Palm wood

[CDH]

Every time I see a palm tree around my house being cut down I wonder if I should go grab a log or three for handle wood... We have both date palms and 'fan' palms here, but I don't know any specific names. The trees can get pretty good sized, 2+' in diameter and 30+' tall...stringy looking but that is how the survive life on the Gulf Coast.

My question is how hard the traditional black palm wood is? The palm trees down here are soft, almost punky and cork like, and don't seem like they would make a good knife handle without a good stabilizing process. They have the same stringy/tube bundle form as the pictures I have seen though...

Worth a try or don't bother? Dry like traditional wood and stabilize?

 

[bikermikearchery]

Black Palm from the tropics is very hard. So hard that is can be used as a knife. All other palms that I have seen are soft and stringy. If your having it stabilized it doesn't mater.

 

[Alpha Knife Supply]

If your having it stabilized it doesn't mater.

I've tried other palms and stabilizing does not help. You end up with ugly, stringy, expensive firewood!

Buy red or black palm if you want palm . They are both much harder than the several types of palm available here in the US (that we have tried).

If you are determined to try palm I strongly suggest you cut the blocks 4-5 times bigger in thickness and depth than you need. By the time the wood is dry it may be big enough for a knife block. We cut the blocks 2" x 2" x 5" and had pen blanks when we were finished.

 

[Robert_Phelps]

Palms are actually grasses, if you didn't know. (Big frickin grass, huh?) I would imagine it'd be hard/impossible to make soft palm species into usable material. But then bamboo is a grass as well, and I think in the $50 knife shop Wayne Goddard used bamboo for some handles.

 

[Jim L.]

Palms are actually grasses, if you didn't know. (Big frickin grass, huh?) I would imagine it'd be hard/impossible to make soft palm species into usable material. But then bamboo is a grass as well, and I think in the $50 knife shop Wayne Goddard used bamboo for some handles.

What I understand about palm is that like bamboo, you can only use the outer layer under the bark.

I remember seeing an HGTV show where the host was showing different/unusual woods that furniture was being made from. They eventually got around to a large dining table that was made from "king"(?) palm. The technique appeared to be the same as with bamboo where thick, wide strips are layed side by side for gluing/clamping.

The results were very nice indeed.

Jim L.