*Opinions please!! Which woods are naturally stable?*

misque

misque

Joined
Jul 9, 1999
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I know Desert Ironwood, Cocobolo and maybe even Osage Orange(they use it as fence posts as is, I hear:eek: ). I'm interested in woods that look good and wear well without artificial stabilization.
So, what else falls into this category?
 
According to either Goddard or the Barney/Loveless book, Rosewood is oily enough to be stable way it is.

Least, if memory serves, if anyone realy cares, will dig out books when I get home.
 
ibony,teak, mahonganony which might be a rosewood too and others. keep in mind with most of these, like the rose/cocobolo and ibony that this stuff is very toxic. i become sensetized working with cocobolo and now my chest tightens and i get burning skin just thinking about it :eek: cover every inch of skin you can and and hepa rated cartiridge dust mask. which you should he wearing anyway.i still use desert ironwood. but mostly stabilized woods and micarta. still wear your mask and cover up as much as possible.
 
Snakewood, although there's a high loss rate from cracking. I've heard also that taking it from a humid climate to a dry climate can cause cracking. Other than that it's very dense oily and stable! :p

Lignum Vitae is as hard and dense as they come. Anything that could be used as bearings for propellor shafts on ships must be sturdy stuff. :eek:

Padouk Burl is another.
 
Olivewood, Tulipwood, almost any Western Australian hardwood, Ziricote, Pau Ferro, Lignum Vitae, Vera Wood. There's a lot of them.:eek:
 
I have knives that I made with cocobolo, bocote, and ebony which are all still hanging in there after 11 years of use.

My favorite wood though is osage....tough as nails.
 
Wow, this opens up the options a bit!:D
I used Lignum Vitae once on a handle but it hasn't seen much use from what I'm told. Propeller shaft bearings?! YIKES! That's one I need to get more of.

Thanks for the help fellas! Now I've got some wood names to research and take down to The Wood Shop(our local specialty wood shop) and (fingers crossed) hopefully bring home.

Please keep'em comin' if there are more and thank ya'll for the varieties you've given so far.

All the best,
Mike U.
 
I no longer have much faith in anything that is supposedly "stabilized". :(

In the past two years I have purchased two folders and one fixed blade with "stabilized" ebony handles. All three have shrunk significantly.
 
Originally posted by cockroachfarm
I no longer have much faith in anything that is supposedly "stabilized". :(

In the past two years I have purchased two folders and one fixed blade with "stabilized" ebony handles. All three have shrunk significantly.
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Ebony, and Snakewood are two woods that are very iffy for handles. They are both subject to shrinking, swelling, splitting and checking, as you watch. I've seen this with stabilized handles of both. I won't use either anymore.
African Blackwood might be a better choice for an ebony substitute.
 
Most of my early knives had osage orange handles. The wood I cut and dried myself, and had no problems with checking, ect. Great stuff for working, too. We have fence posts here in Iowa still in the ground that farmers claim have been there for a hundred years. It is a very common wood here, and I cut the crotches and gnarly pieces for some outstanding grained pieces, and the knotts don't loosen, either.
 
Thuya. I believe naturally stabilized wood compared to man stabilized is relative. Naturally stabilized is probably not as stable because its fluids are just that - fluid. I may well be wrong.

Thuya, I think, can be added to your list.

Roger
 
My favourite natural woods - AFRICAN BLACKWOOD (not "ebony"),
RINGED GIDGEE AND MOST OF THE INLAND AUSTRALIAN ACACIA SPP. - MULGA, MYALL

Rosewoods, cocobolo are all the Dalbergia species' as is African Blackwood - all oily and stable, but I'm very allergic to them, so I'll only "put out" for African Blackwood. The naturally very dense, stable and oily woods are also not easy to stabilise well. Conversely, the less dense, less stable and less oily woods actually can stabilise better and simply open up the options for usable handle materials. Please note that stabilisation with acrylics etc. will never be as strong as a naturally tough wood. Jason.
 
I agree with Jason Ringed gidgee is great wood, very stabile, Ironwood is another good one. Ebony I would stay away from.

Bill
 
One of the most stable hardwoods of all is Mesquite, which grows throughout SW North America and most of Latin America. It has outstanding grain and does not shrink or warp. It is also related to Desert Ironwood and all of the Acacias.
Burls, crotches and root balls commonly have eyes and/or fiddle-back grain and are chatoyant in changing light.
It also grows abundantly and is not endangered like Ironwood.
 
Originally posted by shgeo
One of the most stable hardwoods of all is Mesquite, which grows throughout SW North America and most of Latin America. It has outstanding grain and does not shrink or warp. It is also related to Desert Ironwood and all of the Acacias.
Burls, crotches and root balls commonly have eyes and/or fiddle-back grain and are chatoyant in changing light.
It also grows abundantly and is not endangered like Ironwood.
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LOL!........:D I don't know how I could've forgotten Mesquite. I've got several hudred pounds of root ball and 16" diameter sections of trunk drying in my shop at the moment.:eek:
I agree with what Shgeo said above. Another one is Catclaw Acacia, part of the same family, but the root ball wood is even more beautiful than Mesquite, or Ironwood burl. It grows wild in the same areas as mesquite. The thorns are curved like a cats claws, hence the name. Except for very minor diffefences in the leaf shape, plus the thorns, it looks almost identical to Mesquite. :D
 
Rhino knives poster:
ibony,teak, mahonganony which might be a rosewood too and others.
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Regarding teak. I have several seasoned pieces laying around the house. This wood is several generations old, literaly. Wood is so expensive in Thailand that when a family moves, the teak posts and beams are dismantled. Some houses in the villiage have reused the same wood for up to 150 years that I know of for sure, perhaps longer.
I asked once about using this for handles, but was told it would be too soft and must be oiled. In this post it sounds as though it may be a good material though. When sanded and polished it looks very nice. What is the story on teak? In fact, I have not seen any handles made of teak listed anywhere.
Rad
 
I was thinking Ebony and African Black were the same. What's the difference??

Thanks; Roger
 
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