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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need. |
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#1
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Black Walnut for knife handles?
A friend gave me some slabs of black walnut, and I'm wondering if anyone has used it for handle material and if so how did you like it?
I'm sure it needs to be stabalized, Here's some pics of it. Thanks |
#2
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Black walnut is good stuff ! It is a pretty stable wood , thats why it is often seen on gun stocks , guitar bodies etc...
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#3
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I always have mine stabilized but as Eric said, it's pretty stable as it is. It's much easier to finish if you have it stabilized though. Just cut some of it up and send it to K&G.
It's great that folks give you stuff for handles, I've certainly received my share over the years. But, while much of it might make a perfectly serviceable handle not all of it is really worthy of a high quality handmade knife. For instance, all of that walnut will make good, solid handles but only the most highly figured sections will really set off a finely made custom knife. Those antler tines are suitable for simple period knives for the Renaissance Fair but they lack the size, small pith, color, and surface texture to get much interest on a high end knife. I don't know what your plans are for these materials and I know free stuff is always appreciated. I'm just trying to get you to look at free materials with a more critical eye so that you don't end up with a garage full of stuff that you won't have any real use for... |
#4
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Walnut has to be one of my favorite handle materials, and by far my favorite wood. American Black, Curly Claro, or Bastogne, it's ALL good! As was already mentioned, the walnut does not really need to be stabilized, as it is a dense hard wood with some natural oils. If you want to have them stabilized, go for it, but it's not necessary at all. If you haven't tried this product yet, go get it! It's called TruOil by Birchwood Casey. Great stuff. I finished a California Claro Walnut stock with this stuff, and it is awesome. I use it on all of my knife scales. It seals the wood without a coating like varnish does. You can stain before applying TruOil, if you want. Once you have your scales sanded smooth and stained, apply TruOil with a paper towel and then wipe off excess. A trick to REALLY seal the wood, as I learned from a custom gunsmith.....with the wood coated in TruOil, take 400 grit wet/dry paper (or as fine as you would like to go), and sand the oil INTO the wood. This causes a slurry to form (like Japanese water stones) and this slurry fills in the pores of the wood. Oil, sand, wipe clean. Oil, sand, wipe clean. Just a few cycles of this, and you'll have a beautiful piece of walnut sealed tight. You can use 0000 steel wool on the final coat for a matt finish, or buff it using wood wax for a more glossy look. Hand rubbed oil finishes are hard to beat!
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#5
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I use quite a bit of black walnut and I don't bother to have it stabilized. As has been said, it doesn't swell or shrink much. I use a gun stock finish which is boiled linseed oil & urethane
(6-8 coats). You have some nice crotch wood there. You will especially like it as it is quite a bit harder and much more attractive than the rest of the log. (Same it for something special.) Have fun. Gary __________________ Gary ABS,CKCA, ABKA,KGA |
#6
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Quote:
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#7
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Quote:
__________________ A good friend told me one time about forging "What is there not to like, you get to break all the rules you were told as a kid, don't play with that it is sharp, don't play with fire, and don't beat on that" Wade Holloway See some of my work. |
#8
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You will enjoy about the result without question.
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Tags |
antler, awesome, bee, california, custom, custom knife, fixed blade, handle, handmade, hidden, japanese, knife, knife scales, knives, make, material, materials, scales, simple, steel, surface, wax, wood |
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