A well chosen piece of Sambar Stag is hard to beat. I do like Blackwood and Ironwood as handle material from the wood selections. They allow you to play around with color combinations between the wood and metals.

I guess I'm not too different from others posting here. My favorites are Wooly Mammoth ivory, ancient Walrus ivory, Sambar Stag, Desert Ironwood, and African Blackwood. The latter woods are used more on working models.

On scales, I use index pins that lead from half-way through the guard, through the spacers, and into the ends of the material. This serves in the same way that a dovetail fit keeps the scales in place. Scales have a habit of peeling apart like a banana right behind the guard or spacer, and these pins prevent that.

Inside the scales I use a Dremel to undercut and make lots dovetails to catch the Acraglass and lock them together.

John mentioned movement in natural materials. It's a given to some degree. I bullnose joints, rounding over the edges so that the material doesn't shrink back leaving a razor's edge of metal. Same goes for pins. I peen them over making smooth, rounded bumps that never need maintenance.

And, I have a care sheet that is on my website, and which a hard copy is supplied to the customer.

Cheers,

Terry Vandeventer

ABS MS

Lot's of good advice here. I'm with J.D. Smith on the African Blackwood. One caution I have when using wood is to take it easy with the steel wool. I find that it tends to expose the grain a little too much for my taste. I prefer to use 1000-1500 grit paper with some linseed or mineral oil for lube. It gives a satin glow that is fine but not buffed.

I like Ivory too, but I hesitate to offer it to collectors because it will crack if it is exposed to drastic atmosphere changes. The best way to treat ivory in my experience is to use it. Handle it often and it will keep it from cracking, much like fine pearls.

As custom makers of high end knives, we get little call for the synthetics, but micarta is hard to beat on a work knife.

Adam-

Since I mostly like to make using knives, I tend to use a lot of wood, micarta, bone, and stag. I have had a few bad experiences using the ivory since there are still collectors that don't give it the necessary care. That being said, I love the looks of a good piece of mammoth ivory with some good coloring to it.

The care and finishing of handle material always go a long way in how the final knife will look to a customer. The goal it to make a very good knife with a very good handle so they "could" use it if they wished.

I do use a lot of stabilized burl woods and even they need curing time to eliminat the shrinking after instalation. A little hot box with a light bulb in it will go a long ways in drying out any handle material you need to dry.

A lot of times, I will let the knife sit around for a while and then re check the handle for any thing that I will have missed before, a new day and different light will always show something missed. A good time to check the over all knife at that time too.

A full tang knife looks good but has a lot of metal to material contact. I prefer to use a hidden tang so that the area of exposure between handle material and metal is held to a minimum. That is one reason I like the hidden tang integral. Just a personal choice that has captured my fancy for now.

Hope every one is enjoying the holidays and comes through it safely.

Lots of good and new information in this thread. Its hard to add anything thats not already covered but I think local antler is about the best deal and sells great especially to the customer/collector from the same locality. Here in the Northwest we have a good supply of elk antler. Elk is known to have some some center pith that is hard to use but the outer bark is generally fine even texture with several flat areas that makes for a wonderful set of matched scales. The brow tines on a mature bull have perfect fine popcorn texture and make excellent tapered hidden tang hunting knives. Be sure the antler is well dryed for a year or better yet several years on the shelf in the shop. Some like the old dried out weathered elk but I like the rich brown color of the non sunbleached one.

Elk is so plentiful I can get really picky and cut just the finest sections with the best color and textures and usually send them off to Culpeppers for their patented amber dying process. When they get back I leave them in the sun to dry further and shrink if they are going to. Be sure to remove the back pithy side to reduce the scales to correct thickness and cut the scales to rough size and shape. Next soak the back side with superglue to stabilize it and fill any and all pores. This may take several soakings. Super glue dries slowly in the open air like this method so it may take a couple days to get it filled and dried. Next surface the backside on a flat surface with sandpaper or disc and glue fiber spacer material to it. My favorite is simple black color in .010" thick. This further stabilizes the antler and also waterproofs it.

Next simply mount the scales with pins or corby bolts as normal. Sand the edges and fill any open grains as needed. The real cost is the amber dye process at $25 per pound but try it and see how pretty it comes out. There are some gorgeous colors just under the surface, reds, oranges, ambers, whites, browns etc. It polishes to a high gloss and makes the customers smile.

Wow-I'm pretty sure my "which handle material to try" curve just flattened out a bit. Have been wanting to try African Blackwood for a while and now am definitely putting it on my list. Thanks to everyone for sharing the tips and tricks.

