# The thread for wood addicts



## apicius9

Looks like some of us like nice wood, and others have a full blown wood addiction (aaehh, that would be moi). I thought i open a wood thread to discuss which woods people like - and why. Or show pictures of their favorite wood pieces, be it on a handle, a raw slab or on a piece of furniture. Or talk about their positiv/negative experience working with a specific wood. Very open topic, as you can see. 

You guys can start talking already, I'm on the Ipad and too lazy now, but I will post a few pics and comments when I am back at the PC 

Stefan


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## JohnnyChance

Can a mod rename this the "Make Stefan Feel Better About How Much Wood He Buys" thread?










:razz:

I love highly figured woods, burls, spalted, etc. Natural woods that have nice variety of colors and depth. Crazy colors and dyes also work for me. After years of having boring ass black handles, I like my knives to have some character!


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## apicius9

Hey, what are you, a Psychologist?


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## tk59

I like some figure but some of the pieces I see are just too busy-looking. Colors and dyes work sometimes but they seem to be nicer to my eye in spacers, etc.


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## HHH Knives

Hello, My name is Randy and Im a Burl junky!!!  Iv been known to be sort of a woodchuck! Spending way to much time and money on these beautiful woods! My collection ranges from at least 100 lbs of fully stabilized burl scales and blocks to well over 1000 lbs of natural burl at various stages of dryness.. You could say I have a passion for amazing highly figured BURL!!!! 

Theres so many beautiful wood species to choose from I couldnt really pic a favorite.. So Id say the one Im working on at the time would be my favorite! 

So today my favorite is Willow Burl! Ill attach a photo of the wood finished out on a knife. Its not a kitchen knife.. But it sure is amazing burl!


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## JohnnyChance

Damn that willow burl is nice. Kinda has a Koa effect as well. 

Over 1000lbs? Uh oh Stefan, you may have found the guy that makes you look sane.


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## HHH Knives

Yea, Its similar to Koa depending on which way you cut it.. It can have these awesome rays or cut agents the grain to get a totally different look, the Burly eyes!!  

Funny thing is, Even with all this wood I still am seeking MORE BURL!! :scratchhead:


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## JohnnyChance

Randy is that fifth pin a lanyard hole or is it solid? I noticed you have this on some of your other handles too.


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## HHH Knives

Yes, Its a lanyard tube. I changed my mind, My favorite for today is.. Ironwood BURL!


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## HHH Knives

Double post, SRY..


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## apicius9

Those are two great pieces, Randy. And correct, I feel much better now, I am far away from 1000 pounds of burl hoarded in my shop  But I may match your 100 pounds of stabilized wood  . I wish I had taken better pictures of some of the pieces that went though my hands. I have definitely fallen in love with koa, but I actually like it almost more in its less stripey variations, something like this:





No regular stripes but almost burly with a deep chatoyance / 3-D effect. 

Another one of my favorites is buckeye burl if it comes like this




but it's hard to find in that quality, and often has so many voids that it is no fun to work with. Finally, I would list thuya burl as another favorite, something like this:





This wood does not only look good, it also smells great IMHO. But I just had a few blanks of thuya stabilzed and what came back makes me really concerned. I have to try one out, but at a first glance, it almost looks dead - greyish, dull - and seems to have lost its depth. But I have to polish one up to be sure.

So hard to limit it to 3 varieties. There are so many others, especially local Hawaiian woods that are great. Among the most stunning varieties I have seen is Norfolk pine, very boring wood when freshly cut, but when it is spalted, you can make something like this out of it:






These bowls are often turned with very thin walls, and then they become translucent. Beautiful stuff. I ave actually thought about getting a lathe, just for something like this. But since dont even have the time for what I want to do now, I postponed that into retirement 

Is anybody else here working with wood besides for knife handles, like turning or furniture making?

Stefan


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## HHH Knives

Stephan, Them are some really nice looking work, and woods! 
I have never used thuya burl. It looks amazing.. and reminds me a little of Redwood Burl. 

Oh yea, Just for the record, I didnt say that I had 1000 lbs of burl in the shop.. I have a few piles of burl around the shop too! lol Yea, I probably need a intervention or something.


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## AnxiousCowboy

HHH Knives said:


> 1000 lbs


 
Have any slabs of walnut burl you want to get rid of?

Two things that really get me off are beautiful hardwoods and metals, specifically copper (I also have a thing for leather and linen). I've always had a thing for walnut for some reason... My chef caught me staring into an ancient copper bain marie that has a great patina on it one time and was like "dude, are you stoned?" lol... Where do you guys by slabs? If you check out my adventures in handle and saya construction you'll see the awesome spalted maple slab I picked up off ebay... but if iirc he usually only has myrtlewood slabs.

What kind of things have you guys make with your wood besides handles and sayas? I would love to craft some small things but am a bit blank as far as creativity at the moment... Give me some ideas?


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## Potato42

I just got done splurging on a ridiculous amount of wood. I got quilted maple, spalted quilted maple, Koa blocks, hawaiian mango, milo, buckeye burl blocks, and a bunch of spalted scales mostly hard and soft maple, but also spalted beech. It's gonna cost me even more to have it stabilized than what I spent on the wood...


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## Michael Rader

Great thread. I love woods too and have been woodworking longer than knifemaking. I actually got my start into this field by making wooden scabbards for a local swordmaker. Then got into making the swords themselves. Also, always made bowls and grew up in a house where my grandfather would come over and turn bowls and other wood projects. My mom made a few bowls on the wood lathe too.





So, I glued this one up for my fiance' to turn. 





Some Desert Ironwood.





Some Spalted Maple burl you will be seeing on some future knife handles soon.





And my favorite is Curly Koa.

More bowls coming this Fall/Winter.
-M


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## HHH Knives

Very nice indeed, Im really digging this thread. Like I said. Im a burl junky. and the only thing better then working with some insane burl is looking at some that is already been worked by another artist!


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## mr drinky

I'm afraid to open this thread any more. I wish they had parental controls on this forum to block me from the sexy wood channel.

k.


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## HHH Knives

I cant help myself. I gota post another pic! Here is some insane feather pattern Buckeye burl! I know its not a kitchen knife.  But man is it awesome stuff!








And another Buckeye burl!! 





Thats all for today!  Although I did just find some amazing rosewood burl pics!! lolol Naaaa Ill save for another day!


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## Burl Source

Right now I like Blue.


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## Dave Martell

They came out nice Mark, I like them too, but then again I like all this stuff.


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## Potato42

mr drinky said:


> I'm afraid to open this thread any more. I wish they had parental controls on this forum to block me from the sexy wood channel.
> 
> k.


 
Lol you got that right!


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## steeley

[/IMG]

nice cocobolo from a shop in my area.


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## JohnnyChance

Thats is some cool looking coco! How big are those boards?


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## steeley

[/IMG

would have to call to be sure 1-2 by 60 by 4


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## steeley

[/IMG]

koa slabs


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## steeley

[/IMG]

Tatajuba table they have turning stock also it is a nice place in Carlsbad ,CA.http://www.anexotichardwood.com/newstuff.html


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## El Pescador

I was there yesterday! 

Pesky


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## apicius9

"That's not a table, this is a table!" 

http://www.ancientwood.com/dinner-forty-six


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## DWSmith

I have saw dust in my veins mixed in with a little blood, I'm sure by now I have an equal amount lodged in my lungs as well. I don't deal in the exotic woods staying with hard maple, a species of mahogany, cherry and walnut. But I do have a love for beautiful woods and have saved some curly walnut for a special occasion. Once in a while I see some curly maple appear but it ends up in a board hidden from view. That makes me sad.

BTW When I go to the lumber yard, it isn't that hard to come back with 1000 to 2000 pounds of wood stacked on the trailer.


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## Potato42

steeley said:


> [/IMG]
> 
> nice cocobolo from a shop in my area.


