Wood

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tr3yanderson

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Mar 6, 2017
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Hey guys, I am wanting to try some wood scales and need some guidance from you all. Basically I want to know what is the cheapest wood options and needed finish to get a look and color similar to the picture below

A shout out to Stromberg knives, is that okay to use another member's picture here? I save a lot of pictures from this form for inspiration and I tend to have more of your knives Stromberg, I love the work you do.

I know stabilized is the way to go. Would it be cheaper to find wood and send it off to get stabilized or just buy it already stabilized?

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That looks like cocobolo or possibly a rosewood, neither of which take stabilization well due to the oils in them as well as their density.

You can use many woods unstabilized. Cocobolo, kingwood, desert ironwood, lignum vitae, ipe, African blackwood, various hard rosewoods (for example honduran rosewood), ringed gidgee, and other hard and oily woods are some good choices. Many people also use walnut unstabilized. If you can look up the janka hardness rating as well as ratings for stability and/or ratio of tangential, radial, and volumetric shrinkage, and they compare well to these woods, you could use them. The main thing is for the wood to be thoroughly dried and then acclimated to your local relative humidity.

If you dig around, you can find cocobolo and some other suitable wood scales on eBay for $10 to $20 shipped in the US. Maybe check out the marketplace here, though they tend to sell more expensive woods. Not sure if it is against the rules to mention, but I've gotten really great deals on woodbarter forum.
 
Cocobolo. No stabilization needed. Sand to 400 grit and hand buff with a soft cloth.
 
stabilization is ONE way to go. it doubles the weight of your scales and feels like plastic. see if there is a local hardwood store near you and buy a small piece of walnut or cherry. once attached and shaped, finish with Tru-Oil or Fornby's oil finish.
 
Oily, dense woods don't need stabilization, won't benefit from it. That being said, these woods are much stronger against the grain than with it, and are consequently prone to chipping when used with non-standard grain configurations (45 degree cross grain, smaller sections, etc.). In some highly formed hidden tang handles, this can be a problem as well.

For this sort of work, some of the harder, tougher woods like ironwood, mesquite, leopardwood and the like are actually a better choice. Even things like hard maple will hold up as a hidden tang better than rosewoods or paduk.
 
Thanks for the compliment. That particular handle is stabilised Bubinga, finished to 2500 grit and lightly buffed.
 
tr3yanderson said:
I know stabilized is the way to go. Would it be cheaper to find wood and send it off to get stabilized or just buy it already stabilized?
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Yes certain woods require stabilization to ensure durability. However it's only cost effective if you have a source of "cheap" wood on hand. If you have to source the wood and have to purchase volume then have it stabilized you are now in the wood business. I buy cut and sized scales for under $10 a set of matched cocobolo scales...For custom builds I generally have 20-25 blocks of stabilized(if required for certain woods) or Lots of Desert Ironwood which is all purchased ready to attach and shape.

Bottom line....I would rather pay the wood guys for what they do than deal with it myself.
 
Thanks for the replies and all the good information. This is why I love this forum, I feel I learn so much.

So Cocobolo seems like a winner for what I'm looking for. And since it doesn't need to be stabilized since it is oily, does that also mean it doesn't need an oil finish with tru oil or similar like you would need to do with walnut?
 
I've used a lot of cocobolo over the years. Lately I have gone to doing just a little bit of wet sanding with danish oil on cocobolo (and bocote too). Maybe just one or two times. Not so much to provide a finish but more to fill the pores. I hand sand to 600 first and then back down to 320 for the wet sanding. I've probably done the last 20 -30 knives I've made with cocobolo this way. Wipe it off, let it sit overnight, buff lightly with pink scratchless and hit it with a coat of carnuba car wax. Good to go. Heck this was my last piece of cocobolo, finished this one last week, need to get some more.

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Paduak is another dense, reddish/brown wood that is great for an unstabilized handle. It’s a bit lighter in color than cocobolo,
 
Horsewright said:
I've used a lot of cocobolo over the years. Lately I have gone to doing just a little bit of wet sanding with danish oil on cocobolo (and bocote too). Maybe just one or two times. Not so much to provide a finish but more to fill the pores. I hand sand to 600 first and then back down to 320 for the wet sanding. I've probably done the last 20 -30 knives I've made with cocobolo this way. Wipe it off, let it sit overnight, buff lightly with pink scratchless and hit it with a coat of carnuba car wax. Good to go. Heck this was my last piece of cocobolo, finished this one last week, need to get some more.
Click to expand...

Does using the Danish Oil prevent or prolong the darkening over time associated with Cocobolo, Padauk, and other tropical woods?
 
Doubt it. maybe a hair of uv protection but remeber I'm just using it to fill the pores,not as a finish.
 
Cocobolo is a good choice, if you decide to try it be sure to wear a respirator because the dust is nasty.
 
WaltE99 said:
Does using the Danish Oil prevent or prolong the darkening over time associated with Cocobolo, Padauk, and other tropical woods?
Click to expand...
Minimally. O2 and UV are what desaturate (and sometimes darken) woods. It is an impossible fight to win. If you want color that lasts, you need to use a dye. None of the finishes that provide good oxygen and UV protection are appropriate for a knife handle in most circumstances. CA finish comes the closest, but unless you make sure the wood is perfectly seasoned to something very close to its use environment, crazing is a big problem.
 
I have used water based polyurethane for floors and the wood colors seem to remain true. oldest knife i have with this finish is about 5 years old. this is a finish designed to protect hardwood floors, so it resists abrasion and discoloring from the sun. as i posted, walnut or cherry can give similar colors. if you want something harder/denser, try dogwood, honey locust or black locust. these are common woods here in USA and have not been over harvested or need protection. some of the other woods mentioned appear on some protected/endangered lists, they have been over harvested.
 
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