Jeremy

While this thread is about different types of materials and methods to finish them. The end result of our effort is to make a handle that is not only functional and aesthetically pleasing; but also sound in construction. We all have to deal with natural materials tendency to expand and contract with moisture content changes. I've heard of makers in humid climates making knives that were delivered to customers in drier climates and the handles shrunk. Alternately, makers in dry climates building knives and the handles expanded when sent to humid climates. Here in Kansas, we have both extremes of humidity; 95% in the summer and 10% in the winter. So, I thought that perhaps a makers best bet is to store handle material at around 45% humidity and have it stabilize to that humidity level. The thought being, that no matter what climate the knife is exposed to, the handle will move the minimum amount possible. I now store my handle material inventory in a humidity controlled metal cabinet.

I started off by buying a bunch of hygrometers to test the humidity in all of the areas where my handle material and finished knives would be stored. I bought most of the hygrometers through suppliers of cigar humidors. These small brass hygrometers are inexpensive and designed to be installed in humidors. Another source of hygrometers is pet supply stores. Battery powered digital hygrometers are sold for use in checking the humidity levels in reptile enclosures. I have hygrometers in my office, the fireproof safe that I store my finished knives in, my shop work area and in my handle material storage cabinet.

My handle material storage cabinet is a steel pick-up truck tool box. Another item that makes a good storage cabinet is an old refrigerator.

I have made my storage cabinet as airtight as possible. I use a computer CPU fan to circulate the air inside the cabinet. To raise the humidity in the cabinet, I place a small pan of water in the bottom of the cabinet. To lower the humidity, I use a "Large Room Moisture Absorber" made by "DampRid". The DampRid moisture absorber stays in the cabinet all of the time, just in case I over humidify the cabinet in the winter with the pan of water.

It's difficult to be certain how effective this process is, but I've had no complaints from customers about handle material moving in the two years that I have been storing my natural materials this way.

I am not ready to jump on the ivory train yet...I don't think my ability is to that level yet. That being said, i have used Sambar stag, whitetail(Used on a few of my home made carving chisels), axis horn and several different stabilized woods. I really love Amboyna Burl, Maple Burl, Koa, Redwood Burl and i happened across about 400lbs of Honey Locust Burl that i am pretty excited about. Stabilized wood seems to work pretty well, polishes well and is pretty resistant. I have been starting a pretty large collection of wood for future projects. Is there a specific finish that is associated with stabilized woods? I normally sand to 1500 then buff. is there an oil or wax that will prolong the life of stabilized woods or is stabilization enough? I am sending out some of the Locust for stabilization and hope to try it soon.

Ok here is a photo of a small cap...Not the best figure in this one, but still pretty nice

Thanks all!

Mike

There is some excellent advice being shared in this thread on Knife Handle Materials. I also want to share some of my experience with our members.

In the early 1980’s Bill Moran and I went to visit Wayne Dunlap in Northern Virginia to purchase some curly maple for handle material. Wayne Dunlap had a business near Dulles Airport where he stored and sold highly figured wood principally for building muzzle loader rifle stocks. Bill and I met Wayne who was a great guy to talk to and he had some of the best and most highly figured maple anywhere on hand. I have continued over the years to purchase my curly maple, ash, and walnut from him. I find that curly maple, ash, and walnut work very well for the silver wire inlay work that I like to do on my knife handles.

I just wanted to pass this information along to our members. If you travel to Wayne Dunlap’s shop in Virginia you can pick out the pieces that you want, or you can call him and he will ship it to you.

This is his contact information:

Dunlap Woodcrafts

14600F Flint Lee Rd

Chantilly, VA 20151

Phone: 703.631.5147

[email protected]

www.dunlapwoodcrafts.com

Almost everything I make goes into regular use in the kitchen which is a very tough environment. I also like to use woods that grab your attention and make a statement. Cocobolo is rich in natural oils and has and interwoven grain which allows them to hold up well in the kitchen. Most of the burls I use are stabilized because they don't naturally have the oils which will help them keep from cracking and the stabilization also helps to fill any voids which may be present. I usually store my woods for at least six months before using to insure that it is dry and stable. Every thing is kept in a sealed room with a dehumidifier set @ 35% humidity. Cocobolo and snakewood can take up a year to stabilize. When sanding these woods it is important to use sharp belts and go slow otherwise the wood can get too hot and burn or check especially on the end grain.

Bob Kramer

Mr. Dunlap also makes very good tomahawk handles and will sell the blanks before he turns them. I don't know if he still does or not but the wood is definitely very good.

Looks like I am in on the end of this one. You have all provided a lot of good information and advice. I generally finish all my handles to 1000 grit and then use 0000 steel wool. I use pure boiled artists linseed oil on Maple and Walnut. Johnson's Wax on Ironwood, Blackwood, Ivory, bone,Stag and Ebony.

Here is a short list of my favorites which many of you have already mentioned. Like Daniel I have to ask what the intended purpose of the knife is prior to choosing a handle material.

Ivory - Elephant, Fossil Walrus and Mammoth

Stag - Sambar with good shape, color and texture. Try for least amount of pith.

Wood - Black Walnut, Maple, Desert ironwood, African Blackwood, Ebony. Looking for good color and figure in the Walnut, Maple and Ironwood.