 
*@%&! That is crazy! Did you buy it? I couldn't have left without that wood. I don't have any idea what I'd do with it, but it would be mine!


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## JohnnyChance

Potato42 said:


> *@%&! That is crazy! Did you buy it? I couldn't have left without that wood. I don't have any idea what I'd do with it, but it would be mine!


 
The best looking shelves of all time!!


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## steeley

No not me i would love to have a table or desk from there they have there own mill in Mexico.


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## mc2442

That table is gorgeous. And that cocobolo looks amazing too.


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## steeley

Pesky what did you buy.
these might be a little off topic but 
there is a showing at the museum of art San Diego of Gustav Stickley
http://www.sdmart.org/art/exhibit/gustav-stickley


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## El Pescador

Got some black and white ebony that I'm sending to Del to be stabilized. So much amazing stuff. I might buy a cocobolo board for a saya.


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## apicius9

Let me know how stabilizing that b&w ebony works out. I never know whether to do that or not. I think I remember one piece I saw that then darkened a bit,

Stefan


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## Burl Source

El Pescador said:


> Got some black and white ebony that I'm sending to Del to be stabilized. So much amazing stuff. I might buy a cocobolo board for a saya.


 
I had some b/w ebony stabilized by K&G. It stabilized very well (complete penetration) but it takes on an amber coloring.
How dark varied from piece to piece.


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## Potato42

Is that a horn ferrule? Whatever it is I like it. Interesting how the B&W ebony is coming out so dark like that. Dense as it is I find it does need something to keep it from swelling on my knife handle (since it's not stabilized).


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## Burl Source

Ram's horn and a mokume ferrule.
The ebony did not look as dark when cut and rough sanded. As it was sanded finer it became several shades darker.
Kind of strange and not what I expected, it turned out looking nice, but different.
My experience with the black and white ebony is that it is prone to a lot of movement if not stabilized. Could be just the batch I got?


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## AUSSIE BURLS

Hey I found some cocbolo just like the ones mentioned in a previous post ( well close to it)check it out--Mark
http://anexotichardwoodstore.com/st...4_117&osCsid=1f6179ac4b68f23d1e2d1099e0b2547d and here http://anexotichardwoodstore.com/st...22_81&osCsid=a8d2f7e356c8a20f7f2b5314d7938fe1


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## ecchef

apicius9 said:


> Let me know how stabilizing that b&w ebony works out. I never know whether to do that or not. I think I remember one piece I saw that then darkened a bit,
> 
> Stefan


 
Stefan, ask Dave about unstabilized b&w ebony. He had to re-do mine twice before it settled down. Since I got on island, it went haywire and now I have two banana shaped pieces of wood tenuously attached to the tang of my knife. I'm super pissed...first because the materials werent cheap; second, because I wasted Dave's time; third, because I either have to spend more money on EMS shipping, or wait a month for it to get to the US via USPS. This time I'm going with Butch's my-carta.


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## apicius9

Sorry to hear that, Dave. I have not worked with b&w ebony much, but a local source has some nice pieces that I had been looking at. I may reconsider that... Good luck with the micarta scales, they shouldn't give you any issues. 

Stefan


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## Mike Davis

I would have to say that Box Elder burl, Maple burl and Spalted woods are my favorites.


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## ecchef

apicius9 said:


> Sorry to hear that, Dave. I have not worked with b&w ebony much, but a local source has some nice pieces that I had been looking at. I may reconsider that... Good luck with the micarta scales, they shouldn't give you any issues.
> 
> Stefan


 
Everything else held up just fine. Just the ebony crapped out.


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## AUSSIE BURLS

I really like all the wood specie. I used to only look for the burly,swirly , and popping stuff ( kinda like the picture below). I think most wood gives its own beauty in the context its set in. At the moment, im into spalted maple,pecan, and sycamore. I just love a could spalt. Below - on top- spalted maple, from left to right, - xylay,masur birch,koa, buckeye burl,juniper burl, and the bottom is desert ironwood burl. I have some cherry burl--its bone dry, when i leave it in the sun for a day, the shade of a deep red covers the piece and really exagerates the burl. The problem is- it only covers the top parts, so when you sand it the deep color is lost. If you stabilize it, it does turn a bit deeper.If I ever get around to feeling comfortable with making kitchen knives, I may use the cherry burl as a non stabilized knife box. Then maybe the sun could do its magic- then i can seal it and capture the color. Yes I write too much--Thanks-Mark


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## JohnnyChance

That xylay and juniper are nice! Spalted maple and ironwood are always good, and those look like very nice pieces of koa, masur and buckeye. Good stuff.


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## kalaeb

Mark, those are some good looking blocks, thanks for posting the pics.

I could have sworn I saw some nice looking burl caps on your site this morning, but now they are all gone. (of course I could be crazy too) Do you sell whole caps often?


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## apicius9

Some of last week's loot from Danny here in Honolulu... A few of them are laquered and others are raw. The pieces from Craig are still in the mail... :whistling:

Redwood lace burl, two-tone amboyna






Two-tone amboyna and afzelia burl







Gmelia burl - don't ask, I have no idea, never worked with it... - and a rosewood block with sapwood






Gmelia burl again






Sindora burl







I think I had shown this last one before - part of that stash is out for stabilizing right now and should be back in about 2 weeks 








:jumpy:

Stefan


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## JohnnyChance

That GML003 piece looks really nice! Kinda buckeye-ish.

Any of this going to Dave? I think I want something spalted for my new suji.


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## kalaeb

Ummmm, need me to dry some of that for you? It will be 100 degrees here shortly with very little humidity. :muahaha:


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## apicius9

kalaeb said:


> Ummmm, need me to dry some of that for you? It will be 100 degrees here shortly with very little humidity. :muahaha:


 
Too risky, pieces might just melt away or implode in the heat  Sometimes I get pieces and have to send them out fast for stabilizing before they suck up moisture again in the Hawaiian climate... But if they are cut into blanks and I keep them well ventilated, they are usually fine. 

A few of the current stabilizing stash may go to Dave (including some spalted stuff), also the bigger of the sindora burl pieces above. For the other ones, I have to see how I can cut them up most efficiently, most will be better for wa handles, I assume. I have more to cut up, including some instrument quality madrone burl (wa and yo), quilted and curly maple (quilted only wa, curly for both), a bit more koa, some macademia nut, spalted mango. But this all needs stabilizing, so it won't be ready for use before August. 

Stefan


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## Dave Martell

apicius9 said:


> Some of last week's loot from Danny here in Honolulu... A few of them are laquered and others are raw. The pieces from Craig are still in the mail... :whistling:
> 
> Redwood lace burl, two-tone amboyna
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Two-tone amboyna and afzelia burl
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gmelia burl - don't ask, I have no idea, never worked with it... - and a rosewood block with sapwood
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gmelia burl again
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sindora burl
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think I had shown this last one before - part of that stash is out for stabilizing right now and should be back in about 2 weeks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> :jumpy:
> 
> Stefan


 

Oh crap! I'm seeing some stuff that I'm liking here - very much liking here!


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## HHH Knives

Dave Martell said:


> Oh crap! I'm seeing some stuff that I'm liking here - very much liking here!



Yes sir. There is some amazing burl in this thread!! Makes me want to do a photo shoot of some of the burls in my stash.. But I have so much work to do that Im gona hold off for today!  maybe. lolol gota fight the temptation.. 

I should stop looking at this thread, but I cant.. Im drawn in by the beauty of these awesome pieces of wood!!!!!


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## AUSSIE BURLS

Hello, I juist wanted to add some more pieces. This is a great thread-Thanks-Mark
I cant seem to make the photos smaller , unless they become thumb nails. I purchased a Mac and im still trying to work it...


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## apicius9

So, here is a question about stabilizing: I have this rosewood block that you can see a few pictures above.

Looks like Honduran but supposedly comes from Asia, so I am not 100% what variety it is. I usually don't have rosewoods stabilized because of their oil content. Now, depending on how I cut this, I could have blanks with only or mostly sapwood. Should I have that stabilized or not? Any experiences? I'll also check with Brad at K&G but thought maybe someone has had similar experiences here. 

