I am aware that the White rosewood handles are from the softer outer rosewood as opposed to the darker heart wood but as its been used traditionally for probably centuries can anyone quantify its usefullness as a kukuri handle material ? If I chose the white rosewood I would soak it in either Danish oil or linseed oil for a week to soak in and give it regular yearly coatings to keep the wood well fed which would hopefully prevent drying out and cracking !
White Rosewood handles , Info
- Thread starter bigeard09
- Start date
Kailash Blades
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2015
- Messages
- 798
Over the years we've been operating white and regular rosewood have had no differences in terms of cracking or durability issues. It's known within Nepal that the white wood is less resistant to insect attack in storage, however oiling rids us of this issue. Red/brown rosewood looks better dirtier! White rosewood looks great clean.
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2022
- Messages
- 59
One thing I'd mention, you'd be much better off applying thin coats and letting each one dry before applying the next coat, rather than soaking the wood. I mounted a lot of axe and mattocks heads over the last two years or so and every time I tried to apply a fresh coat of oil before the previous one had fully dried, the handles ended up gummy, sticky and rough feeling. So much so that I had to sand them back down and start over. The traditional rule of thumb is: one coat per day for a week, once per week for a month, once per month for a year, once per year after that... adjusted for your local climate. I'm way behind on oiling my handles and need to take care of that, life tends to interfere with intentions.
Good advice