Walnut for heavy-use knife handles?

A

Arthurartel

Joined
Feb 7, 2022
Messages
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Hello,

I am looking to helve a pre-made blade, which, unfortunately, is as custom as I can afford to do for the time being. I would like to do a Claro Walnut handle. From my experience as woodworker, natural walnut is too open-grained and soft to make a durable, heavy-use knife handle from. I assume, (having little experience working with stabilized wood) that the process of stabilization will fix at least in part the issue of open-grain and softness, but will stabilized Walnut be as durable as, say, stabilized Maple, for instance? Would stabilized Walnut hold up to heavy use?

If any members of this forum who stabilize their own scales would be willing explain exactly what happens during stabilization and what effect it has on the wood, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks!
 
I don t know what is Claro Walnut , but I use lot of European walnut .I get it from friend who have furniture factory .That walnut was steam/heat treated and I never have problem with it . I used it on all machete I make for friends , on all kitchen knife i make , and on most small knives I make . That wood don t move in any weather conditions , you can leave it in the rain for days, nothing will happen .
 
Why do you want to use this wood (not say you can’t, just wondering)
I personally wouldn’t use it for a knife handle, because 1) it will move in service more then I would like, and 2) it’s not very hard. With that said you do you. Also take a look at this https://www.wood-database.com/claro-walnut/

In short, stabilized wood is where you use a VERY thin epoxy like resin that soaks down into the wood and when it cures it “stabilizes“ it so that no moisture can penetrate the wood making it not able to shrink/expand anymore.
 
Claro walnut makes a lovely handle. Finish it as you would fine furniture:
1) Seal the grain by wet sanding in using the same finish as you plan on finishing with (tongue oil, Watco, Brownell's, etc.). Apply a liberal coat and sand it in with 400 grit paper. Rub it in hard. Do this for several minutes.
2) When it starts to get gummy or tacky, wipe off the excess and let dry a day or two.
3) Repeat several times until the wood is smooth and shows no grain.
4) Finish the handle as normal with the oil finish. The trick for a good handle finish is to put the finish IN the wood, not ON the wood. You should wipe off the excess and let it dry before any additional coats. All final coats should be sanded with a very fine grit paper. 1000-2000 grit is good.
5) Pre-polish by dry sanding. The 3-M polishing papers are wonderful for the final dry sanding and pre-polish. They run from 400 grit to 8000 grit.
6) Final polish should be by hand with a soft cloth.
It should look like glass when done right. Touch up as needed due to use with the 3-M fine papers (blue/pink/mint/white).
 
I've not used any Claro but Turkish walnut makes a great handle and wears well in use.

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Made this one many years ago. Its made many trips to Africa on safari:

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Keeps purring.

I use a variation of Stacy's finishing method. Walnut is in the top four requested handle materials for my knives. Elk, sheephorn (usually neck and neck these two), followed by ironwood and then walnut. I once asked a custom rifle maker why most guns are stocked in walnut and he said it had to do that walnut is the hardest wood per its weight ratio. He'd once stocked one of his double rifles in cocobolo and it was prohibitively heavy.
 
Arthurartel said:
Hello,

I am looking to helve a pre-made blade, which, unfortunately, is as custom as I can afford to do for the time being. I would like to do a Claro Walnut handle. From my experience as woodworker, natural walnut is too open-grained and soft to make a durable, heavy-use knife handle from. I assume, (having little experience working with stabilized wood) that the process of stabilization will fix at least in part the issue of open-grain and softness, but will stabilized Walnut be as durable as, say, stabilized Maple, for instance? Would stabilized Walnut hold up to heavy use?

If any members of this forum who stabilize their own scales would be willing explain exactly what happens during stabilization and what effect it has on the wood, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
Hi. I have local walnut burl, and is dense as hell. I wondering if is possible to stabilize that and which is the best process. Thanks !
 
HolyPug said:
Hi. I have local walnut burl, and is dense as hell. I wondering if is possible to stabilize that and which is the best process. Thanks !
Click to expand...
Like above, let it dry. Then send it to K & G. Call them first and they can give you details on how best to prep it.
 
If you wonder whether or not walnut is durable enough for a knife handle, ask yourself why military and hunting rifles have used walnut stocks for centuries. Even stabilized woods can move or crack. Durable and workable is different from impervious or indestructible.
 
i4Marc said:
If you wonder whether or not walnut is durable enough for a knife handle, ask yourself why military and hunting rifles have used walnut stocks for centuries. Even stabilized woods can move or crack. Durable and workable is different from impervious or indestructible.
Click to expand...
I asked that question of a friend of mine that is a custom rifle maker. He makes double rifles for Africa hunting and they start at 5 figures and rapidly rise into the 6 figure realm. I asked why walnut and not some other exotic wood, particularly at five to six figures. He said it was simple. Walnut had the hardest to lightest weight ratio. He once made a rifle with a cocobolo stock and it weighed 25 lbs!
 
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