wg

wayne

18/05/2008 4:42 PM

Strength of wood

Hi

Can anyone help me rank in terms of resistance to moisture, strength,
or durability, which is best. I am choosing a knife handle but is
unfamiliar with the woods quality. which is usally the most dense?

thanks

oak
hickory
beech
walnut
olive wood

thanks


This topic has 11 replies

Rr

RicodJour

in reply to wayne on 18/05/2008 4:42 PM

18/05/2008 10:11 PM

On May 18, 7:42 pm, wayne <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi
>
> Can anyone help me rank in terms of resistance to moisture, strength,
> or durability, which is best. I am choosing a knife handle but is
> unfamiliar with the woods quality. which is usally the most dense?
>
> thanks
>
> oak
> hickory
> beech
> walnut
> olive wood

What do you mean by strength? Here's a hardness scale:
http://www.countyfloors.com/about_janka.html
This might be more up your alley:
http://www.diadot.com/wood/

R

En

"EXT"

in reply to wayne on 18/05/2008 4:42 PM

19/05/2008 12:37 PM

Strength really wouldn't play a part as a knife handle, but the other
characteristics would. Regarding resistance to moisture, no knife with a
wood handle should be soaked nor cleaned in a dishwasher as this will
destroy any wooden handle. I would prefer wood that doesn't have pores, as
these could collect moisture and other contaminants within the pores
depending on the uses you intend.


"wayne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:e344e13b-6837-48eb-ac1c-1ee6b2a07407@v26g2000prm.googlegroups.com...
> Hi
>
> Can anyone help me rank in terms of resistance to moisture, strength,
> or durability, which is best. I am choosing a knife handle but is
> unfamiliar with the woods quality. which is usally the most dense?
>
> thanks
>
> oak
> hickory
> beech
> walnut
> olive wood
>
> thanks
>

rr

randyswoodshoop

in reply to wayne on 18/05/2008 4:42 PM

19/05/2008 3:51 AM

On May 19, 5:50=A0am, randyswoodshoop <[email protected]> wrote:
> On May 18, 6:42=A0pm, wayne <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Hi
>
> > Can anyone help me rank in terms of resistance to moisture, strength,
> > or durability, which is best. I am choosing a knife handle but is
> > unfamiliar with the woods quality. which is usally the most dense?
>
> > thanks
>
> > oak
> > hickory
> > beech
> > walnut
> > olive wood
>
> > thanks
>
> Hi,
> ANy of the woods you have listed abve will work for a nice handle. Of
> the woods listed, Walnut will make the most attractive and will wear
> well. If you finish the handle with polyurthane there will be no
> mositure problem.
> Oak, will be somewhat moisture resistand and is a very strong wood.
>
> Randyhttp://nokeswoodworks.com

I have a knife how to on my web site under carving...

Randy

http:nokeswoodworks.com

rr

randyswoodshoop

in reply to wayne on 18/05/2008 4:42 PM

19/05/2008 3:50 AM

On May 18, 6:42=A0pm, wayne <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi
>
> Can anyone help me rank in terms of resistance to moisture, strength,
> or durability, which is best. I am choosing a knife handle but is
> unfamiliar with the woods quality. which is usally the most dense?
>
> thanks
>
> oak
> hickory
> beech
> walnut
> olive wood
>
> thanks

Hi,
ANy of the woods you have listed abve will work for a nice handle. Of
the woods listed, Walnut will make the most attractive and will wear
well. If you finish the handle with polyurthane there will be no
mositure problem.
Oak, will be somewhat moisture resistand and is a very strong wood.

