# Handles: What's Your Favorite Wood?



## DitmasPork (Jun 11, 2021)

What's your favorite wood for knife handles?

Before diving into J-knives, it was either plastic or pakka wood for decades in my kitchen—Wustof, Sabs and Mac—which were fine, no complaints back then.

I've since gotten to appreciate a wider range of handle materials.

Favorite wood is of course purely subjective.

For me, there are two woods that stand out above the rest:
• Koa. Being from Hawaii, I have a special affection for koa, a nostalgia and familiarity with the wood. Koa was always around, wither carved into bowls, ukuleles, benches, floorboards or tables. An old church in Kona, Hawaii, is famed for its interior built from koa. I'd have more koa handles if not for the price of top-shelf quality koa.
• Raquin's burnt oak. There's an understated beauty to those black handles—they feel warm, comfortable, functional, well designed, and confident in the hand. Just the right amount of grippiness when wet; ideal dimensions for my hands.

Honorable mention: burnt chestnut. The majority of my off-the-shelf knives are in burnt chestnut. Love the look, weight and feel over magnolia 24/7.

Handles that are 'meh' to me? Magnolia, despite working alright, they're too common to excite me. Ironwood—never been a fan of the look or feel. They also remind me of a chef I know who slaps ironwood onto all his knives to fancy them up.


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## da_mich* (Jun 11, 2021)

I love Purple Heart/Amaranth, Ebony, Nut and some others. For me wood is the only legit material for handles.


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## Kippington (Jun 11, 2021)

My favourite to look at is curly Tasmanian Blackwood, but my favourites to hold are the softer untreated woods like pine or magnolia. Something that would leave a mark if you stuck your nail into it.
Chestnut is too grainy for my hands.


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## DitmasPork (Jun 11, 2021)

Kippington said:


> My favourite to look at is curly Tasmanian Blackwood, but my favourites to hold are the softer untreated woods like pine or magnolia. Something that would leave a mark if you stuck your nail into it.
> Chestnut is too grainy for my hands.



Second from bottom, in 2nd pic I posted, is your Tas Blackwood handle, w/ g10. Lovely handle! I like that wood too, it's a close relative of koa. I don't mind magnolia, have a lot og knives with it, though a tad grippy for my personal taste.


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## xsmx13 (Jun 11, 2021)

I enjoy bocote and kingwood, though the latter can be a bit tougher to work with since it's so dense. Love the contrast and figure of the grain. Also they're dense and naturally oily enough that you can get a nice finish without treating the wood.


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## DitmasPork (Jun 11, 2021)

xsmx13 said:


> I enjoy bocote and kingwood, though the latter can be a bit tougher to work with since it's so dense. Love the contrast and figure of the grain. Also they're dense and naturally oily enough that you can get a nice finish without treating the wood.



What's your go-to product to treat wood? During the past year I've tended to use either Tru-Oil Gun Stock Finish or Watco Tung Finish on the nicer woods. I don't treat my magnolia, chest nut or burnt oak. Haven't ever gotten into mineral oil/wax.


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## LostHighway (Jun 11, 2021)

I tend to prefer woods that have some degree of inherent decay resistance so they don't have to be larded up up with resins. I also tend to stay away from environmentally threatened species or woods so dense that they throw off the balance of the knife. Black Cherry (_Prunus serotina_), Walnut sp., and Chestnut are all good. I haven't tried Black Locust (_Robinia pseudoacacia_) or Kentucky Coffeetree (_Gymnocladus dioicus_) but they look like reasonable options too. I have a European Yew handle courtesy of Jonas Johnsson that I like very much although Yew is a potential irritant. If I order from one of the Australian makers again I might try Western Sheoak, Australian Cypress or Jules' aesthetic preference Tasmanian Blackwood.


