 |
Stabilized & Natural Wood for Custom
Knife Makers
Unusual Burl, Spalted and
Figured Woods from Around the World. |
|
|
|
Types of Wood we sell
In the beginning the types of wood
we had for sale were native to Southern Oregon through Central
California. After a while I began to get a lot of requests for
woods from Australia, Africa and SE Asia. After a bit of searching
I was able to find good sources of companies who would export
high grade figured woods to me here in Oregon. Now days word
has spread to the point where I am regularly contacted by companies
and individuals with different woods from around the world. You
never know what will come up next. If it is good looking high
quality wood that is available at a reasonable price, I will
probably get some.
Below I have listed some of the woods we
sell followed by a short description of the wood's characteristics
along with mine and others opinions. This information is not
intended to be a source of scientific or academic data. Just
common sense information that applies to how these woods can
be utilized in knife making.
|
Black Oak - The Black Oak
we use grows in Southern Oregon and Northern California. The
grain seems to be tighter and less porous compared to lumber
store red or white oak. Black Oak can get some unusual coloring
and grain patterns. It is a good hard wood. Harder than maple
or walnut. The burls tend to have open voids and bark pockets.
Maple - The maple we use is mostly
Western Big Leaf Maple. The Western Maple is not as hard as the
Eastern Rock Maple. Western Maple will sometimes form burls or
have quilted or curly figuring. Hardness can vary but is about
medium, similar to Walnut. Coloring will usually be a Blonde
cream color. Around injuries and in dying wood there can be orange,
red and darker brown coloring. When maple spalts there can be
a large variety of colors and sometimes black lines. With regular
maple stabilizing is not always necessary, but when combined
with dying can produce some very dramatic results. Spalted maple
should almost always be stabilized.
Redwood -
Our Redwood comes from the coastal areas of Northern California.
Most of it will be salvage wood from old stumps or old stock
from the estates of wood workers and shop owners. Redwood is
a soft wood. Hardness can vary considerably. On rare ocassions
some redwood pieces can be nearly twice as hard and heavy as
normal redwood. Redwood can have a big variety of looks with
different burls showing a variety of colors and types of figuring.
Colors can range from gold to orange to red to purple and some
black. Most Redwood would benefit from stabilizing to give added
hardness and durability.
California Buckeye
- The Buckeye we use is a wild Chestnut tree that grows from
Southern Oregon down through Central California. The best burls
seem to come from the trees in central California. The burls
usually form underground like a large bumpy onion. The burls
tend to have large voids and bark pockets so there is a lot of
waste when cutting up for solid handle material. When first cut
Buckeye is usual a whitish cream color. As the wood seasons a
fungus in the wood can spread giving the wood a variety of blue
and grey colors. The contrast between the colors can give the
wood a very dramatic look. Buckeye takes dyes very well. It is
a soft wood that will benefit from stabilizing for added hardness
and durability.
Walnut -
There are a few different varieties of Walnut that we use. Claro
Walnut is a west coast variety that can form nice burls as well
as good curly figuring. Sometimes we get English Walnut. It is
much harder than the Claro. The English Walnut can have unique
coloring and marbled figuring. Hybrid Walnut also shows up at
times. Some of the hybrids will show unusual figuring and non
typical coloring. Most walnuts will be medium hardness leaving
it as a personal judgement call whether it should be stabilized.
Claro Walnut being softer will benefit from stabilizing for added
hardness and durability.
Manzanita
- Manzanita is a shrub that grows in the Western states. When
it grows in volcanic areas it will sometimes form burls underground
that can range in size from the size of an orange to a beachball.
The burls will usually have voids and is difficult to dry intact.
Not many will have sufficient solid area for knife handles. The
wood ranges from pink to dark red in color. It is a good hard
wood that finishes up nicely.
Desert Ironwood -
A very hard and heavy wood from Arizona. Colors can range from
gold to almost black. Many times Ironwood will show a flashy
light in the lighter colored areas that seems to move about beneath
the surface of the wood as it is moved. Some pieces can have
figuring or sections of burl. Most popular will be pieces with
contrasting colors and marbled or burl figuring. A large portion
of ironwood will have some hairline checks that can require the
use of CA glue to fill in. Desert Ironwood is getting very difficult
to obtain. Most of what we get comes from old stock, pieces that
have been collected by others over the years. Sometimes we will
purchase carvings and other items made from ironwood and cut
them up for handle material.
Hawaiian Koa
- Hawaiian Koa is a variety of Acacia that grows on the islands
of Hawaii. It is medium hardness. Colors can range from off white
to gold, orange, red and dark brown. The most desirable Koa will
have curly or fiddleback figuring. Koa exhibits a metallic flash
that is much more intense than other woods. A really good piece
will show flash similar to a reflector when under lights or taken
into the sunlight. Koa benefits from stabilizing by added hardness
and durability. Plus the figure tends to pop out even more when
stabilized.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Visit
the Knife Handle Materials Webstore
The woods we feature in our
web store were cut special for custom knife makers who don't
want to use plain looking knife handle materials. Every piece
listed in our webstore is photographed individually with large
photos showing both sides of each piece so you can pick out the
pieces you like best. Our wood comes with a No Questions Asked,
Money Back Guarantee.
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Curly
Koa |
Spalted Maple Burl |
Figured Walnut |
Redwood Burl |
|
|
Burl Source is
a division of It's a Burl in Kerby Oregon ......
541-592-5071 or itsaburl@hotmail.com |
