Handle material advice needed

[cwiehle0]

I have had this blade sitting around for a while and decided I need to finish it. I'd like advice as to what kind of wood I should use for the handle. I know that's kind of an open ended question so maybe you guys could just offer your opinions as to what you would use if it were yours and why. I plan on using a traditional brass pommel and guard, with a traditional leather sheath.

Thanks Chris

[Doug Lester]

Osage Orange would go nicely with brass as would Lignum Vitae, either Old World or New World varieties. The Mesquites should work well too. None of them really need stabilization and the Lignum Vitae is too dense and oily for the process. You can put a nice patina on the Osage Orange with acid and heat that would really look good with with brass. If you got Argentine Osage Orange it will keep it's bright yellowish color better than the North American variety which will brown with age.
IMG_0109_1.JPG

IMG_0048.JPG
The top picture is a knife with Old World Lignum Vitae. The New World stuff can be a little lighter and greener. The bottom picture is Osage Orange that was treated with acid and heat to bring out a brown patina.


Doug

[Ray Rogers]

Oak or hickory if you plan to be utilitarian and traditional, ironwood if you want to be a little fancier....

[Hempish]

What about a Babinga or curly maple that might look sharp.

[cwiehle0]

Would like to stick with something that was available back on the frontier but still has an eye catching look.

Ray- does Ironwood have to be stabilized?

Thanks

[BarryC]

Ironwood does not need to be stabilized it is hard enough as is. Hickory, oak, or curly maple would look great and were widely available back on the frontier.

[cwiehle0]

Just bought a curly maple block from Jantz, I think the lighter wood will look sharp. will I need to stabalize it?

[Ray Rogers]

You don't need to stabilize maple but I always do. Maple is very durable as it is but professional stabilizing darkens it and brings out the grain pattern as well as making it dead easy to finish. And, of course, stabilizing makes it even more durable.

Still, it probably wouldn't be cost efficient to send off just one piece of maple to have it stabilized. You might want to wait until you have 4 or 5 pieces to send ....

PS

You can get tons of maple off eBay very cheap. I usually buy the maple burls ....

[cwiehle0]

Originally Posted by Ray Rogers

You don't need to stabilize maple but I always do. Maple is very durable as it is but professional stabilizing darkens it and brings out the grain pattern as well as making it dead easy to finish. And, of course, stabilizing makes it even more durable.

Still, it probably wouldn't be cost efficient to send off just one piece of maple to have it stabilized. You might want to wait until you have 4 or 5 pieces to send ....

PS

You can get tons of maple off eBay very cheap. I usually buy the maple burls ....

Good to know- thanks Ray

[Crex]

Oak & hickory get a bum rap but are very solid and durable handle materials. Just takes a little looking to find some with excellent figure/burl/curls, and a little effort to finish. If you are going frontier....they didn't have stabilized wood back then, but they used what they had available. Hickory, oak, ash, sycamore, osage, bone, antler, etc....even pine when necessary.
For example: Deer Legbone, Curly Hickory, Burl Oak

[Bowman]

In keeping with a frontier theme, I'd go with a wood that is local to you. People used what they had readily available to them. Crex has some good suggestions. That Oak Bowie posted by Crex is gorgeous.

[Crex]

Thanks Bowman. I like using the native species. Although not "exotic" enough for some I have some black locust stump cut burl that will rival anything imported from anywhere. It grows locally here in the SE mountian region. Plenty of residual oil, much like osage, and extremely wear and rot resistant. Just got to know when and where to cut.

[ckluftinger]

That is some incredible workmanship, Carl! I love that deer leg bone.

[cwiehle0]

Beautiful looking stuff carl!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for posting.

[Crex]

Thanks CW, didn't mean to side track your post, just thought you might like to see some examples of what native species can look like. The oak one had more burl showing on the other side, but can't find a pic of it and the knife is a resident of Seattle now.

Chris, the leg bones are almost a "natural" for handles. The centerhole is kidney shaped most of the time and just takes a little tang manipulation to get them to fit. You have the right size deer up there. Most of my bigger handles come from Nebraska deer. Not enough GA deer get that big. I age them in my compost pile.....let the bugs do the work of cleaning and staining. Just cover with wire, as dogs and yotes like to steal them.