Stefan


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## HHH Knives

:dazed: Wow, I got to get some of that beautiful Aussie Burls. I havnt tried to much of the wood from Down Under. Wait, I just remebered, I did score some Tasmainian myrtal burl and some Huon pine!! :happy1: Still havnt done much with it.. So much wood, so little time.... .... ... ...

Great thread. Im lovin it..


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## JohnnyChance

apicius9 said:


> So, here is a question about stabilizing: I have this rosewood block that you can see a few pictures above.
> 
> Looks like Honduran but supposedly comes from Asia, so I am not 100% what variety it is. I usually don't have rosewoods stabilized because of their oil content. Now, depending on how I cut this, I could have blanks with only or mostly sapwood. Should I have that stabilized or not? Any experiences? I'll also check with Brad at K&G but thought maybe someone has had similar experiences here.
> 
> Stefan



Honduran rosewood doesn't have to be stabilized? I have a few blocks of that that I was going to try and make some handles with, but it is unstabilized and I thought I would have to have it sent out first. It's a little burly if that matters.


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## Burl Source

I thought these look pretty good.




Somebody else on this forum had them in their personal stash.
I had to trade some of my best ringed gidgee for these.
He has more but he won't sell any (what's up with that?) so I won't mention his name.


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## apicius9

JohnnyChance said:


> Honduran rosewood doesn't have to be stabilized? I have a few blocks of that that I was going to try and make some handles with, but it is unstabilized and I thought I would have to have it sent out first. It's a little burly if that matters.


 
Many of the rosewoods are not only very dense, they are also very oily. Many of them don't get stabilized as a rule - for example, I don't think I have ever seen stabilized cocobolo. Same with African blackwood. Overall, this seems to be similar to a number of woods from the '_dalbergia_' family http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalbergia and I have usually worked with the two I mentioned unstabilized, same with Honduran rosewood (burl) and Madagascar rosewood. Others, like tulip wood and king wood I had stabilized, but honestly did not notice much of a difference after I got them back. There are a few where I am not sure, like East Indian rosewood which seems to be a little less dense than the others, I may send that in and see what happens.

I also heard back from K&G in the meantime. They told me that stabilizing Honduran rosewood should not be a problem since they use different solutions and the thinnest one should penetrate even into the dense cells of that wood. What seems to happen is that the stabilization process or the resin forces the oil out of the wood, and this process can continue for some time. The blanks may 'seep' oil for a few weeks or months after stabilizing and the only thing you can do is wait until they are done.

This is all my interpretation from the bit of experience I have and things I read, so if any wood people know more, please let us know. I would love to hear which woods people stabilize on principle and which they never stabilize.

Stefan

P.S. Nice scales, Mark.


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## Marko Tsourkan

I use ebony and cocobolo (rosewood) unstabilized, even though I have heard that K&G can stabilize even these woods. I use lumber that is kiln dried and well seasoned, and even though a movement will occur, the handle will not shrink drastically or crack. Movement is the characteristic of natural materials, and I leave it at that. If people want stabilized wood, I direct them to burls and highly figured woods that are not tropical hardwoods (oily and dense). 

M


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## apicius9

People are clearly insane out there on ebay. I had an eye on this auction from Danny who is a local guy and I liked the piece:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220809025989&ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT

That went for $225, that's about $350 a board foot :eek2: One of the online sellers has a 8x8x3 board of that stuff on sale for $26.25. O.k., the $$/board foot for a stabilized, selected piece of wood is not much lower, but this is just plain nuts.

Stefan


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## Burl Source

apicius9 said:


> People are clearly insane out there on ebay. I had an eye on this auction from Danny who is a local guy and I liked the piece:
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220809025989&ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT
> 
> That went for $225, that's about $350 a board foot :eek2: One of the online sellers has a 8x8x3 board of that stuff on sale for $26.25. O.k., the $$/board foot for a stabilized, selected piece of wood is not much lower, but this is just plain nuts.
> 
> Stefan


 
People can be funny on ebay.
Some people get all caught up in the competition of the bidding that all of their common sense goes out the window.
I had been wanting to get some of Danny's Afzelia Xylay but the bidders have been going wacko with it as well.
Stefan, you are lucky that you can just drive over to Danny's store and see the wood in person. It looks like you made a good haul on your last visit.


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## Mike Davis

Man there is some sweet stuff here! You guys are making me jealous....I guess i will have to quench my thirst at the two sites offered in this thread...


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## ecchef

I understand that there's a piece of wood from the actual cross that St. Andrew was nailed to coming up in the next few days. Wonder what that will go for.


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## apicius9

Mark, the problem with Danny's auctions is that he thinks the absurd ebay prices should be the basis for selling out the door to locals, he is driving a hard bargain and I am not sure what I will be willing to spend in the future. That said, I went over to check his two tone amboyna but he had most of it in storage until he moves to the bigger shop. He told me he has about 7,000 (seven thousand!) pounds of amboyna and 5 more tons coming in.... I am sure I will find a few good pieces there in the future...

Stefan


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## apicius9

ecchef said:


> I understand that there's a piece of wood from the actual cross that St. Andrew was nailed to coming up in the next few days. Wonder what that will go for.


 
That should be funny, people already pay more for olive wood that supposedly comes from Bethlehem. Personally, I would be more interested in wood from the tub of Diogenes, a plank from the Mayflower, or a board that Michelangelo sat on when he painted a ceiling...

Stefan


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## ecchef

...or a sprig of Acacia from the grave of GMHA.


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## apicius9

ecchef said:


> ...or a sprig of Acacia from the grave of GMHA.



I am more interested in a tiki figure from Elvis' jungle room in Graceland.


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## apicius9

Score!


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## JohnnyChance

Like you needed more wood! What are the light blue-ish wide blocks? And the black blocks above them?


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## Potato42

Top right corner, and the two between the ones labeled 19 in the same group. Those are gonna be some sweet looking handles.


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## apicius9

This is what I just got back from stabilizing, still resin covered and rough, except for the ones on the lower right. The blue blocks are dyed spalted maple and black ash burl from Craig, left to it is the raindrop pattern Honduran rosewood I have used before. I finally talked him out of the rest he had  the blackish ones above the blue blocks are actually a very dark green buckeye burl. There is also some black ash burl, the rest is Hawaiian wood, koa, spalted poinciana, signature, Norfolk pine, and mango. Oh, and five old growth redwood burl blocks. Nice stuff, I hope. - Almost forgot: the ones in the top right corner are also new ones, spalted Tasmanian eucalyptus and sassafras.

Stefan


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## kalaeb

That black ash burl looks great, I would be interested to see what the sassafras looks like when polished. Does the Sassafras smell good?


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## JohnnyChance

apicius9 said:


> This is what I just got back from stabilizing, still resin covered and rough, except for the ones on the lower right. The blue blocks are dyed spalted maple and black ash burl from Craig, left to it is the raindrop pattern Honduran rosewood I have used before. I finally talked him out of the rest he had  the blackish ones above the blue blocks are actually a very dark green buckeye burl. There is also some black ash burl, the rest is Hawaiian wood, koa, spalted poinciana, signature, Norfolk pine, and mango. Oh, and five old growth redwood burl blocks. Nice stuff, I hope. - Almost forgot: the ones in the top right corner are also new ones, spalted Tasmanian eucalyptus and sassafras.
> 
> Stefan



Jesus! Sounds like I need about a dozen new knives so I can get handles for them! How does the blue spalted stuff look? I don't have anything blue or spalted yet...