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## MontezumaBoy (Jun 11, 2021)

Gotta say that some styles of blades (for me) lend themselves to lighter or darker woods (damascus, mirror, kurouchi, hammered, etc.) ... my two favorites have got to be HRB (not an option anymore) and Ironwood ... I get the potential issue with darkening on ironwood but it is just so damn gorgeous early ... love me some CA buckeye though as well.


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## Lars (Jun 11, 2021)

I'm a simple guy. I like HO wood.


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## MontezumaBoy (Jun 11, 2021)

Lars said:


> I'm a simple guy. I like HO wood.



Completely agree - can't go wrong with a Ho ... great to touch, use and play with - normally easy to grip. Plus they clean up great, can be put away and then used again that same day/the next or a week later ... really fantastic - love Ho's ... 

Oh sorry got distracted - for knife handles I prefer ironwood ... LOL ... sorry to the OP ... (just had to go there ...)


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## DitmasPork (Jun 11, 2021)

da_mich* said:


> I love Purple Heart/Amaranth, Ebony, Nut and some others. For me wood is the only legit material for handles.



Wood is absolutely my preference for handles these days. However, prior to my incursion into J-knives, and the internet as knife selling platform—my only access to purchasing knives were via cookware shops, where selection was limited at best. TBH, when I bought my first 'serious' cooking knives, the handle material was the least of my considerations. The black plastic material on Wustofs and Sabs felt good in hand, and were pretty low maintenance and almost indestructible. A lot of pro cooks I know prefer plastic handles for work.


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## DitmasPork (Jun 11, 2021)

Lars said:


> I'm a simple guy. I like HO wood.


Never met a ho I didn't like—unless it had a righty-D or plastic ferrule.


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## Bensbites (Jun 11, 2021)

I am a sucker for anything with chatoyance. I know some will disagree, but I am happy with curly maple. 
I have seen redwood burl with chatoyance in it. Stunning! 
I have a bunch of amboyna burl with chantoyance in the eyes.


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## DitmasPork (Jun 11, 2021)

LostHighway said:


> I tend to prefer woods that have some degree of inherent decay resistance so they don't have to be larded up up with resins. I also tend to stay away from environmentally threatened species or woods so dense that they throw off the balance of the knife. Black Cherry (_Prunus serotina_), Walnut sp., and Chestnut are all good. I haven't tried Black Locust (_Robinia pseudoacacia_) or Kentucky Coffeetree (_Gymnocladus dioicus_) but they look like reasonable options too. I have a European Yew handle courtesy of Jonas Johnsson that I like very much although Yew is a potential irritant. If I order from one of the Australian makers again I might try Western Sheoak, Australian Cypress or Jules' aesthetic preference Tasmanian Blackwood.



I'm with you on avoiding unsustainable, threatened species of wood. With much of the pricey, top-shelf woods—it's often more aesthetic, rarity and bling factor, rather than performance related.

Unlike with stringed instrument bows, where wood type directly correlates to performance. Brazilian Pernambuco wood—environmentally threatened species—being the wood of choice. Although they make bows with composites and sandlewood—no other wood I know of can match pernambuco in strength, flexibility, and how it transmits sounds/vibrations. I bought my two pernambuco bows before they added it to the endangered list.

I had to look up Kentucky Coffeetree—it's a nice blond wood!


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## esoo (Jun 11, 2021)

Probably the nicest wood handle I've got right now is on my beater Tojiro - Ho wood (with cheap ferrule) that were righty-D that I sanded down to oval (taking them up to 1500 grit) and the gave a good soak in mineral oil. Yeah the ferrules suck, but the wood itself responded to the sanding and finish wonderfully. 

I've got several knives that I want to re-handled with wood - the current handles have been treated in a way that makes them feel like plastic.


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## M1k3 (Jun 11, 2021)

Chestnut or Oak. The charred variety. NO! NO!! NO!!! No plastic ferrules!


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## branwell (Jun 11, 2021)

Big fan of Buckeye burl and Mesquite burl.