Randy
http://nokeswoodworks.com

hR

[email protected] (Ross Hebeisen)

in reply to wayne on 18/05/2008 4:42 PM

18/05/2008 6:09 PM

walnut would be a good choice. If your looking for something fancy,
black ash burl is often used for fine knife making. I just shipped 20
burl blanks to a knife maker in Germany.
Ross

Ds

DonkeyHody

in reply to wayne on 18/05/2008 4:42 PM

18/05/2008 7:27 PM

On May 18, 6:42=A0pm, wayne <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi
>
> Can anyone help me rank in terms of resistance to moisture, strength,
> or durability, which is best. I am choosing a knife handle but is
> unfamiliar with the woods quality. which is usally the most dense?
>
> thanks
>
> oak
> hickory
> beech
> walnut
> olive wood
>
> thanks

I don't know anything about Olive Wood, but Hickory is the hardest and
most dense of the other woods listed. It was the wood of choice for
handles for hammers and axes, etc.

DonkeyHody
"The best things in life . . . aren't things."

dd

"dadiOH"

in reply to wayne on 18/05/2008 4:42 PM

19/05/2008 12:23 PM

wayne wrote:
> Hi
>
> Can anyone help me rank in terms of resistance to moisture, strength,
> or durability, which is best. I am choosing a knife handle but is
> unfamiliar with the woods quality. which is usally the most dense?
>
> thanks
>
> oak
> hickory
> beech
> walnut
> olive wood
>
> thanks

Among those you list, hickory. If you want the n'est plus ultra wood for
the ALL characteristics you list, use lignum vitae...not always easy to find
but most knife supply places will have it.

If you DO use lignum vitae, don't be surprised if it turns either sky blue
or a bilious green when you apply a finish. That color will disappear in a
day or two and the wood will be a rich, nutty brown. That brown can be
anywhere from pretty light to almost as dark as walnut depending on the
particular piece; regardless of the main color there will be darker markings
as well.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico


LH

"Lew Hodgett"

in reply to wayne on 18/05/2008 4:42 PM

19/05/2008 12:44 AM


"wayne" wrote:

> Can anyone help me rank in terms of resistance to moisture,
> strength,
> or durability, which is best. I am choosing a knife handle but is
> unfamiliar with the woods quality. which is usally the most dense?

All my kitchen utensils have Rosewood handles.

Lew

wg

wayne

in reply to wayne on 18/05/2008 4:42 PM

18/05/2008 4:47 PM

please include ash wood too


thanks

Ws

Woodchuck34

in reply to wayne on 18/05/2008 4:42 PM

19/05/2008 7:07 AM

On May 18, 7:42=A0pm, wayne <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi
>
> Can anyone help me rank in terms of resistance to moisture, strength,
> or durability, which is best. I am choosing a knife handle but is
> unfamiliar with the woods quality. which is usally the most dense?
>
> thanks
>
> oak
> hickory
> beech
> walnut
> olive wood
>
> thanks

Mahogany is one of the most water resistant woods out there (along
with walnut), but not many people use it for outdoor furniture or
decks because of the expence. If I was making a knife handle however,
it wouldn't cost very much.

Chuck

Ft

Fred the Red Shirt

in reply to wayne on 18/05/2008 4:42 PM

19/05/2008 7:55 AM

On May 19, 6:50 am, randyswoodshoop <[email protected]> wrote:
> On May 18, 6:42 pm, wayne <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Hi
>
> > Can anyone help me rank in terms of resistance to moisture, strength,
> > or durability, which is best. I am choosing a knife handle but is
> > unfamiliar with the woods quality. which is usally the most dense?
>
> > thanks
>
> > oak
> > hickory
> > beech
> > walnut
> > olive wood
>
> > thanks
>
> Hi,
> ANy of the woods you have listed abve will work for a nice handle. Of
> the woods listed, Walnut will make the most attractive and will wear
> well. If you finish the handle with polyurthane there will be no
> mositure problem.
> Oak, will be somewhat moisture resistand and is a very strong wood.
>

WHITE oak is somewhat moisture resistant. Red oak is not
and will probably blacken if it is left damp for any appreciable
length of time.

Because it is commonly used for kitchen impliments
I suspect that olivewood has good moisture resistance.
After that, from the above list, walnut would be a
second choice.

Locust is very hard and very moisture resistant,
the same is true of osage orange aka hedge.

--

FF


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