Micarta - for knives that may be in /harm's way or the bush. I like the ability to finish in different degrees of texture. A secure grip elicits confidence. I tend to like the canvass based.

Rubber - for competition knives and such. Rough texture.

As "Bladesmiths" we tend to be inclined toward natural materials and I am a fan. Jim Schmidt once told me he liked natural materials because things are supposed to grow old. However, I also believe in using the best choice for the job at hand.

Thanks to all for your comments, I have enjoyed reading your posts.

Best regards,

Jim Crowell

Bill Moran and I in about 1980 went to visit Wayne Dunlap in Chantilly, Virginia to purchase some curly maple for handle material. Bill Moran discovered Wayne Dunlap through black powder rifles. Wayne had a warehouse full of beautiful curly maple and was selling some of the wood "scraps" at that time for firewood. He was in the business of cutting gun stock blanks out of curly maple to sell to custom gun makers. That day I had my Blazer and Bill and I loaded it full with what Wayne was calling "scraps" at the time but were highly figured curly maple which made great knife handles. Wayne no longer sells scraps but it is still a great place to find curly maple.

Today I make my knife handles with curly maple or sambar stag. I also use some ivory and giraffe bone for my handles.

I stain my curly maple with Fiebings Professional Oil Leather Stain. I finish the handles with a home made mixture made by Keith Casteel who is a well known custom gun maker known for his outstanding engraving. Keith sells the "Woodstock Oil Finish" for $5 a bottle and it works quite well to produce a very nice finish.

This is the contact information for Keith Casteel:

Keith Casteel

Rt.1, Box 38

Bruceton Mills, West Virgina 26525

304-379-8309

[[email protected]][email protected]t[/email]

Good thread and I'm pleased to see input from so many different makers. A friend suggested that I add some thoughts from a collectors perspective and maybe I can chip in something useful.

I have just a small collection of handmade knives and my preference is for historical reproductions or knives that are directly inspired by historical knives (bowies to be precise). For me, it's important that the maker give some thought to what is historically correct for a certain knife – not that you can't change things up, but doing so willy-nilly is a real turnoff for me.

Let's take California knives, for example. The 19th century makers like Michael Price and Will & Finck took great pride in using native materials, and used them whenever they could. They preferred walrus ivory, although they did use a little elephant ivory. Ivory is a material that comes with its own set of complications these days, so it seems that fossil mammoth or walrus is a reasonable substitute. Another material the California makers used a lot of is red abalone shell, native to the California coast. It's hard to state absolutes in antique knives, but I will go out on a limb and say that the California makers never-ever-ever used mother of pearl as in oyster shell. Why would they, they had a fancier material that was more or less unique to California and they took great pride in that. So, to me anyway, a California knife with mother of pearl handles would be all wrong, it would go against what the original craftsmen were trying to accomplish and would say, in effect, that its maker doesn't understand what California knives are all about.

(I don't want to drift off topic here, but to me materials like mokume and damascus steel are different... Michael Price probably never even saw pattern welded or wootz steel, but if he had the knowledge you know he'd have used 'em! Not even sure where I draw the line there, but I have bought "reproductions" with damascus and clay-tempered blades that were otherwise period correct.)

Here's another example -- Bowie #1, the Carrigan knife, the Tunstall knife, and the other 5 or 6 by the same maker (James Black or otherwise) -- every single one of the originals has a handle of figured black walnut. Black walnut is commonly available, cheap, and a good piece looks great on a knife. You might make a knife of this style and change up the handle to something different but period correct (like ivory), but if it's going to be wood, I can't fathom why you wouldn't use walnut.

I don't think you have to go crazy with "correct" though. African blackwood is a nearly identical looking and more stable substitute for ebony, so it's a great choice -- I have a few knives with African blackwood handles myself. Fossil ivory for elephant or walrus makes good sense too (not bone, to my mind). But a synthetic substitute for a natural material? Bleah.

Just one collectors opinion. What does anyone else think with regard to period pieces?

Mark

PS: I will add a storage tidbit on two materials I didn't seem mentioned above: tortoiseshell and horn (any variety, but not including stag/antler). Store these in a sealed container loaded with old-fashioned mothballs, and tell your customers to keep mothballs in their safe if they have knives with tortoise or horn handles. These materials are eaten by dermestid beetle (carpet beetle) larvae, which can come into your house on flowers or plants, and they will plumb destroy a handle in no time. Speaking from experience. The mothballs will help keep them away.

Good views Mark and I agree with them. If I am going to make a period piece, I am going to try and be as correct as possible, and thank you for your advice on the one currently in the works. Got to love those silver wraps.

If it is going to be a very close reproduction than it should have as close as possible to the original materials. If you are basing a knife on a period piece, but not a reproduction than whatever works for you.

Also thank you for contributing to this thread. We value your collecting and knife expertise.

Brion