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## esoo (Jun 11, 2021)

I've got a piece of bog oak that I'm hoping to turn into handles, does that count?

Just need to figure out how to drill a damn straight hole.


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## McMan (Jun 11, 2021)

My absolute favorite is Huon Pine--beautifully understated with yellows/oranges/greens up close.
Tiger/Curly/Birdseye maple is a close second. Lately, I also really like Black hornbeam (a 'cousin' of maple but looks like gabon ebony).
For burls, I think Box Elder burl is under-rated and so are Mango and Black Ash burls.
Whenever possible, I ask makers to use a local wood. These are some of the nicest handle I haves--and often from simple/common woods (like beech, linden, plum).

Not a big fan of rosewoods or amboyna.

For stock handles, enju, chestnut, iichi (in that order).


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## DitmasPork (Jun 11, 2021)

McMan said:


> My absolute favorite is Huon Pine--beautifully understated with yellows/oranges/greens up close.
> Tiger/Curly maple is a close second. Lately, I also really like Black hornbeam (a 'cousin' of maple but looks like gabon ebony).
> For burls, I think Box Elder burl is under-rated and so are Mango and Black Ash burls.
> Whenever possible, I ask makers to use a local wood. These are some of the nicest handle I have--and often from simple/common woods (like beech, linden, plum).
> ...



Ahh, forgot about Black Hornbeam! I had a KeMaDi with a hornbeam and reindeer handle, it's a very nice wood. Burnt chestnut my fave of the off-the-shelf woods.

I often like to be surprised—with my two Yanicks, I just told him to use "whatever" wood he wanted.


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## IsoJ (Jun 11, 2021)

Oak in its different forms and ringed gidgee.


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## LostHighway (Jun 11, 2021)

McMan said:


> My absolute favorite is Huon Pine--beautifully understated with yellows/oranges/greens up close.
> Tiger/Curly maple is a close second. Lately, I also really like Black hornbeam (a 'cousin' of maple but looks like gabon ebony).
> For burls, I think Box Elder burl is under-rated and so are Mango and Black Ash burls.
> Whenever possible, I ask makers to use a local wood. These are some of the nicest handle I have--and often from simple/common woods (like beech, linden, plum).
> ...



Huon Pine looks very promising, my familiarity with non-Northern Hemisphere species is quite limited so thanks for mentioning it. Is what you're calling Black Hornbeam, _Ostrya_ _virginiana_ aka Hop Hornbeam or something else? I can't find the taxonomy searching Black Hornbeam. 
I'm with you on local wood - the yew from Jonas came from a big old tree someone he knew had felled and mostly used for firewood .


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## McMan (Jun 11, 2021)

LostHighway said:


> Is what you're calling Black Hornbeam, _Ostrya_ _virginiana_ aka Hop Hornbeam or something else? I can't find the taxonomy searching Black Hornbeam.


I'm not sure about the taxonomy either... 
I just tried to dig up some info and couldn't find much either--now I'm not even sure whether "Black Hornbeam" is naturally black or just dyed hornbeam...


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## jedy617 (Jun 11, 2021)

Amboyna, Gidgee, Rosewoods, ironwood, koa


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## DitmasPork (Jun 11, 2021)

I got soooo much chestnut—Heiji, Kochi, Gesshin Hinoura, Kato, Gesshin Heiji.


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## K.Bouldin (Jun 11, 2021)

I’ve gotta say outta all the woods I’ve tried I picked up a Joe Bone knife with a bog oak handle a little while ago & it has the best hand feel/ texture I’ve held.


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## pgugger (Jun 11, 2021)

LostHighway said:


> Is what you're calling Black Hornbeam, _Ostrya_ _virginiana_ aka Hop Hornbeam or something else?



Hornbeam usually refers to _Carpinus_ species, but I have no idea about the handle wood called "black hornbeam".


