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NewbiePermalink Reply by Jelena Middleton on February 5, 2012 at 9:36

Hi,

thanks for your reply. Is seasoning important? How do you season wood, does it take a while?

                                                                                                                                           

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ShrafterPermalink Reply by Oshadhi Maha Thantrige on February 5, 2012 at 9:30

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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NewbiePermalink Reply by Jelena Middleton on February 5, 2012 at 9:38

Hello,

thanks for the info,it's very helpful!

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TohungaPermalink Reply by John Humphris on May 2, 2012 at 16:59

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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NewbiePermalink Reply by Jelena Middleton on May 2, 2012 at 18:52

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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TohungaPermalink Reply by Te Hopo on February 19, 2012 at 20:18

Kanuka/Manuka, Matai, Totara, Akeake and others are all suitable and I've used all of them.

By far the best I have used is Rosewood but it's hard to find.

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