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## AUSSIE BURLS

apicius9 said:


> People are clearly insane out there on ebay. I had an eye on this auction from Danny who is a local guy and I liked the piece:
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220809025989&ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT
> 
> That went for $225, that's about $350 a board foot :eek2: One of the online sellers has a 8x8x3 board of that stuff on sale for $26.25. O.k., the $$/board foot for a stabilized, selected piece of wood is not much lower, but this is just plain nuts.
> 
> Stefan


 Thats just one example, ive seen some of his stuff sell up to $300. People get crazy on the bay fer sure--Mark


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## HHH Knives

Hello, My name is Randy and Im a BURL JUNKY!!!! 

Now some of you know.. Im part woodchuck and part Beaver. lol I have a large and ever growing pile of burls and exotic woods in my collection.. Been told that I may at some point need a intervention.. :bliss: :happymug: Naaa.... lol Over the years I have stuck "special" sets of stabilized woods aside for the special projects, etc.. and these came from that stash.

Yesterday I was trying to find a set of KILLER knife scales for a project I am starting.. Had to dig deep into my pile to find these. 
After knocking the dust off these, I think any one of these would work. 

I sent these pics to my customer to choose from, for his new kitchen knife. Now that probably wasnt the nicest thing I could of done.. :spiteful: as I know for the next hour or more he drooled uncontrollably and sweated and generally got all worked up trying to decide what set would be best for his knife! lol :thumbsup:


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## Eamon Burke

Good gravy those are cool!


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## geezr

HHH Knives said:


> Yes sir. There is some amazing burl in this thread!! ........
> I should stop looking at this thread, but I cant.. Im drawn in by the beauty of these awesome pieces of wood!!!!!



lus1::coolsign:


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## apicius9

Some of them look like church windows IMHO. Craig Stevens had a blue pair once and I was sure they were done by Chagall...

Stefan


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## apicius9

Talking about Craig - he put up some really nice pieces today. I would be interested in one or two of the larger blocks, depending on where the prices go, but if we all bid against each other, I'd rather pass. I hope it is o.k. To just check if anybody has his eyes on some of his pieces?

Stefan


----------



## riverie

I'm done with craig's wood for a while now, pretty much got what I need for my knives. So you can go ahead Stefan . He has a fancy wood collection even though the price is very high. I saw some scales sold for $80, that's crazy.......


----------



## JohnnyChance

apicius9 said:


> Talking about Craig - he put up some really nice pieces today. I would be interested in one or two of the larger blocks, depending on where the prices go, but if we all bid against each other, I'd rather pass. I hope it is o.k. To just check if anybody has his eyes on some of his pieces?
> 
> Stefan


 
I am bidding on the purple piece of black ash burl with yellow eyes and the smallish block of diamond willow burl. I also put a low ball on the big piece of teal black ash burl. Feel free to bid on that one, I won't be re-bidding, it just seemed like a shame it had zero bids, haha. I won 1 item from him last week and would like to win one more this week to combine on shipping. That's just good fiscal sense! But I fully expect to get outbid on that one. He also has some mammoth tooth/fossil scales this week.


----------



## apicius9

Ahh, I looked agan and I am just going to pass. I recently bought some local stuff and will see what the sellers here come up with - and it's not that I _need_ any more wood right now... BTW, a while back I saw one set of Craig's scales go for $246 - insanity! Just like this one last week http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280711811736&ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT

Stefan


----------



## Burl Source

I have to admit I am a hard core wood junky.
Had to sacrifice a virgin to the volcano gods to get this stuff.


----------



## SpikeC

Butt it's crooked!!


----------



## Mike Davis

SpikeC said:


> Butt it's crooked!!


 
I happen to love your crooked wood Mark! That stuff is AMAZING!


----------



## jmforge

The Goddess Pele thanks you as do we.


Burl Source said:


> I have to admit I am a hard core wood junky.
> Had to sacrifice a virgin to the volcano gods to get this stuff.


----------



## apicius9

You know that Pele curses everyone who removes lava stone from the island, right? I have to look again, but that may also be true for removing koa 

Stefan


----------



## Mike Davis

apicius9 said:


> You know that Pele curses everyone who removes lava stone from the island, right? I have to look again, but that may also be true for removing koa
> 
> Stefan


 
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!


----------



## Burl Source

apicius9 said:


> You know that Pele curses everyone who removes lava stone from the island, right? I have to look again, but that may also be true for removing koa Stefan


 
Not if you buy it from a Native Hawaiian. Then it's good luck.

The way the Pele Curse works is not bad luck for removing a lava stone from the islands as most think.
The curse is for being such a cheap f...er that instead of buying something and supporting the local economy, they stole a rock instead.

Now back to the wood.
Pheasant Wood from where Stefan lives.


----------



## Burl Source

These are on their way to Belgium.
He wanted me to pick some good Koa. 
I hope he likes them.


----------



## so_sleepy

Do blocks like that ever make it to the website? Got any more?


----------



## Mike Davis

Nice stuff Mark!


----------



## Burl Source

I don't think there is any such thing as too much Koa.
These are being mailed to me from Hawaii.


----------



## HHH Knives

Awesome! I love curly Koa.


----------



## apicius9

That's not right. Just leave some of the good stuff for me, will'ya? 

Stefan


----------



## mr drinky

Seriously guys. This thread is killing me. I said way way up in the thread that I am afraid to open it -- and this is still the case. Pornography is easier to click out of. 

Hate comes in many variations, and in this forum 'love hate' is the most common 

k.


----------



## HHH Knives

I just got a package from Hawaii :EDance2: This stuff has some SICK curl!! super tight. 








http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1533&d=1314644577[IMG] 

[ATTACH=full]1530[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=full]1532[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=full]1533[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=full]1534[/ATTACH]


----------



## apicius9

&%^$%#&$ :eek2:&*&*& :slaphead: Y&%^$%^$:sad0:&*(**bat::spiteful::censored::rant:


----------



## Rottman

Is this wood envy, again?


----------



## apicius9

yep. I just ordered some from Mark because I ran out of striped curly koa of all things.... I keep telling myself that I like the irregular figuring better, but I still get envy when I see these here. :O

Stefan


----------



## Burl Source

Beautiful Koa!


----------



## HHH Knives

You guys can imagine my JOY when I opened this box O wood!  You know how it is when your buying woods from some sellers. All I got was a out of focus cell phone picture of the wood and had to cover one eye and sorta squint and set back from the computer monitor and try and decide if the stuff has the right look. lol Im glad I took the chance on this batch! Its way nicer then I had hoped! And to top it all off, I got even more awesome stabilized Koa from Mark in the mail today! SCORE!!!!


----------



## JohnnyChance

apicius9 said:


> yep. I just ordered some from Mark because I ran out of striped curly koa of all things.... I keep telling myself that I like the irregular figuring better, but I still get envy when I see these here. :O
> 
> Stefan


 
So you live in Hawaii, the Koa grows in Hawaii, Mark buys it and gets it shipped to him from Hawaii, then you buy it from him and ship it back to Hawaii?


----------



## apicius9

JohnnyChance said:


> So you live in Hawaii, the Koa grows in Hawaii, Mark buys it and gets it shipped to him from Hawaii, then you buy it from him and ship it back to Hawaii?


 
You almost got it, but you forgot that Mark first ships it to Arizona for stabilizing, they ship it back to him, and then I order it... That's what I mean by an eco-friendly approach and using mostly local woods for my projects :angel2: Well, that was an exception because I needed a good piece quickly.

Stefan


----------



## Mike Davis

Damn Randy.....might have to sweet talk you out of a chunk of that when i come up.....that is some super sexy stuff....you all are making me jealous...lol:drool:


----------



## JohnnyChance

Spalted Hackberry.

From Craig:





To Dave:










The handle came out amazing. I don't know what Craig does to stabilize his stuff, but the handle feels like natural wood, not plastic-y at all. Very warm, you can still feel the grain texture.

Oh and I got two more pieces of wood from Craig today:





 Spalted Golden Marcian Masur Birch Burl and Diamond Willow Burl. Now I just gotta find knives to put them on!