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## Hz_zzzzzz (Jun 11, 2021)

Burnt chestnut. I use it to replace all the ho wood handles. D shape is the best but rare. Heiji octagon handles are really good. The Hinoura round/oval ones look nice but are not as comfortable as the Heiji octagon ones. Masashi ones could use some buffing.


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## ian (Jun 11, 2021)

Ho, chestnut, oak. Yum.


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## xsmx13 (Jun 11, 2021)

DitmasPork said:


> What's your go-to product to treat wood? During the past year I've tended to use either Tru-Oil Gun Stock Finish or Watco Tung Finish on the nicer woods. I don't treat my magnolia, chest nut or burnt oak. Haven't ever gotten into mineral oil/wax.



Depending on the wood I like either Danish Oil or Howard Feed-n-Wax.


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## @ftermath (Jun 11, 2021)

Ho for natural finishes and maple for stabilized.


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## Corradobrit1 (Jun 11, 2021)

Burnt chestnut, hands down. But anything thats not stabilized tbh.


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## Heckel7302 (Jun 12, 2021)

Just took in a knife with a Chinese quince handle. Very beautiful wood.


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## Hz_zzzzzz (Jun 12, 2021)

Corradobrit1 said:


> Burnt chestnut, hands down. But anything thats not stabilized tbh.


where did get the d shape burnt chestnut handle? looks really good.


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## Corradobrit1 (Jun 12, 2021)

Hz_zzzzzz said:


> where did get the d shape burnt chestnut handle? looks really good.


Both are from JNS


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## @ftermath (Jun 12, 2021)

Corradobrit1 said:


> Both are from JNS


We’re you able to buy the handles separately?


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## Corradobrit1 (Jun 12, 2021)

@ftermath said:


> We’re you able to buy the handles separately?


Thats a negative


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## tcmx3 (Jun 12, 2021)

Burnt chestnut is an easy recommendation, definitely my favorite.

But Shi.Han's thermory is also pretty amazing.


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## IsoJ (Jun 12, 2021)

tcmx3 said:


> Burnt chestnut is an easy recommendation, definitely my favorite.
> 
> But Shi.Han's thermory is also pretty amazing.


Agreed with the Shihan thermory handle, looks and feels great in hand and very grippy.


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## @ftermath (Jun 12, 2021)

Agreed with Shi.han but I would go one step further and say all his handles are amazing. I’m not sure if they all get the same treatment as thermory but they all seem to have that smoky smell when they first arrive so it’s possible. I’ve tried his thermory, walnut, mora, and sapele and been equally impressed with each. Shehan is known for his blades but he quietly makes some of the best handles on the market IMO.

Maybe I need to ask if he will make a figured maple handle…


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## DitmasPork (Jun 12, 2021)

Handle design and wood type can make a world of difference. I got a Gesshin Hinoura Ajikataya—the oval handle it came with was very well made, but I personally am not a fan of ovals. I then got Jon to install a burnt chestnut handle, which changed the balance point, and now is more to my liking. Love the knife. Also, dig burnt chestnut aesthetically over ho.





Original oval.





New burnt chestnut installed.


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## lemeneid (Jun 12, 2021)

TF pakka, burnt chestnut, ho, rosewood.


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## Carlo (Jun 12, 2021)

Ho, specifically the ones JNS ships knives with (also got one from Watanabe as an upgrade from the plastic ferrule), …and burnt chestnut. Not a fan of the denser woods. I love the look of chatoyance but I don’t want it in a handle. 

I just saw some knives on one of the web sites (can’t remember where, maybe Carbon?) with natural cedar …that would definitely work for me, I wish they were more common or I knew where to find them (and was motivated enough to swap out a bunch of handles).


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## Bobby2shots (Jun 12, 2021)

Spalted Maple should be interesting. Macassar ebony might also be nice. Coco Bolo?


