Wooden Wednesday - Traditionals only please

1970s-'80s vintage Henckels stockman in rosewood and inox.

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Bloodwood - old and new
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Man, I really like the color of that old bloodwood... does it always darken like that? That's one of the reasons I've been sorta "meh" about bloodwood, the light coloration of the samples I've seen.
 
Man, I really like the color of that old bloodwood... does it always darken like that? That's one of the reasons I've been sorta "meh" about bloodwood, the light coloration of the samples I've seen.
In my experience the answer is always yes, if you use the knife a lot. If oils get on the wood it will absorb them and the wood will darken. These oils can come from the sweat of your body or if you oil the knife and then wipe it down. If you use the knife very gently, like in an office environment, it will not darken. The same goes for Cocobolo and some other woods.
 
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Well, I've seen oak and other woods do it... I just thought the more oily the wood was, the less it would do that. After seeing some of the older cocobolo samples on here, and the bloodwood, I'm learning differently... thanks for the response.
 
In my experience the answer is always yes, if you use the knife a lot. If oils get on the wood it will absorb them and the wood will darken. These oils can come from the sweat of your body or if you oil the knife and then wipe it down. If you use the knife very gently, like in an office environment, it will not darken. The same goes for Cocobolo and some other woods.
Your are correct mate, a few years ago i had surgery on my hand and had to go to follow up rehab for 2 years. My hand therapist was fantastic and taught me a lot about how the hand actually functions. Your hand has thousands of tiny pores which exude sweat and oil. The oil is the bodies way of giving the hand protection, because it is exposed to the elements all the time. So any wood will darken with use, especially lighter colored woods. I have some light oak handled knifes, which started to darken almost immediately, so if you have light colored scales that you want to keep at that color, you virtually cannot use them. But the big upside is, and this applies to all scale types, the more you carry and use, the oil from your hand will help to stop the scales from drying out, wood, stag, bone. You can apply some sort of oil to your scales if you feel that they need them, but with regular use, this is not normally required, but if you do, once a year will be enough.I am going to post a photo of a knife with oak scales, that darkened, but it may not show up on the photo.:thumbsup:
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Well, I've seen oak and other woods do it... I just thought the more oily the wood was, the less it would do that. After seeing some of the older cocobolo samples on here, and the bloodwood, I'm learning differently... thanks for the response.
Hi, i just sent a reply to Travman, you might find it interesting, saved me typing it twice.
 
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