----------



## HHH Knives

Mike Davis said:


> Damn Randy.....might have to sweet talk you out of a chunk of that when i come up.....that is some super sexy stuff....you all are making me jealous...lol:drool:




Looking forward to the visit. Man this is gona be fun. 
Yea, I may be persuaded to part with some of this Koa..


----------



## HHH Knives

Man Johnny, That hackberry looks awesome! Nice job! So your the one who snagged that chunk of diamond willow! Nice block! You know, I can help you with a blades for the others, Just send them my way and Ill take good care of them!


----------



## Dave Martell

JohnnyChance said:


> Oh and I got two more pieces of wood from Craig today:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spalted Golden Marcian Masur Birch Burl and Diamond Willow Burl. Now I just gotta find knives to put them on!




Yup....you're addicted!


----------



## HHH Knives

What he said! lus1:


----------



## Mike Davis

Now i see why i can never win an auction on ebay......You guys are WOOD WHORES!!! lol


----------



## JohnnyChance

Hey, I can't help myself. Addiction is a disease. Also, I have lost more Craig Stevens auctions than I have won.


----------



## HHH Knives

I have never lost one that I really wanted to win! :viking: 

Yea Im a wood Junky and I know it!! :happy2: Iv been told I may need a intervention.. by my wood supplier.. you know you might have a problem when..... lololol 

To Funny!


----------



## Mike Davis

I have lost ALL the Craig auctions i have bid on....people snipe my bid at the last second....I blame you Johnny! hahahahaha ok maybe Randy a little too....


----------



## Burl Source

I like blue





This was an experiment I didn't remember doing. I might have just put it in the wrong box. Turned out ok though. The wood Is Oregon Ash.


----------



## kalaeb

I have always been a sucker for blue too!


----------



## Josh

I like blue and green too... let me know if you have more experiments you'd like to part with!!


----------



## mhenry

Burl Source said:


> I like blue
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This was an experiment I didn't remember doing. I might have just put it in the wrong box. Turned out ok though. The wood Is Oregon Ash.



Wow!!! Is it available??


----------



## Dave Martell

This thread should not have items available for sale shown.


----------



## Burl Source

Dave Martell said:


> This thread should not have items available for sale shown.


 
Sorry Dave.
This block is not for sale. I am keeping it for myself.


----------



## Dave Martell

Hi Mark, my comment wasn't directed specifically at you, it's just a note to keep things on track is all. 

No worries here.

Dave


----------



## rmbonham

Might you know where I could get a hold of some of that extremely rare willow burl? Also looking for Osage orange burl...


----------



## rmbonham

I am in search of burls that are the rarest of rares. The top of it's class. the one of a kind odd balls . If You have any that fit in to any of these categories that you are looking to part with let me know. Especially trying to get a hold of diamond willow burl and osage orange burl, if you know where I can obtain these let me know.


----------



## JohnnyChance

Osage orange burl I have not seen, but I got the diamond willow burl from Craig Stevens.

http://myworld.ebay.com/craigstevensstudio/&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2754


----------



## jmforge

I just can't bring myself to use blue wood, but with that said, that is one wild looking block!!


Burl Source said:


> I like blue
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This was an experiment I didn't remember doing. I might have just put it in the wrong box. Turned out ok though. The wood Is Oregon Ash.


----------



## rmbonham

Thank You, i do know that craig has some, but when i say some I mean he has two left. which means they are going to fetch a large pay day. Was hopping to find another supply. I do love his wood though. I purchase about one a week. I am also looking for oosik. if you know of any good sources give me a shout.


----------



## sachem allison

rmbonham said:


> Thank You, i do know that craig has some, but when i say some I mean he has two left. which means they are going to fetch a large pay day. Was hopping to find another supply. I do love his wood though. I purchase about one a week. I am also looking for oosik. if you know of any good sources give me a shout.



try MilesofAlaska.net 
He has everything you can imagine. oosik,mammoth, walrus, whale you name it.


----------



## rmbonham

love miles! He only has one piece of oosik right now and it has had blue filler put in it to stabilize it. Not a big fan of phomineralization. I am happily awaiting a piece of musk ox boss from him.


----------



## HHH Knives

Miles has got a little of everything! Hes a great source for the rare and hard to find handle materials.. But I havnt seen him sell much wood that got me all excited!! :jumpy:

Here on the other hand is some Ironwood burl I am pretty happy about! Im getting ready to use on a set of kitchen knives! Man I love Ironwood Burl! The stuff is amazing looking..


----------



## HHH Knives

I do pride myself on having some of the finest and most beautiful selection of burl woods on the planet in my stash.. 
Yea, I know that is a BIG BOLD statement, but its the truth. I spend alot of time, countless hours searching the globe (VIA the internet) to be able to make such a statement. 

This time, these found me!!! lololol My good friend and mentor pointed these out for me and I SNAGGED em! I only wish the seller had more, I would of been happy to buy 10 sets of this exceptional burl! 

YEAH, I may need a intervention.. lol But dont you guys dare call them!! :rasberry:

These are truly extraordinary Cocobolo BURL!


----------



## SpikeC

Holey guacamole!


----------



## apicius9

Oh man, I always keep an eye open for that burl but it is extremely rare. Great find!

Stefan


----------



## HHH Knives

apicius9 said:


> Oh man, I always keep an eye open for that burl but it is extremely rare. Great find!
> 
> Stefan


 
Thanks Stefan, I have only found or seen Cocobolo this amazing one other time.. And although it was awesome. These are in a league of there own.  Cant wait till they arrive! It will be like Christmas for me!


----------



## Eamon Burke

:wow:


----------



## sachem allison

HHH Knives said:


> Miles has got a little of everything! Hes a great source for the rare and hard to find handle materials.. But I havnt seen him sell much wood that got me all excited!! :jumpy:
> 
> Here on the other hand is some Ironwood burl I am pretty happy about! Im getting ready to use on a set of kitchen knives! Man I love Ironwood Burl! The stuff is amazing looking..



Happy jig!


----------



## mc2442

Beautiful!!!

And love the wow sign holding smiley, reminds me of Dispicable me minons for some reason.


----------



## HHH Knives

I love the smell of Ironwood in the morning!


----------



## apicius9

Here is a cool new item. Only 10,000 Euros. Amboyna burl body.


----------



## apicius9

Another try - I get data base errors...

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1110/11101210sigmasd1wood.asp


----------



## Mike

apicius9 said:


> Another try - I get data base errors...
> 
> http://www.dpreview.com/news/1110/11101210sigmasd1wood.asp



Now that is just indulgent. I'm sure I'd buy it if I had half the chance though. As far as wood goes, you know you're in a bad place when you start buying the whole d@mn burl and rationalize having more space taken up wood than tools. At my worst there was close to 3,000 lbs of raw burls in my shop. Man, it sure does feel nice to know there is a support group type gathering here. hahaha


----------



## Eamon Burke

I was in Central Market today and saw this.  You guys all need this, especially Stefan, Marko and Randy.  Think of what it will add to your romantic encounters!






Not sure what "burl wood" smells like, but I am sure that you guys do.


----------



## HHH Knives

Eamon, that is awesome. 

OK so I took a few pics today for a customer. and well. I gota share this BURL!!

Stabilized Walnut burl





Stabilized Birch Burl





Stabilized Buckeye burl






Last but not least, Died and stabilized Spalted Birch burl. 





Poor guy has to try and choose!! LMOA!! :spin chair:


----------



## HHH Knives

A few more pics..  Yea, Im a Junky! :coffeelots:


----------



## Burl Source

johndoughy said:


> Not sure what "burl wood" smells like, but I am sure that you guys do.



Hope it doesn't smell like Black Oak Burl. That smells like a porta-poddie on the last day of the fair.


----------



## JohnnyChance

Damn that dyed spalted birch burl is awesome.





What is the bottom block you are holding there in your grubby mitts?


----------



## Mike

Burl Source said:


> Hope it doesn't smell like Black Oak Burl. That smells like a porta-poddie on the last day of the fair.