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## Corradobrit1 (Jun 12, 2021)

Carlo said:


> Ho, specifically the ones JNS ships knives with (also got one from Watanabe as an upgrade from the plastic ferrule), …and burnt chestnut. Not a fan of the denser woods. I love the look of chatoyance but I don’t want it in a handle.
> 
> I just saw some knives on one of the web sites (can’t remember where, maybe Carbon?) with natural cedar …that would definitely work for me, I wish they were more common or I knew where to find them (and was motivated enough to swap out a bunch of handles).


Not had great experience with JNS Ho vs other sources like Morihei. The wood has to be sealed and sanded otherwise the fibers expand and gives it a cheap feel in hand. The porous wood picks up gunk eg swarf, like crazy adding to the budget feel. A step below JNS Ho is TF's.


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## DitmasPork (Jun 12, 2021)

lemeneid said:


> TF pakka, burnt chestnut, ho, rosewood.


That TF red pakka is sexy.


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## Dendrobatez (Jun 13, 2021)

Whiskey barrel oak or American cherry are my 2 favorite handle woods right now. Both take a walnut or linseed curing oil very well, rarely need reapplying, dense and grippy. Not a wood but corian is up there for me, as long as it's not taken to a polish it is very grippy.


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## xxxclx (Jun 13, 2021)

Dendrobatez said:


> Whiskey barrel oak or American cherry are my 2 favorite handle woods right now. Both take a walnut or linseed curing oil very well, rarely need reapplying, dense and grippy. Not a wood but corian is up there for me, as long as it's not taken to a polish it is very grippy.



Whiskey barrel oak sounds really cool. What knife is that handle for?


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## Sebastian Chrstiansson (Jun 13, 2021)

Go


DitmasPork said:


> What's your favorite wood for knife handles?
> 
> Before diving into J-knives, it was either plastic or pakka wood for decades in my kitchen—Wustof, Sabs and Mac—which were fine, no complaints back then.
> 
> ...



Gotta love a nice handle.
I Almost Rehandle al knifes i got actully.

But gotta say nr 1 Ironwood
Becouse of its weight and natrual feel Becouse its not stabilazed.

nr 2 honduras Rosewood burl
Also Becouse of it natrual feel Also not stabilzed

nr 3 koa
Just Becouse of it looks But its a stabilzed wood so its more of a plastic non life feel.

But i do Rehandle the knife Becouse i am a 270 Guy and Almost al knifes ootb is not balanced in the right spot.

Cherrs


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## JayS20 (Jun 13, 2021)

For me it's definitely form and taper over handle material. I really like Kamon's handles, fit my hand so well.
But I'm definitely a sucker for nice woods. Be it natural or also dyed and stabilized sometimes. Some nice chatoyance and burls are great.
If you would force me onto one type of wood I would probably go with walnut burl.
I also really like the look of Koa but don't own one yet.
Burned chestnut just feels good and also unremarkable in a good way in hand. Got one on my Gengetsu and on my Vintage Y.Tanaka.
I have some wood blocks laying around and usually send them to the maker when I order a custom one. They need to fit to the style, dami, wrought, more simple mono, carbon or stainless...
Really like Australian woods and the like, e.g. ringed gidgee, tasmanian blackwood, mallee, brigalow...
While Rosewood is alright to good looking, can be annoying with German custom considering CITES. I nearly got a really great looking piece of Honduran Rosewood which is banned but opted out since I couldn't be sure if it would get throught or if they would confiscate it and fine me.



Bensbites said:


> I have seen redwood burl with chatoyance in it. Stunning!
> I have a bunch of amboyna burl with chantoyance in the eyes.


I had a block of Vavona/Redwood burl which looked promising. Sent it to Radiona Breg for my knife. It looks brighter than I thought it would but also revealed more chatoyance, big fan.





Probably my favourite handle from JJTritz, amboyna, bronze spacer and boxwood, need to take a proper pic of the handle



Some of my wood blocks with some already work in progress


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## Mikeltee (Jun 13, 2021)

Koa for sure. It's such a perfect wood for handles!


