Yet another first Sgian Dubh project . . .

[MacWage]

I am working (planning right now) on a sgian dubh project.

My blade an old kitchen/steak knife my wife dug up in her flower garden. It was old enough that the original wooden handle was almost completely rotted away. The tip of the stainless steel blade MATCHES the profile shape my bought sgian dubh EXACTLY, it even FITS in the scabbard. (It is NOT serated)

I will be cutting away the handle end to make a tang.

I was THINKING of making a pine handle, for the pines that are SO prominant in Georgia and the Carolinas. SO, how would pine DO as a handle? Too soft?

I am thinking and planning how I want to cut and carve the shaping.
(Baseball bat inspired??? -> unstained and heavily clearcoated??)
(Palmetto and cresent -South Carolina- on one side and Georgia related on the other???? )

[Raptor]

Pine is generally an extremely soft timber but there is a product available which shrinks the grain & hardens the wood. I cant recall the name of it, but should be easy enough to find. I think it's an "ager". Remember to keep the "leg" side of the handle flattened for comfort. (Apparently!)

[Panache]

...I was THINKING of making a pine handle, for the pines that are SO prominant in Georgia and the Carolinas. SO, how would pine DO as a handle? Too soft?

Great sentiment, sadly the wood is just too soft. If you wanted a bit of a baseball theme how about hickory or ash?

Cheers

Jamie

[MacWage]

Update:

My uncle turns wood for all sorts of really nice projects. He also buys VERY NICE woods. I asked him if he had any cheaper wood scraps I could use. Here is what he GAVE ME:

Red Walnut (remains of a tree he made into planks)
Poplar
Ash
American Black Walnut
Gabbon Ebony
Olive wood, from Israel
Padguk
Bubinga
Some gorgeous laminated hardwoods he had as left over from a cane

WAY better than I was expecting.

[Raptor]

That list of timber makes me jealous!

[MacWage]

That list of timber makes me jealous!

When he handed it to me, I was SHOCKED!!!
They were too small for him to use (he turns wood for bowls, canes, stoppers, and so forth, as well as making plaques and canes)
They are small pieces, but enough for a knife or 2 EACH!!!
The largest are 2.25x.75x9.5 inches (padguk) and 1.75x.75x14 inches (walnut), while the rest are significantly smaller.

Now, to learn how to work with hardwood . . .

(I'll bet that last line just makes you SICK )
->I will be "practicing" on the poplar and the oak (which is the scraps from his cutting a log into planks-> the wood just below the bark, with bark still attatched at the moment.

Several I will NOT touch for a WHILE!!!
Esp-> the Ebony, Olive, Padguk, and Bubinga

Now, to get some REAL blades to do the wood JUSTICE.
(I'll be linking and printing ALL the DIY sqian dubh threads I can FIND)

[Raptor]

good luck, cant wait to see them.
I'm trying something a bit different tomorrow: not traditional, but having a crack at a kind of drop-leaf blade with a blackwood hilt.

[ehiker]

MacWage,

(I'm a long-winded Irishman, so bear with me...)

The Ebony will dress up the best, but it is also the hardest to carve. Use sharp tools. The Bubinga will carve a little better (and smells great if you're using a power carver). The olive wood will carve like butter and smell the best. (Mmmmm... olive wood)

Padauk isn't my favorite wood. I've no idea why - it's never done anything to me. It just isn't my preference. I think because it lacks "character"? It's a denser, heavier wood, and it isn't found here in the U.S., so we call it "exotic", but... it seems rather dull and bland to me, otherwise - especially since there is SO much more out there!

The red oak will be great to use for practice, but can also give you some good usable results, especially if you can get your hands on some 26% anhydrous ammonia for fuming it. Don't waste your time with household ammonia - isn't worth the effort. Check local printing companies (specifically those who print out blueprints) for sources of anhydrous ammonia. You can buy it on-line, but shipping will kill you.

If you don't want to mess with dangerous chemicals (which anhydrous ammonia absolutely is), then you can get similar results with amber shellac. Don't fuss with pre-made shellac - it will disappoint you. Buy flakes to make your own and make sure the flakes are shelf-life dated, as well (because they will go bad).

Here is a great place to get shellac in flake form:

Shellac Finishes

Vijay is super nice, his shellac is top-notch, and his prices are the lowest you'll find anywhere. He dates every package with a shelf life and includes some info on shellac application, as well, for those new to using it. The sampler pack will give you a little taste of the most popular types of shellac available.

When it comes to oak, however, my preference is white oak. White oak has tighter pores than red oak - it will give you better detail in carvings, in my opinion. It also fumes better (higher concentrates of tanic acid).

The black walnut will probably end up being one of your favourites, though. It carves better than most of the other woods you listed and it looks great. If you want to mimic the black you get from ebony, walnut gives you a great option there, too. Just carve what you want in walnut and then ebonize it with dye. My advice - go to your local craft store or art supply store and get a small bottle of artist's black india ink. That will dye walnut to an absolute black color that is darker than any black dye you can buy at a woodworking store - and it is a lot less expensive.

(Oh, and if you really want to get into woodworking - mostly carving on your part, if sgian dubh handles is your focus - working with properly tuned carving tools (i.e. sharp) should be your primary focus. You're more likely to hurt yourself on a dull tool than a sharp one - and you'll get much better results in less time if you have sharp tools. Find a local woodworking store (Woodcraft or Rockler is a good place to start) or school and take a class on sharpening tools or using carving tools.)

Ethan
www.merganserwoodworks.com