 
That's pretty bad. And here I thought that Black Locust Burl was bad with its trench-foot smell.


----------



## Mike Davis

I have a bunch of Honey Locust Burl and it doesn't smell too bad. It sure isn't like perfume or anything, but overall, it isn't bad. I have to go out and snap some pics


----------



## HHH Knives

JohnnyChance said:


> Damn that dyed spalted birch burl is awesome.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What is the bottom block you are holding there in your grubby mitts?



There both buckeye burl.


----------



## DwarvenChef

Your all killing me /ack /sputter /choke...

Got to get that kid to get pics...

Ironwood in just about any cut is my weakness. I'm even growing some ironwood sapplings... ya I'm in trouble... I blame Stephan for selling me that handle (snicker)


----------



## HHH Knives

Hers one I been waiting to use. It came to me straight from Tasmania. :wow: :cool2: 

Its Myrtle burl.. The pic dont really do it justice. and now that its slabbed up and has been drying. Its almost ready to cut up.. Has anyone ever used Myrtle? It looks to me like it would take stabilization well.


----------



## SpikeC

Is this the same myrtle that grows in Oregon?


----------



## apicius9

I have a few spalted myrtle pieces, but no burl - this one looks great, as do the buckeye pieces above. I need more of that stuff..

Stefan


----------



## HHH Knives

Just did some quick Google searching and found them to be different. Both are beautiful and grow burls. And Curls, and can be highly figured!! 

Heres what I found.

Oregon Myrtle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbellularia 
Tasmania Myrtle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothofagus_cunninghamii


----------



## SpikeC

Very interesting! I figured they had to be different, and I see that the Tasmanian isn't actually a myrtle. I turned a bowl out of Oregon Myrtle and it is quite hard, it also tends to move after shaping.


----------



## JohnnyChance

That is some cool lookin stuff Randy.


----------



## Mike Davis

Thought i would share a little


----------



## HHH Knives

Mike Davis said:


> I have a bunch of Honey Locust Burl and it doesn't smell too bad. It sure isn't like perfume or anything, but overall, it isn't bad. I have to go out and snap some pics


 
Mike, Is that the same stuff I just got from ya? I havent cut into the block you gave me yet... But it sure looks nice, ever rough cut.  Some woods just STINKS! where others smell so nice like spice bread or well.... something pleasant! 

I may be one of the only one, but I have always loved the smell of the rosewood family. Its such a rich and awesome species. Just sayin I love the smell of Rosewood in the morning!! :coffeelots: loolol


----------



## HHH Knives

SpikeC said:


> Very interesting! I figured they had to be different, and I see that the Tasmanian isn't actually a myrtle. I turned a bowl out of Oregon Myrtle and it is quite hard, it also tends to move after shaping.




Nice, wheres the pics Spike? My buddy sent me a pic of a bowl he made from Rosewood And heres one I made from a Box elder burl!


----------



## Mike Davis

I love Box Elder Burl....Hate to see it wasted on bowls....Sheesh  Seriously, those are nice!
No that is a piece of redwood i picked up in Ashokan.


----------



## Burl Source

HHH Knives said:


> Has anyone ever used Myrtle? It looks to me like it would take stabilization well.



I had some Rose Myrtle stabilized by K&G a while back. Turned out real good. Good weight gain and enhanced the figure.
I didn't care for the wood (pink) but apparently others liked it because it all sold within a couple days.

The Tasmanian Myrtle looks very similar to the AU Rose Myrtle. My only concern would to make sure it is dry enough before sending it in for stabilizing.


----------



## HHH Knives

Mark, I have cut it into long blocks. and have been drying it slowly for about 6 months. It was dry when I got it. and had been cut for 4 years. But I still wanted to make sure it had found its happy place B4 I cut it further.. This is more red then pink. And the grain is CRAZY good throughout. Thanks for the advice.


----------



## Mike Davis

Got these sweet babies from Randy!


----------



## HHH Knives

:whistling:
Mike, That looks like some top notch stuff right there!


----------



## HHH Knives

OK, with Mark away at a show. I figured it was my duty to post a few wood pics!! 

Its no substitute for that awesome stabilized stuff he offers, but its gona have to hold us over till his return! 

Cocobolo stash! 












Cocobolo like this is very rare. Its as beautiful of a wood as you will ever see on a knife, even rivals the finest Ironwood in my opinion... Just amazingly beautiful stuff.


----------



## Mike

Mr. Haas, I'm not sure if there is anything to back my opinion, but I do recall hearing that Cocobolo Burl is the RAREST of all burls. I'm sure Stefan can speak to how difficult it is to find, let alone find in the quality you're posted. I spent two years looking for some good blocks and payed out the nose for a handful that nowhere close to yours. Kudos on your find.


----------



## apicius9

If I hadn't seen pictures of cocobolo burl, I would declare it a myth. Never found any for sale or came too late. Nice stash!

Stefan


----------



## rmbonham

starting to shake! must buy more wood!


----------



## Mike Davis

Randy...coming over with an envelope...it has money...just turn your head.....Nothing to see here...move along....


----------



## Mike

apicius9 said:


> If I hadn't seen pictures of cocobolo burl, I would declare it a myth. Never found any for sale or came too late. Nice stash!
> 
> Stefan



If it was an issue of being late, it was probably me outbidding/ or scooping you. hahaha, probably not, but I am glad that Mr. Haas has an "in" with the cocobolo burl gods. Though, my wallet may never be the same.


----------



## HHH Knives

apicius9 said:


> If I hadn't seen pictures of cocobolo burl, I would declare it a myth. Never found any for sale or came too late. Nice stash!
> 
> Stefan



Mike, I guess this pretty much confirms it!!  

LOL, I am feeling pretty lucky to have found these and secure such a stash of this awesome stuff!


----------



## HHH Knives

Mike Davis said:


> Randy...coming over with an envelope...it has money...just turn your head.....Nothing to see here...move along....



LMAO We may be able to work something out, Call me Mike. Ill be around all day.


----------



## HHH Knives

Hello, Its me again, Your local wood chuck Randy!! lol I finished up a knife this week.. And wanted to show you all the wood on it.. It was some stabilized curly maple. I am always amazed by this wood. and often think, WOW, why dont I use this more often,. Its got alot of cool stuff going for it.. There is curl and movement and depth to the figure. The grain and fire in some pieces of this stuff is almost a 3-D effect that ya cant help but turn it in your hands looking at it going WOW!!  Its as sweet as the finest Koa out there, just lighter in color. Also the stuff is so easy to finish.. compared to some of the woods we use!! It was such a pleasure to not have to fill and sand and refill and and..and..and you see where Im going.. This piece was machined finished to 400g, then hand sanded to 800g then lightly buffed with some white compound.. And BLAM! its alive! 

One thing I dont really like about it.. Like Koa and most curly woods, you just cant get a good licture that really shows how amazing it truly is when Its in your hands! 

Anyways, I figured you guys may enjoy the pics. 

God Bless


----------



## HHH Knives

Iv been on a buckeye burl kick this week!  :spin chair:


----------



## rmbonham

Hey guy's and gal's. I don't mean to be an enabler, however I feel it my civil duty to make sure everyone has at least glanced at the ironwood porn on burl source website. it is on sale til tomorrow. I already got mine or else i would have kept it my lil secret til i decided what i wanted lol. sorry it's not me it's the disease of addiction lol...


----------



## HHH Knives

Its BURL PORN !!!  

Darn you, I just cant seem to stay off his sight lately!! I did snag a couple of Blocks of maple that arrived today! and let me tell ya, they SWEET! If ya have not seen the 3=d maple burl blocks he has yet. Its worth a look, There also on sale right now!!


----------



## HHH Knives

Remember that large block of killer walnut burl I added pics of not to long ago? Well heres the first knife from that block! Its some SICK burl!!! :eek2:


----------



## rmbonham

That is some sick walnut! I agree that the maple is crazy good. I got one of the spalted Oregon maple blocks. I have never seen anything like it. Not sure it is going on a knife. might just keep it on my mantle.