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## Michi (Jun 13, 2021)

I'm a sucker for burl wood.


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## DitmasPork (Jun 13, 2021)

Mikeltee said:


> Koa for sure. It's such a perfect wood for handles!


Koa speaks to me in sooo many ways—beautiful, nostalgic, familiar in both look and feel. If I had the money, I’d have more koa handles.


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## NO ChoP! (Jun 13, 2021)

Cocobolo, ironwood, African blackwood, osage orange, Honduran rosewood, ziricote, olivewood and tamarind are some of my favs over the years.


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## Dendrobatez (Jun 13, 2021)

NO ChoP! said:


> Cocobolo, ironwood, African blackwood, osage orange, Honduran rosewood, ziricote, olivewood and tamarind are some of my favs over the years.



I really enjoy the feel of tamarind once cured, it likes to split on me though - only reason it's not my favorite.


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## ampersandcetera (Jun 13, 2021)

I love the look of mango, and I like the feel and grippiness of burnt chestnut.


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## zizirex (Jun 14, 2021)

Desert Ironwood, Cocobolo, Ziritcote, Olive, Gaboon & Makassar Ebony, East Indies Rosewood and Amboyna for the exotic selection.
Walnut, Curly & Spalted Maple, some Oak and Bloodwood for easier to get wood.

Kinda hate Ho wood and Burnt Chesnut, unless it's Octagonal or Heart-shaped, but still too light for my taste. I don't know why people love these handles.


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## M1k3 (Jun 14, 2021)

zizirex said:


> Desert Ironwood, Cocobolo, Ziritcote, Olive, Gaboon & Makassar Ebony, East Indies Rosewood and Amboyna for the exotic selection.
> Walnut, Curly & Spalted Maple, some Oak and Bloodwood for easier to get wood.
> 
> Kinda hate Ho wood and Burnt Chesnut, unless it's Octagonal or Heart-shaped, but still too light for my taste. I don't know why people love these handles.


Because they're light enough while not being overly light? Chestnut that is.


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## Hz_zzzzzz (Jun 14, 2021)

zizirex said:


> Desert Ironwood, Cocobolo, Ziritcote, Olive, Gaboon & Makassar Ebony, East Indies Rosewood and Amboyna for the exotic selection.
> Walnut, Curly & Spalted Maple, some Oak and Bloodwood for easier to get wood.
> 
> Kinda hate Ho wood and Burnt Chesnut, unless it's Octagonal or Heart-shaped, but still too light for my taste. I don't know why people love these handles.



I like forward balanced knives because it feels like the knife is chopping with its own weight, so I like light handles. The dense wood handles usually screw the balance too much. And ho and chestnut are grippy while dense wood could be slippery especially when they are polished. Being slippery might not be a problem until you have oil/fat or blood from fresh meat on your hand.


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## JoBone (Jun 14, 2021)

My wife and daughter tease me because, I spend hour and hours looking at various woods and knife handles. For my personal handle preference, I am non-binary and wood-fluid.

I tend to favor natural oily woods with good figure like rosewoods, walnuts, olive, ironwood and ziricote, combined with a horn.

I also really like highly figured woods like Amboyna, Koa, and rosewood burls.There is something about the look that is amazing and sublime; makes you wonder how did nature produce anything so beautiful.

Exotic woods, strive for CITES certified, reclaimed or old stock woods. I recently visited a dealer that had a stash of Brazilian rosewood that was sitting in his workshop since the 80s. Some exotics coming from Australia and Tasmania (if it’s not domestic for you) are ethically harvested, especially the ones coming from old stumps or rivers. Masur or Karelian birch is well regulated out of Finland, not sure if it’s the same from Russia. Olive wood can be tricky depending on the origins. 


