# Lightweight figured woods/materials?



## timebard (Nov 3, 2020)

Hi all,

I'm getting ready move into a home that can accommodate some workspace and among other projects, I'm hoping to find some time this winter to take a stab at making some wa handles.

Thanks to the many resources here I feel like I have a good handle (no pun intended) on the basic process. One thing I haven't found good info on is suitable materials if one wants to keep handles relatively lightweight. The knives I'm aiming to rehandle are ho/buffalo horn and I generally like the current balance points, so I'd like to aim for a roughly similar weight in their replacements. At the same time, I'd like to use some woods that have more figuring and character than plain ho, cherry, etc.

Doing some research, I found this helpful list: Specific Gravity of Exotic Wood and Domestic Wood | Bell Forest Products which has some good examples of lighter burl and figured woods. However, it seems like most of the lighter ones are usually stabilized, right? For example, Masur Birch is pretty far towards the lightweight end of the spectrum, but the examples I've seen are stabilized which I assume increases the weight substantially. Any recommendations for lighter handle materials that don't require stabilizing? Am I just totally off-base in thinking I can make nicer-looking/feeling handles that won't add a lot of extra weight? Should I plan on shorter/smaller dimensions to maintain balance?


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## Taz575 (Nov 3, 2020)

Kauri wood is very lightweight, but has a golden color and some iridescence to it. Not much figure, but beautiful in its own way. 

Most woods people like for handles are plain like you mentioned, or dense/heavy/oily like cocobolo, ebony, blackwood, or stabilized, which is heavier. The other option is to get the wood you like and use a 3/8" or 1/2" diameter dowel to connect the wood and ferrule together. This will let you drill out a good bit of the heavier wood weight and replace it with lighter weight dowel. Also easier to file in the tang slot in the softer dowel wood, too.


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## Corradobrit1 (Nov 3, 2020)

Can't beat burnt chestnut/oak or bog oak IMO. Lightweight, nice visual impact and very grippy even when wet.


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## timebard (Nov 6, 2020)

Corradobrit1 said:


> Can't beat burnt chestnut/oak or bog oak IMO. Lightweight, nice visual impact and very grippy even when wet.



Thanks for the recommendation on bog oak, looks like a good fit with what I'm going for aesthetically and would match well with a light ferrule.


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## Matus (Nov 6, 2020)

Thuya burl (not stabilized) is relatively lightweight. Has however a VERY particular smell when sanded.


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## timebard (Nov 6, 2020)

Matus said:


> Thuya burl (not stabilized) is relatively lightweight. Has however a VERY particular smell when sanded.



Thanks Matus. Not sure how I missed that option looking through Bell's offerings but it looks great. Does the finished product have a strong/unpleasant scent, or just while working with it? Any other considerations for using it in handles? Bell describes it as rather brittle, so I'm guessing it wouldn't be suitable (unstabilized) as a ferrule material.


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## Matus (Nov 6, 2020)

Finished (that means for me 5+ thin mixed-oil coats) the smell of the Thuya is basically gone as the wood is sealed by the hardened oil layers


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