Snakewood problems!!

F

Frank Eaton

Joined
Sep 10, 2004
Messages
362
I have had 3 knives done with snakewood that had the handles shrink/ and warp (full tang). I have not had this problem with any other wood, and this stuff if from different batches of wood also. Has anyone had this happen, I guess that I am buying it too new and it needs to set longer? Its irritating as hell having to redo handles for that. Frank Eaton
 
Hey Ranger,

I ALWAYS let my wood sit at least a year before I work it....snakewood included. Snakewood always seemed a little "brittle" to me anyway, but I love it, as it makes one beautiful set of handles. I seal it with a friction finish I get from Penn Woods prior to buffing it. I only buff with the White Matchless stuff...it is my final buff on metal, wood, etc...I never buff with the coarser stuff, as it will darken it and screw things up. The friction finish is what the fancy ink pen makers use while the pen barrels are still on the lathe.

I had a similar problem with some olivewood that I got from South Africa @ the Blade show...every piece I had warped/lifted after it was sold. Learned my lesson well after that...had to replace each piece. Now, anything that is not stabilized, horn, antler, ivory, fancy wood....it sits for at least a year.

Are you and I the only Rangers on this board? Hope it helped.

Rangers Lead The Way,

Hank Hammond
 
I would think that you would have to let it climatize for at least 2 years.

And even then, if you send it to a very different area of the US, it will move/crack!

the stuff basically sucks!! :(
 
I bet you thought it was called snakewood because of the grain pattern. Now that it has turned into a snake it must have you wondering. I've had very little luck with it. I've had it crack while I was hand sanding it. You also don't want to leave it in a locked car when it gets hot. Its pretty wood but major pain.....
 
I used to use it alot but being I export most my blades i neer know what kinda trouble I end up in...only had one report about small hairline cracks but that was enough to make me stop using it.....which sux because I got a pretty nice stash of the most beatifull Snakewood youve seen....
 
I've got some in 2" thickness that was dried for over 10 years.
Cutting it down to scale thickness, it warped and had a small check about two months after cutting.
Good thing it was cut a bit thicker than needed, so subsequent flattening stayed flat.
Pretty stuff...
 
I think that it is the prettiest wood I have ever used, unfortunately I doubt I will use it on a knife that I sell ever again. Frank
 
That would be me. There are others out there, including Justin Gingrich here in Columbus. He hangs out on a different forum. We probably don't have enough to start the Ranger Knifemakers Association yet! What a scary organization that would be.
 
A lot of wood will move with moisture. Some blokes go as far as microwave oven drying. Caution easy to burn the wood and discolour.

You can get a degree of stabalisation buy treating with poly ethaline glycol.
Spelling? it is a white substance looks like paraphin way buy it desolves in water and you soak the wood in it. Can be done at home however it works best if you can have a water contaner that you can put under vacume.

The vacume is sead to draw the air out from the wood and the peg in better.

Alternatively try for a supplier with stabalized wood.
 
No on the Polyethylene Glycol for stabilizing, plus it won't penetrate snakewood, even under vacuum.
Unless you like wood that is waxy, I'd pass on it.
It's great for turning wood on a lathe, though.
 
How about having it professionally stabilized like Reg suggested? I've never used it but had my eye on it often. Now I'm skittish.

I guess there's a good reason I'm so partial to Micarta! :D Still, highly figured wood is beautiful. I hope someone has a way to make Snakewood useable and passes it along here.
 
I used snakewood on a couple of knives and both of them warped and split after a couple of years. Luckily they were both personal knives of mine that I since rehandled. Snakewood looks good, but it's not worth the aggravation to me.
 
I wonder what would happen if you soaked it in oil for a while ...let it sit in a container of tung oil for a few weeks to a month for instance. The oil should displace the air in the wood, and then harden when removed and exposed to the air. Granted it may take a while to dry ...like another month or so. But the end result should be a reasonably stable (and useable) product.
 
Oil won't soak into snakewood to any appreciable amount.
This is a wood so dense it doesn't float in water.
I don't know if WSSI will stabilize it, or it will have a real benefit from the process.
I can dry it now that I have a heated vacuum chamber, but I still don't know how stable that will make it in the long haul.
I love the look, have a bunch of it, but probably won't put it on a knife made for someone else.
 
Oil will soak into the pores of steel, so I imagine it will soak into snakewood too. It doesn't have to go all the way thru, or even very deep. All it's got to do is seal the outer layers well enough to prevent humidity changes from affecting the wood.
 
Tom beat me to it. I use superglue alot as a finish and it seems to me that if its completly coated then it shouldnt move. You need a gas mask to use it though.
Just my 2 cents
 
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I use superglue almost always on wood, it fills the pores and makes a beautiful polished finish. I would think it'd aleviate most of the problems described here. Guess I'll just have to try it on my next carry knife... Only problem is I never carry the same knife that long! :D
 
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