wood. I have a native American flute carved from purpleheart. If you do a "purpleheart knife" Google search you will find some makers who are using it.

Jack
 
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