Note how ABS master smith Henry
Torres kept the pins from the edges
of the scales on his ebony handle.
Visit Torres online at www.htknives.com.
(Point Seven photo)

I like to use natural materials, mostly wood, for my knife handles. I have been using curly and bird’s-eye maple. I think they are beautifully figured woods but would like to try some of the more exotic ones such as ebony, cocobolo, rosewood and such. A friend of mine told me that ebony is too brittle for a handle. Consequently, before I spend my limited funds, I would like to hear your opinion on the different types of exotic woods that you have worked with and which you like most. (name and address n/a)

Working with exotic wood is not very different than working with any other type of wood. Your friend is right that ebony is brittle but it is still an excellent handle material. You will need to know and keep in mind a few things when working it, or your beautiful wood will end up with unwanted chips and cracks that will frustrate you and your wallet.

Before I start, let me tell you something about exotic woods. You have to work them in a well-ventilated room, and use a dust collector and a dust mask or respirator. Some people are allergic to certain types of woods, especially cocobolo and zebrawood. I do not have any intention of scaring or discouraging anyone from using these woods because they are definitely some of the most beautiful materials that Mother Nature provides, but please take safety measures when working with them.

There are so many different species of exotic wood that if I mentioned all of them we would run out of room in the magazine. Each wood has its own characteristics. Some are more brittle than others, some are oilier and more forgiving, and others are quite heavy and dense, but all are impressive.

Let’s start with ebony. Because it is so brittle, I like to use it for stick-tang knives that have a guard and buttcap. The buttcap will protect the ends of the wood. Don’t get me wrong; once ebony is rounded off and the sharp corners are removed, it will stand up to limited use. However, until the wood is shaped, the sharp corners will chip easily.

If your knife is a full-tang model with an ebony handle, do not put your pins too close to the edges of the scales. There is a good chance that the ebony will crack when pinned or will crack later on when it shrinks a bit. In my opinion, putting the pins too close to the edge is already a mistake—no matter what material you are using—but with ebony you need to be extra cautious.  

Drilling through ebony is best done the same as you would drill through mother-of-pearl. Use a sharp drill bit. Set the depth of your drill press so that the drill-bit point sits on top of the drill block. This will prevent you from completely drilling through the material. Once the drill bit bottoms out, leaving just a pin-size hole at the back of the scale, turn the scale over and drill from the opposite side. The pinhole will give you the exact location where you need to drill. This method will prevent small chips of material from coming off when you drill through.

Also, do not press too hard or go too fast when drilling exotic woods. Back your drill bit out often to free it of wood-shaving buildup. The buildup causes friction and heat that some woods do not tolerate well. Maybe I am overcautious but I have never had a problem when using this method.

If you need to use a file for profiling an ebony handle, make sure the file is not too coarse. The coarse file will cause more damage than good. The brittle wood grain will give up small, and sometimes larger, splinters.    
 
I can tell you that when working with ebony, by the time you finish the sanding and polishing you will look like a chimney sweep. The ebony dust is like a dye.

There are several other exotic and beautiful woods that also are brittle and must be worked in the same way as ebony in order to avoid chipping and cracking, including desert ironwood and wenge wood to name a few. Desert ironwood is very smelly when you grind it. The best way I can describe the odor is like fresh wet dog droppings.  

The oilier woods are not as brittle so you do not have to be quite as careful. One is macassar ebony. It is more forgiving than African ebony and is a beautiful rusty brown with black streaks. Cocobolo is also oily. Other oily woods I have worked with are kingwood, Brazilian rosewood, snakewood and I could probably name at least 10 more. African blackwood is the oiliest wood I have ever worked with, so oily that it clogs up abrasive belts very fast. 

Macadamia nutwood is a dense, heavy wood. I say dense because it has a very tight grain structure. It is a very interesting wood, chocolate brown with lighter figures in it that almost make it look like snakeskin when finished. It is so hard that I use a bi-metal bandsaw blade to cut it. A standard woodcutting bandsaw blade does not have a chance with this kind of wood. Sometimes you will actually see small sparks coming off the bandsaw blade when cutting nutwood.

Black ivory is also a very dense and heavy wood that either is solid black or with some light brown streaks. When you polish it, the grain is so tight it almost looks artificial, like a plastic. However, black ivory is hard to get and most folks have not heard of it. Mostly you hear about pink ivory, which is more common but not as heavy and dense as the black. 

When finishing any of the exotic woods, always use a fresh abrasive belt. Then hand sand the wood up to 600 grit. Afterward, buff it out with green or white polishing rouge. Once you have finished polishing, use tung or linseed oil for the final finish. For a hand-rubbed finish, I use 0000 steel wool, also with tung or linseed oil. All the exotic woods polish up very well.

Over the years I have worked with all the woods mentioned, and then some. As far as my favorite wood, I always select the one that will go best with a particular blade design. As a result, I can truly say that I like them all.

Do not hesitate to try the exotic woods. In my opinion, if you are comfortable working with maple, you are ready for the more exotic beauty that Mother Nature has to offer.

This column originally appeared in the October 2008 issue of BLADE.

Send your questions for Wayne Goddard or Joe Szilaski to BLADE®, POB 789, Ooltewah, TN 37363-0789 BladeEditor@fwpubs.com. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your name and address for a personal response from Wayne, or e-mail him at wgoddard44@comcast.net. If you would rather contact Joe by e-mail, his e-mail address is joe@szilaski.com. If you wish, BLADE will not print your name with your question.