Local woods - I recently started visiting local saw mills when I travel. It’s a great way to see all sorts of woods - the obvious ones like hickory, cherry, maple, walnut, but others like pecan, hackberry, beech, holly, cedars, chittum and cypress. It’s also a great way to talk to experts as most of them will know local woods used for knife handles.


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## zizirex (Jun 14, 2021)

M1k3 said:


> Because they're light enough while not being overly light? Chestnut that is.





Hz_zzzzzz said:


> I like forward balanced knives because it feels like the knife is chopping with its own weight, so I like light handles. The dense wood handles usually screw the balance too much. And ho and chestnut are grippy while dense wood could be slippery especially when they are polished. Being slippery might not be a problem until you have oil/fat or blood from fresh meat on your hand.


Yeah, too light for my taste and I dont really like the texture on on burned chestnut but that’s just me. Ho is very plain Jane and too light for my taste. Since I like handle heavy and Yo Handle make sense that I like heavy and dense wood for my selection. For Slippery, I know some Ebony could be really smooth and slippery (Gaboon Ebony) but my Hinoura is one the best handle that I have and not to slippery (Makassar Ebony)


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## Hz_zzzzzz (Jun 14, 2021)

zizirex said:


> Yeah, too light for my taste and I dont really like the texture on on burned chestnut but that’s just me. Ho is very plain Jane and too light for my taste. Since I like handle heavy and Yo Handle make sense that I like heavy and dense wood for my selection. For Slippery, I know some Ebony could be really smooth and slippery (Gaboon Ebony) but my Hinoura is one the best handle that I have and not to slippery (Makassar Ebony)


Make sense if you like handle heavy and plus those dense woods look good. I also have some dense wood handles that I really like.


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## DitmasPork (Jun 14, 2021)

Here's a handle switch I needed to do.
Reasons—I'm a lefty, and din't like righty d-handles; wanted a special handle for a special knife; the stock ho handle felt a little clunky to me.
Handle materials for new one—koa, reindeer horn.
Handle maker: Graydon Decollibus

Koa is gorgeous, dig the smaller handle dimensions and denser wood.


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## MowgFace (Jun 14, 2021)

Burnt Chestnut is my number 1 for sure. I also really like the Walnut, Ichii, Ho and Enju.


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## jonnachang (Jun 15, 2021)

Right now it’s Bog Oak and Burnt Chestnut.


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## RDalman (Jun 15, 2021)

JoBone said:


> . Masur or Karelian birch is well regulated out of Finland, not sure if it’s the same from Russia..


Masur birch is commercialy grown, pretty much all clones of the best figured types. The "wild" logs are typically not as good figured.


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## KO88 (Jun 15, 2021)

DitmasPork said:


> Here's a handle switch I needed to do.
> Reasons—I'm a lefty, and din't like righty d-handles; wanted a special handle for a special knife; the stock ho handle felt a little clunky to me.
> Handle materials for new one—koa, reindeer horn.
> Handle maker: Graydon Decollibus
> ...




I love this one! Hope you'll not get offended that I'll have something similar with tassie Blackwood...


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## KO88 (Jun 15, 2021)

Ringed Gidgee with sapwood is also very nice...


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## DitmasPork (Jun 15, 2021)

KO88 said:


> I love this one! Hope you'll not get offended that I'll have something similar with tassie Blackwood...


Do it! Tas blackwood a close relative to koa. I went with a short reindeer ferrule and thin back spacer to try to echo the koa pattern.


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## mc2442 (Jun 16, 2021)

I am a sucker for figured burl or spalted woods, just love something with character that is not over the top obnoxious.

For stock handles, burnt chestnut hands down. I dislike ho handles....magnolia is somewhere in the middle.


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## Cener509 (Jun 16, 2021)

All are perfect and unique!! I like all


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## Eloh (Jun 16, 2021)

Walnut is a pretty perfect handle material imo, Arizona Ironwood if its supposed to be a denser material,


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## mc2442 (Jun 17, 2021)

#70
I am a sucker for figured burl or spalted woods, just love something with character that is not over the top obnoxious.


