Recommendation? Where to get handle material

Diego_B

Diego_B

Joined
Aug 17, 2020
Messages
260
Hi all, I just got through heat treating a couple knives and have them finished to where I like them and am moving on to putting handles on them. Until I realized I haven’t ordered material for them yet :(. Anyhow that’s what my post here is about. So where do you guys order your handle material at? I’m particularly interested in cocobolo or rosewood for the two I have right now but I’m talking about in general where do most of you guys go to get your handle material wood, g10, micarta, etc. Is there a specific place to look for? Also I understand that some people buy their wood bigger than standard 5in knife scales because apparently it’s cheaper to do so at most places? Like buying a $20 board of it rather than paying $15 for two scales. I’m really just looking for some place other than amazon to buy material from that has a larger selection.
 
I'll suggest checking out the Knifemaker's for sale area:
https://bladeforums.com/forums/for-sale-knifemaking-supplies-tools.765/

Most of the knifemaking supply companies carry them (AKS, K&G, Pop's, etc..) Have you done a web search for knifemaking supplies?

Also, look at the stickies at the top of the forum page. The thread titled "All the good info you want in one place" has resources.
https://bladeforums.com/threads/sticky-threads-all-the-good-info-you-want-in-one-place.1052730/

Here's an older thread, but a lot of the info is still good:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/knifemaking-suppliers-list.699736/

(PS - @Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith - The above link has not yet been fixed in the stickies in the Count's Standard Reply v36 - Suppliers list)
 
Last edited:
weo said:
I'll suggest checking out the Knifemaker's for sale area:
https://bladeforums.com/forums/for-sale-knifemaking-supplies-tools.765/

Most of the knifemaking supply companies carry them (AKS, K&G, Pop's, etc..) Have you done a web search for knifemaking supplies?

Also, look at the stickies at the top of the forum page. The thread titled "All the good info you want in one place" has resources.
https://bladeforums.com/threads/sticky-threads-all-the-good-info-you-want-in-one-place.1052730/

Here's an older thread, but a lot of the info is still good:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/knifemaking-suppliers-list.699736/

(PS - @Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith - The above link has not yet been fixed in the stickies in the Count's Standard Reply v36 - Suppliers list)
Click to expand...
I can recommend spalted maple from weo if he is still making it for sale. I bought a pile from him a couple of years ago and every knife I put it on the new owners were super exited. In fact I had family visit and my cousin who does woodwork for a living told me she definitely didn't want a burl block and she wanted that spalted maple.

One place that isn't mentioned is Atlas Billiards https://www.cuestik.com/store/
They have fantastic prices on some stuff. I got some cocobolo from them and it looked old and had a brown color but still looked great though not a super fancy block. To top it off he is a cool dude and is more than fair with his pricing. And hey he lives in the pacific northwest where all the best people come from. I did the smart thing and moved to NY where the best people don't come from. I love NY and especially NYC. Go NYC you are the best yeaaaayyyy...........hhhhuuuuuaaaa.....definitely not sarcasm . Go Cascadia, Yes Please. I don't mean to diss people in NY. I'm just a bit homesick and didn't care much for 12 hour days with a unpaid 4 hour commute unless the traffic is bad.

Pop's is always my go to and I only shop other places if they don't have what I want.
https://popsknife.supplies/
 
Last edited:
Hey, for good deals check out your local carpenters, instrument builders and wood workers. You might get scrap or larger pieces for bargain prices or a six pack of beer. Mind you that wood processing can be a drag so if possible look for square and dry pieces ready to cut to size and use.

I also got micarta scraps from a local industry supplier for some coffee money. Google is your friend, make some calls and you might have a heap of handle material the same afternoon.
 
Pretty much any of the online knife supply places will have a reasonable assortment. (AKS, USA Knifemaker, POP's, Etc.)

I have had pretty good luck from a few sellers on eBay as well. Just have to be a bit careful.
 
I have bought a few boards of tropical from woodcraft. If you are picky, you can get some reasonable grained pieces. They also have turning blocks. Either of these you would need a bandsaw or similar to turn in to scales (they will have the likes of cocobolo, bubinga, purpleheart, leapardwood, and more)
 
I too have used Home Depot wood. Black walnut left over from a shelving project. Re handled this knife for a local guy with it:

wyizw8m.jpg


GIj651T.jpg


JroCRrp.jpg


A customer in AK sent me some bubinga cutoffs he had from a cabinetry project he'd done:

0KXVduD.jpg


I traded with a custom rifle maker for several boxes of his stock cutoffs. All exhibition grade Turkish walnut:

1OEPydp.jpg


hMXZlqF.jpg


Traded a Dr out of some of his firewood. He lives where firewood is ironwood:

P3fGo3k.jpg


zo6JgTd.jpg


I trade with local folks for elk sheds that they find:

JTptKT6.jpg


NzI1Ypn.jpg
 
I’ll agree with others for a quick purchase like this check out the knife suppliers like popsknifesupply or alpha knife supply my two favorites. For longer term stuff keep an eye out on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace for figured wood/micarta. I’ve gotten an 8ft board of tight curly maple for something like $1.50 a handle block and my best find yet was a slab of micarta worth about $1200 for $20 (plus $70 to ship it to me, worth it). These types of deals are especially nice as you learn so there isn’t so much money in each handle you might screw up or giveaway for free.
 
Thank you guys for the suggestions, I’ll be sure to keep an eye out on some of those places. Lately I’ve found a lot of variety on eBay I’ll just have to make sure it’s a verified seller.
 
Check out Brisa.fi
They have all kinds of different handle materials, among many other supplies. Only thing is shipping from Finland can be expensive, especially if you order often. Great place if you're a puukko maker.

Fred
 
Lots of places to get handle materials. Many of them mentioned already. Everytime I go to the home improvement stores I look down the wood isle. I have found some very curly maple boards. Sometimes a nice piece of curly oak shows up. At 3/4" they won't make bowie handles but good for scales.
 
When I worked in San Francisco, there was a building materials recycling place. They would recycle and resell used building materials. I got some birdseye maple flooring pieces for cheap, also some walnut, sugar maple and ipe for cheap.

See if there are any local cabinet shops around. A lot of time they have some nice left overs that they throw out, but are suitable for scales.
 
slight resurrection of this thread .... I dropped by woodcraft this morning just to see what they had in, and came across this piece of Bocote. Not perfect, some cracking (which can be worked around), and resonable grain (especially for larger handles). Not thick enough for Wa handles, but just thick enough if I carefully resaw, to get many, many bookmarked scales out of (NOT like I really **need** any more wood, especially with a bunch just now going out for stabilization .... but I could not resist :-( ). As others have said above, just keep eyes open, and grab what looks reasonable....
upload_2021-4-5_12-7-43.png
upload_2021-4-5_12-8-11.png
 
For woods that don't need stabilization I have been happy with Bell Forest products.
They have a nice set of images of all the wood types on their website with some data such as density, hardness, fineness of grain...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top