Semi Precious Gemstone Handles?

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RunsWithKnives

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I'm fairly new to knife collecting and have a question for knifemakers. Does anyone out there make handles out of semi-precious gemstones? (e.g. agates, picture jasper, petrified wood) I am a lapidary hobbyist with rock saws, grinders/polishers and wonder if it's feasible to make a handle entirely out of a slab of polished gemstone? Although the agates and jaspers are extremely hard, they are brittle and can crack or chip with enough trauma. Thanks.
 
Yep, it works good, but don't drop the knife on a hard surface! My shop floor is wood, which helps. I assume your work floor is at least carpeted. Several of here on this forum have done some stone handle work.
 
It's concrete unfortunately (lapidary work is pretty messy with rocksaw oil and water fed grinders/polishers) and I've indeed cracked a slab or two. I'm not sure if you folks are familiar with Biggs Picture Jasper...it's a very hard jasper with stunning mountain/sky type scenes from the brecciated patterns. It could make an amazing handle or insert.
 
You can get very large pieces...if you ebay "biggs jasper rough" there's always stuff for sale. The Deschutes Picture Jasper, a variety of Biggs, is the most stunning and expensive, Blue Biggs Jasper is the classic material with mountain scenes and blue skies. The key point is to make sure it's fracture free. Fractures can be repaired with a variety of epoxies, but clean and solid is best.
 
Here is a pic of some Biggs:


kngshwy.jpg
 
I use a great deal of stone. This is one of my recent pieces. The grip is a natural turquoise boulder.
 

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I'm not a knifemaker but do appreciate the use of semi-precious gemstones in the handles of knives. The top knife in the 1st picture has handle scales of blue sodalite. The 2nd knife is a Buck 110 with malachite scales I viewed on eBay.
 

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RunsWithKnives said:
That's a beautiful piece ! The handle looks nicely shaped and patterned.
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Thank you. It's hard to tell the scale from that photo, but the knife is 22.5 inches overall.
 
OH OH Sounds like me.
I had an idea that a petrified wood handle on a knife would be just the ticket.
Thought maybe I should learn how to make knives first. So I started working with metal and making a few knives out of band saw blades and other scrap.
Its been 7-8 years now and still haven't done that petrified wood handle. Oh sold all my lapidary equipmet and rocks a couple years ago. Still trying to learn how to make knives.
Take Care
TJ
PS Biggs would make a beautiful knife handle
 
The toughest part of working with stone for handles is the drilling of holes as far as I am concerned. Until I can get some proper drilling equipment I will limit myself to mounting cut stones and cabs in bezels.
 
george tichbourne said:
The toughest part of working with stone for handles is the drilling of holes as far as I am concerned. Until I can get some proper drilling equipment I will limit myself to mounting cut stones and cabs in bezels.
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I've had good success drilling stones using copper tubing, grit, and a slow drip on the drill press. I rig some weights to put steady pressure and let it work while I do other things.

Daniel
 
I had forgotten about that trick, I used to do that back in the early 60's when I worked in the glass and mirror industry.
 
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