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## Barmoley (Jun 17, 2021)

mc2442 said:


> #70
> I am a sucker for figured burl or spalted woods, just love something with character that is not over the top obnoxious.
> 
> 
> ...


That Rader handle looks awesome, haven't tried one but his handles just look like they would be very comfortable.


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## DitmasPork (Jun 17, 2021)

mc2442 said:


> #70
> I am a sucker for figured burl or spalted woods, just love something with character that is not over the top obnoxious.
> 
> 
> ...


Sexy woods.


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## captaincaed (Jun 18, 2021)

My main thing is grip when wet/greasy.

Ho octagon for grip, classic is classic for a reason.




Octagon chestnut from Carbon is great too, as is Mazaki for grip.
For comfort in a controlled environment, sculpted western, a la Mac.





Ziricote from the 9.nine has pleasantly surprised me.


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## big_adventure (Jun 18, 2021)

mc2442 said:


> I am a sucker for figured burl or spalted woods, just love something with character that is not over the top obnoxious.
> 
> For stock handles, burnt chestnut hands down. I dislike ho handles....magnolia is somewhere in the middle.



Ho and Magnolia are the same thing, just so you know.


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## mc2442 (Jun 18, 2021)

I always viewed magnolia as more refined than other ho wood. Just my experience


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## DitmasPork (Jun 19, 2021)

captaincaed said:


> My main thing is grip when wet/greasy.
> 
> Ho octagon for grip, classic is classic for a reason.
> View attachment 131704
> ...


That the9 is dreamy!


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## captaincaed (Jun 19, 2021)

DitmasPork said:


> That the9 is dreamy!


It’s quite nice if I’m honest. I like it quite a lot more than I expected


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## Mikeadunne (Jun 19, 2021)

Lars said:


> I'm a simple guy. I like HO wood.


The blonde/ho combo is where it’s at


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## cotedupy (Jun 21, 2021)

Both my favourite and my least favourite, but in different ways...


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## KO88 (Jun 26, 2021)

DitmasPork said:


> Do it! Tas blackwood a close relative to koa. I went with a short reindeer ferrule and thin back spacer to try to echo the koa pattern.


Here it is:


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## DitmasPork (Jun 26, 2021)

KO88 said:


> Here it is:
> View attachment 132467
> View attachment 132468
> View attachment 132469


Aw, that's stunning man! Congrats!


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## KO88 (Jun 26, 2021)

DitmasPork said:


> Aw, that's stunning man! Congrats!


It s great job! Stunner! Thanx for inspiration!


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## shinyunggyun (Sep 2, 2022)

Burnt chestnut, shi.han thermory ash, Yucatán rosewood, southeast asian rosewood.

The southeast asian rosewood handle on the migoto Tanaka blue #1 is the best. Looks simple, elegant, and badass while being very comfortable to hold, and smells incredible.


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## bradmacmt (Sep 5, 2022)

Lars said:


> I'm a simple guy. I like HO wood.


Same. It just works.


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## wrussell92 (Sep 5, 2022)

Maybe unpopular opinion but I really like a heavier ebony handle. Especially with a brownish-red caramel horn ferrule. Like this one


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## Xunzi (Sep 6, 2022)

Fairly new to this but so far - oak. Wenge is also nice looking.


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## Keith Sinclair (Sep 10, 2022)

Couple Hawaiian wood collars with African Blackwood. Big Island Hawaiian spalted signature wood. On small Carter. 

Mango wood collar African Blackwood 

At lot of love here for Chestnut, just shows folks with good taste. JMO but really like the chestnut handles Jon putting on knives. little thicker wa shorter in length.


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## jonnachang (Sep 10, 2022)

Ironwood,Gidgee, Grenadille and Burnt Chestnut are fantastic!


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