Basswood

[Caden_Vekk]

How about basswood for handle material? any preparations I need to deal with?

 

[mete]

Nice fine grain , a favorite for wood carving .I don't know about figure though. Are you going to carve it ??

 

[Caden_Vekk]

doubt it, thought about stabalizing it (if needed) and/or dying it

 

[Wilkenstein]

I've never made a knife in my life (changing that soon), but I do know that basswood is very soft and lightweight. Like Mete said, it's used a ton for wood carving.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Too soft, too plain, too cheap looking.
Stacy

 

[Caden_Vekk]

Maybe so, but would it work? Stabalized, dyed, and what not. Would it work

at the moment I'm not interested in how cheap, plain, or soft. I can fix that with some dyes, carving, and resin. I just need to know if it is a viable material for the job.

 

[Caden_Vekk]

do any of you have any specific ideas on how to fix the problems Stacy has suggested?

 

[raylaconico]

do any of you have any specific ideas on how to fix the problems Stacy has suggested?

Maybe you can do a basswood core and do a cord wrap over it

I have a machete that I use that I put a handle of poplar. It looks/is cheap, it's soft but it works for me since it's just for me to use and nobody else has to like it.

 

[jdm61]

and maybe too fragile. Basswood is like balsa's more muscular brother. Very strong when laminated, epoxied or glued up with leather like on a Moran sheath, but probably only suitable for decoration or non-load bearing musical instrument parts, which have to be light and strong, relatively speaking, but don't have to take the abuse that a knife handle does. Maple would be a better choice. Tougher and almost as easy to work with.

 

[Shakudo]

Basswood is softer than birch,but the Scandinavians have been using birch on their tools for centuries. southern basswood is softer than northern basswood,and as far as figure in wood goes........... i guess not many of you have seen good northern basswood.

 

[crex]

Lot of effort for a so - so knife handle. Good wood is so easy and cheap to come by, why bother with something that is questionable at best?

I see you're here in Hotlanta. You're welcome to come to any of the Georgia Custom Knifemakers' Guild meetings and pick the brains of some of the best talent in the southeast. Next meeting is April 28th in Watkinsville, GA. Check for particulars to be posted on the Guild's website www.georgiaknifemakersguild.com

Shakudo - beautiful piece of wood. I think we have native woods here in the US that rival anything anywhere. Just have to be looking in the right places.
Carl Rechsteiner

 

[scottickes]

There are too many different exotic woods to choose from in my opinion. I would think that basswood or pine would be a very difficult sell to a client, when they can get the same knife with desert ironwood, zebrawood, ebony, tulipwood, etc. I just don't see those as being very popular handle materials. Sorry, but that's my opinion, for what it's worth.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Caden,
Yes, If you want to, you could have it dyed and stabilized by WSSI. It would then be usable as a handle material. Remember ,though, stabilizing will make it harder, but not necessarily a lot stronger.
Basswood is sometimes used as sheath liner material for wooden sheaths.
As others have commented, there are so many nicer choices for less money than stabilizing basswood.
Stacy

 

[GibsonFan]

If you're talking about the basswood sold for building models and stuff, sure you can use it. You "can" also use pine. If cheap and strong is your need, try oak. You can find oak lumber in the cut-off bin at Home Depot for next-to-nothing.

Basswood and poplar are both commonly used in less-expensive solid-body guitars. Largely because they're very easy to machine and not costly to begin with. The blanks are generally cut from three or more planks laminated side-by-side. Now, if you see a guitar neck made from poplar or basswood, just laugh and walk away.

Maple would be a better choice. Tougher and almost as easy to work with.

Absolutely, if you like a clear, almost white wood, go with maple. It's much harder than basswood, cheap, and resists warping and twisting very well. It needs a protective finish or stabilizing; I've sweated for years in dingy basements and smoky bars, all over "bare" maple necks treated heavily with tung oil, and all they did was develop a nice transparent amber patina. It can be dyed about any color you can dream up and is readily available in curly and birdseye figured grain. Tightly-figured maple can be a little tricky to work with, for instance birdseye's kind of feel like a knot under the chisel or knife. But neither figured nor clear maple will run out big chunks and splinters like softer woods can.

Somewhere in the back of my brain, lurks the idea for a cherry-burst flame maple handle on a nice clean drop-point, but that's another story...

 

[MSCantrell]

do any of you have any specific ideas on how to fix the problems Stacy has suggested?

After seeing two can-I-use-this-wood questions from you back to back, I'm starting to pick up on the fact that you're having a tough time finding good wood.

Here's a great article that addresses your situation:
www.ragweedforge.com/wood.html

Good luck!

Mike
mscantrell at gmail.com

 

[Caden_Vekk]

Haha these are the kind of answers i was looking for. Thanks guys and gals. Thanks for the invite Crex.

And MSCantrell, yeah I'm just getting started in knife making (if you hadn't already noticed me bugging the living hell out of everyone haha). I'm trying to start out nice and cheap but still sellable.