----------



## SpikeC

Hey Randy, didn't you hear? Walnut is not in style now!


----------



## Mike Davis

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!


----------



## mr drinky

SpikeC said:


> Hey Randy, didn't you hear? Walnut is not in style now!



Good one, Spike. 

k.


----------



## HHH Knives

I missed the memo!  


NEWS FLASH!! Have ya heard?!?!? 

COCOBOLO Is where its at!!


----------



## El Pescador

got mark to send this block to Devin for my 52100 sujihiki with mokume ferrell.


----------



## Mike Davis

Nice Pesky!!! Big spending, but super nice stuff!


----------



## Mike Davis

I am finally setting up to make a set for me. I am doing 240 gyuto, 330 suji(Thanks Butch!) and a 270 yanagi and am using this block for all 3. I am going to use african blackwood for the ferrules, but it is big enough to get all 3 handles from it i think


----------



## El Pescador

Mike Davis said:


> I am finally setting up to make a set for me. I am doing 240 gyuto, 330 suji(Thanks Butch!) and a 270 yanagi and am using this block for all 3. I am going to use african blackwood for the ferrules, but it is big enough to get all 3 handles from it i think


 
What is it?


----------



## Mike Davis

Maple. Has everything I love about maple in one block.


----------



## HHH Knives

Thats a cool piece Mike!! Its got curl and fire and burl and spalty and probably a few other things I forgot to mention.. NICE!!!


----------



## rmbonham

I went flipping threw the pages of this thread ( can't help it if i am not buying it i am looking at it lol). I would have to say out of the pics randy's willow burl is my fav. which pic would all of you choose as your fav?


----------



## Eamon Burke

Mike Davis said:


>


 :notworthy:




You ARE going to have that stabilized, right? I mean, I'd :cry: if the spalting cracked on you. That piece is magical.


----------



## Burl Source

johndoughy said:


> :notworthy:
> You ARE going to have that stabilized, right? I mean, I'd :cry: if the spalting cracked on you. That piece is magical.



It has already been stabilized by K&G. I called it half rotten, half wrinkled maple burl.
Was one of the most unusual pieces I have cut.


----------



## Mike Davis

Burl Source said:


> It has already been stabilized by K&G. I called it half rotten, half wrinkled maple burl.
> Was one of the most unusual pieces I have cut.


 
It is by far my favorite piece....I almost don't want to use it lol. But...At least this one will stay at home with me  Thanks Mark, for such amazing wood!


----------



## Don Nguyen

Reminds me of this photo a long time ago. Fireworks. Lightning. Shooting star.






Honestly, it's pretty dang beautiful. I REALLY want to see the end product.


----------



## Mike Davis

Here is another sweet piece from our local wood pusher.





Crappy cell phone pic....sorry


----------



## Eamon Burke

:drool:


----------



## HHH Knives

El Pescador said:


> got mark to send this block to Devin for my 52100 sujihiki with mokume ferrell.



Thats gona make a beautiful knife. cant wait to see this one!!  

Mike, Thats a Golden Nugget! Is it really that light in color?


----------



## Mike Davis

> Mike, Thats a Golden Nugget! Is it really that light in color?


Yes! Actually it has a beautiful golden sheen...And it looks a mile deep  Cant wait to cut into this little beauty


----------



## Shepherd

can I play?


----------



## Mike Davis

Ugh...that spalted koa is sexy stuff....saw it in person...


----------



## Hattorichop

Here Is a piece of olive wood I just picked up.

I did some research on this wood after I bought it and I read that when olive wood is in contact with metal it can make the metal rust overnight.
Has anyone here worked with olive wood before? I have seen Murray Carter use it on knives before.


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## Hattorichop

Here's the photo,


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## HHH Knives

Feeling a little BLUE?!?! 

Yesterday a customer requested some blue burl scales. Now hes got to try and pick one set for his knife. lol hehehe!!  Tough choice!


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## apicius9

These scales look great. A while ago I was looking at a few blue scales that Craig Stevens was offering, and I swear they looked like a church window by Chagall. Beautiful stuff.

Stefan


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## bcrano

I've not used olive in a knife making context but just to work with in other contexts. It's really great. Takes a great shine, soft enough to not give you much trouble. I think it's really beautiful. One thing I will say, it did hurt the lungs. Can't be sure it was just the olive, cause I was doing a few pieces at a time, but I'd take precautions anyway.


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## Hattorichop

bcrano said:


> I've not used olive in a knife making context but just to work with in other contexts. It's really great. Takes a great shine, soft enough to not give you much trouble. I think it's really beautiful. One thing I will say, it did hurt the lungs. Can't be sure it was just the olive, cause I was doing a few pieces at a time, but I'd take precautions anyway.



Thanks for the tip! Precautions will be taken.

Also, out of all of those blue coloured scales the second from the left is my fav!


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## HHH Knives

I have used Olive for a knife handle and so far, There has not been any issue with rusting.. etc. Its quite beautiful!! Hers a pic. of the knife..


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## HHH Knives

apicius9 said:


> These scales look great. A while ago I was looking at a few blue scales that Craig Stevens was offering, and I swear they looked like a church window by Chagall. Beautiful stuff.
> 
> Stefan



I know exactly what you mean, Craig's woods are second to none!  Its Craig's fault I am a BURL JUNKY!! lol Not really, but his woods and weekly auctions feed my addiction!! 

Thanks Craig!


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## JohnnyChance

HHH Knives said:


> Feeling a little BLUE?!?!
> 
> Yesterday a customer requested some blue burl scales. Now hes got to try and pick one set for his knife. lol hehehe!!  Tough choice!



#5 please...wait, #2, no I meant #3!! Argggg.


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## Andrew H

apicius9 said:


> These scales look great. A while ago I was looking at a few blue scales that Craig Stevens was offering, and I swear they looked like a church window by Chagall. Beautiful stuff.
> 
> Stefan



And cost just as much.


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## JohnnyChance

apicius9 said:


> These scales look great. A while ago I was looking at a few blue scales that Craig Stevens was offering, and I swear they looked like a church window by Chagall. Beautiful stuff.
> 
> Stefan





Andrew H said:


> And cost just as much.



I believe all of my Craig blocks have been made into handles, are currently being made into handles, or have been designated for knives on the way. Guess it's time to restock!


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## kalaeb

I really need to start paying attention to his auctions. Nice pieces!


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## JohnnyChance

kalaeb said:


> I really need to start paying attention to his auctions. Nice pieces!



Grab some of his spalted hackberry or golden marcian birch burl. Nice stuff, usually doesn't get crazy expensive.


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## HHH Knives

Look what the mail man brought me!!  2 slabs of ironwood burl! Its like Christmas!!! These were covered with about 1/8 inch of wax when they arrived. Took the better part aof the afternoon to get them cleaned up and sanded so I could really see what I had. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed!! :thumbsup:

First pic has a marker for size reference.


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## Mike Davis

Randy...you suck lol....we need to do some trading.


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## bcrano

How does everyone feel about dyed wood on custom knives? Always? Never? Case by case? 
I have a knife on the way I'm scouting for with a copper bolster, what do you think would pair nicely? I'm thinking willow, rosewood or birch burl...?


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## WildBoar

bcrano said:


> How does everyone feel about dyed wood on custom knives? Always? Never? Case by case?


There have been a lot of dyed wood handles lately. Check our Dave M's threads on Hiro group buys, as there are a lot of examples.


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## HHH Knives

bcrano said:


> How does everyone feel about dyed wood on custom knives? Always? Never? Case by case?



YES.. all of the above!!


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## apicius9

bcrano said:


> How does everyone feel about dyed wood on custom knives? Always? Never? Case by case?
> I have a knife on the way I'm scouting for with a copper bolster, what do you think would pair nicely? I'm thinking willow, rosewood or birch burl...?



