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Wood for knife handle?
Hello everyone,
I'm not sure which wood to use for my knife handle. I heard that hardwood was the best, but someone else said that rimu was really good, and that's a softwood! So, hardwood or softwood, and which wood specifically?
Thanks, Jelena.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Joe Judd on -
Hi i most knives and tools i've come across with a wooden handle are hardwood, like Hickory.
If you want a NZ native Kanuka was used by early settlers as tool handles. Matai and Tawa are used in flooring and furniture so they are rather strong. Totara was used for fence posts.
You want handle that can last and won't split during use. I can remember when I was a kid making a handle for a knife i found out of pine and it split. You also don't want it to get easily dented as this may case blisters. Make sure the timber is well seasoned and oil both sides of each handle piece a few times with something like boiled linseed oil, (boiled linseed oil is used on gun stocks) this will help prevent warping, splitting and feathering of the timber.
Hope this helps
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Permalink Reply by Jelena Middleton on -
Hi,
thanks for your reply. Is seasoning important? How do you season wood, does it take a while?
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Permalink Reply by Joe Judd on
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seasoning is just a term for drying. if your going to go out into the bush and get a piece of wood, get a piece that is dead, dry and still on the tree. make sure that it's not rotten or starting to rot, just look for a nice piece. look for no splitting, cracks
if your going to cut a green/wet (still alive) piece of timber, you may have to wait from 6 months to a year for it to dry nicely. just cut it off the tree, cut any leaves off, leave the bark on and stick it in a dark ventilated cool dry place i.e under your house off the ground.
Just check you can take the timber from the bush first. some places don't allow it. :)
Or you could go to a timber yard or picture framers and get a piece of already seasoned timber. Some native skirting board or floor boards would work. you could even try trademe for some.
If you use wet timber it can warp, split, crack, shrink and expand.
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Permalink Reply by Joe Judd on
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You can even 'roast' some timber over a fire. this forces the resin inside the timber and makes it extra strong. this is what the Maori did when making their Taiaha. just make sure you don't burn it and turn it slowly like roasting a chicken
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Permalink Reply by Oshadhi Maha Thantrige on -
Hardwood is a very generalised name for woods that come from trees that have broad leaves. You can chose any wood that is hard and tough. Kanuka, Manuka, Tawa, Black Marie are good choices of NZ hardwoods that make great knife handles. If you want something more exotic you should go to your local timbre flooring suppliers. They would stock a wide range of woods that can be used for knife handles. To protect the wood from moisture and stop it from drying and cracking you want to coat it with some boiled linseed oil. If you got an extoic hardwood, you might want to consider to coat it in danish oil. It gives the wood better protection from moisture, cracking and leaves a better finish overall.
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Permalink Reply by Jelena Middleton on
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Hello,
thanks for the info,it's very helpful!
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Permalink Reply by John Humphris on -
You are so right Oshadhi... The term hardwood and softwood does not refer to the hardness of the wood, and some hardwoods are very soft while some softwoods are very hard.
Jelena, you may have already made your handle (post a photo?) but for others looking the following might be of use.
I wonder if you used a very hard wood whether it would be hard on the hands? Yes I know it can be finished finely and OOOO steel wool is excellent for this. I like raw linseed oil rather than boiled as boiled linseed oil forms a skin making future oiling surface only. I prefer tung oil. Both oils can be thinned down with turps (I prefer vegetable turpentine) and wipe off the excess. The more coats the better for it to penetrate and give that nice luster. To keep it looking good oil it periodically , when you clean your rifle? It may be obvious but wood with a fine grain will give a smoother finish than some of the exotic hardwoods. I have used Black Walnut for handles and one rifle I owned I made a Black Walnut stock which came up very well. Woods like Macrocapara, Matai, Kauri and Totara have fine grain but can also look very plain unless you get a special piece. You can find some spectacular grain from the fork of a tree, or a burl if you can find one.
Allow one year per 25cm (1") of wood thickness to season. So a 2.5 cm thick piece would take 6 months (12.5mm each side) and a 50mm piece would take two years. Cut the green piece about 1 1/2 times the length you want to use to allow for end splitting and seal the ends with a dedicated sealer or paint. Cut several pieces as you will have some failures in the drying process. If possible cut the pith out of the cut wood. The heartwood doesn't shrink much while the sapwood does. The outer sapwood has to try and shrink around the inner heart causing it to split. (Web search "cutting green wood" or "turning green wood") And yes I am a wood turner and carver. You might find a superb already dried off-cut of timber from a member of your local wood turners group.
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Permalink Reply by Jelena Middleton on
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Thanks so much for all this info, It's really helpful. Due to sickness, I haven't done the handle yet, but I plan to do it soon.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Jordan on
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yes Kanuka is a beautiful wood, it has to be super dry before starting work with it as it can split something nasty when it shrinks. I was given a piece of Ebony once for a knife handle, it came up looking incredible.
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