As long as it isn't green... Pairing wit copper? Depends on whether you want more tone-in-tone or contrast. I like a nice blue burl as a contrast with copper.

Stefan


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## JohnnyChance

apicius9 said:


> As long as it isn't green... Pairing wit copper? Depends on whether you want more tone-in-tone or contrast. I like a nice blue burl as a contrast with copper.
> 
> Stefan



Green can work with copper. Purple also works nicely. I don't like red spacers or really red woods with copper (which has been a popular combo lately).


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## bcrano

yeah there is a green handled Itou that I nearly had Dave copperize. Went Abalone instead. Wanted to be a little more subtle... :lol2:


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## HHH Knives

Heres a couple pieces I think you might like! lol  :wink:

I was going through cutting and sanding some cocobolo and rosewood from my stash the other day, and took some photos!  This way when a customer requests photos of wood choices I have a record already on hand to show them some choices.. 

Man this stuff is PRETTY. Maybe one day I will use a couple pieces of this stuff on a knife, till then I will just admire it and enjoy looking at the pieces!


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## Andrew H

The fourth set of scales is soooo cool. :ubersexy:


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## kalaeb

Wow Randy, just when I think you have exhausted you wood pics you drop in a bunch more. Great looking sets.


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## HHH Knives

Kalaeb, You haven't seen the half of it! lol. 

Andrew, That is a sexy set of coco burl!  good eye!


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## Mike Davis

I have to do this....I had a friend stop by earlier today...I need to do some cutting. What we have here is Maple burl and Willow burl...Guess i need to get some stabilizing done


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## HHH Knives

Thats NICE!!! Congrats brotha! Looks like your gona have some fine woods for your knives..


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## Mike Davis

Don't worry, I'll share


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## HHH Knives

SWEET!


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## Johnny.B.Good

Andrew H said:


> The fourth set of scales is soooo cool. :ubersexy:



My eyes went straight to the same set. Amazing.


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## bcrano

Mike Davis said:


> I have to do this....I had a friend stop by earlier today...I need to do some cutting. What we have here is Maple burl and Willow burl...Guess i need to get some stabilizing done



If you can spare a piece of the willow when it's stabilized, let me know...


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## apicius9

Quality over quantity!


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## Mike Davis

Stefan, showoff... I will post a few pics tomorrow of the willow. Super weird stuff...Love it...crazy colors.


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## Mike Davis

Curiosity got the best of me...had to run outside and cut a small burl to see...wow this is some cool stuff!!! Willow Burl


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## HHH Knives

beautiful stuff!!!


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## apicius9

HHH Knives said:


> beautiful stuff!!!



+1!


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## JohnnyChance

Wow, nice stuff, the both of you. Bcrano is salivating over that willow. Is that Hawaiian signature Stefan?


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## apicius9

JohnnyChance said:


> Is that Hawaiian signature Stefan?



Yep. That seems harder and harder to get, at least getting the guy to leave it in slabs or cut it in the size I need gets trickier. He can sell them pretty quickly as pen blanks but that is way too small for me. I keep bugging him every other week, giving him an 'Are we there, yet?' to see if he has a new log that is spalted enough. These take about 2 years or more to spalt to that level, so there is very limited supply. And then add the time for drying and stabilizing...

Stefan


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## Mike Davis

Got this cut up also...These pieces are about 1.5 inches thick(Got 5 of them) and am getting a box together to send out for stabilizing. Figured i would share, this is Box Elder


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## HHH Knives

Thats some nice looking spalted wood Mike! :thumbsup:

Look what Santa, I mean the post man brought me today!!  Its a 30+ inch X 18" X 2+" slab of IRONWOOD BURL!!! :happy1: Should get us some great looking blocks and scales from this slab!


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## apicius9

I have to have a word with my post man, he never brings me things like that.

Stefan


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## Eamon Burke

[video=youtube;u2ALsvU50wQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ALsvU50wQ[/video]


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## jmforge

Wow!!!! Iron wood like that is one of the few woods where nobody is going to complain about getting stuck with sapwood!!!!! That is a cool lookin' chunk 'o lumber!!!


HHH Knives said:


> Thats some nice looking spalted wood Mike! :thumbsup:
> 
> Look what Santa, I mean the post man brought me today!!  Its a 30+ inch X 18" X 2+" slab of IRONWOOD BURL!!! :happy1: Should get us some great looking blocks and scales from this slab!


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## HHH Knives

jm, Here are a few blocks from this slab.


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## kalaeb

Randy...your killing me, those are spectaclar! Congrats on that find.


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## Mike Davis

Randy...I want #'s 3 and 4...Let me know what i need to do to get them...and i might take another also...

Mike

Edit: might want #5 also....ugh...some of my favorite's ever!!!!


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## Dave Martell

Thread closed.


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## Dave Martell

Thread is re-opened. 

Vendors are reminded to not post their products in the shop talk forum.


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## mc2442

Those blocks are just gorgeous!


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## HHH Knives

mc, its some if not the best figured ironwood I have ever cut or seen in person!! Its beautiful stuff!


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## mhenry

Got some pretty cool deliveries today :happymug:


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## bcrano

That ziricote is awesome. I made a guitar out of it. It's a joy of a wood to work.


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## mhenry

Used it once before, it does work nice.



bcrano said:


> That ziricote is awesome. I made a guitar out of it. It's a joy of a wood to work.


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## Mike Davis

bcrano, Any guitar pics? I am an avid player and would love to see it!


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## Eamon Burke

Just saw this on Antiques Roadshow.

It's a bowl made from a single burl piece, carved out, and is NINE INCHES DEEP. My Father-in-law was talking to me about airbags when it was on and I was so annoyed, my burl-alarm was raging in the background.








EPIC


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## Don Nguyen

johndoughy said:


> My Father-in-law was talking to me about airbags...



Lol.



I can't even imagine burl like that.


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## bcrano

Check out what I just got from Craig... I'm looking for the perfect piece to go to Pierre for a knife he's making for me... don't know if these are the perfect fit, but we'll see when they arrive.

Two tone elm burl...





Buckeye burl...


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## HHH Knives

No matter what you put them on, Its gone be AWESOME! Im loving Craigs new woods. The buckeye and a few others are 10 times better with the new stabilization process hes doing to them. 

Congrats on the score


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## JohnnyChance

Wow, that is some awesome buckeye.


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## mc2442

That Buckeye is insane. I think I am hooked on burl, though I have none to date.


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## Andrew H

Incredible buckeye, best I've ever seen.


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## bcrano

Cool glad you like. I have some black ash too I'll post after Xmas.


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## Eamon Burke

I know I shouldn't ask, but what is the 411 on craig's ebay store? Every time I've ever checked it, it's empty? I mean for years. does his stuff sell out some secret hour every week?


I'm already sorry I asked.


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## JohnnyChance

He has 2 pages of scales and blocks listed right now. Just search for user craigstevensstudio and click view items. I don't ever go to his ebay "store". Just view the listings.


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## HHH Knives

Heres a beautiful piece Of Craigs Birch burl I just finished out yesterday! Simply the finest stabilized woods on the planet! IMO


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## Eamon Burke

boy howdy! :drool:


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## bcrano

Dang. That's something special Randy.


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## maxim

HHH Knives said:


> Heres a beautiful piece Of Craigs Birch burl I just finished out yesterday! Simply the finest stabilized woods on the planet! IMO



Wow that is pretty wood where can i get some


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## HHH Knives

maxim said:


> Wow that is pretty wood where can i get some






JohnnyChance said:


> *He has 2 pages of scales and blocks listed right now. Just search for user craigstevensstudio and click view items. I don't ever go to his ebay "store". Just view the listings*.




Yep, Thats the place to get the stuff!


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## bcrano

Newest score! So excited to see it! http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/4330-Next-Year-s-Burl?p=69733&viewfull=1#post69733


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## apicius9

bcrano said:


> Newest score! So excited to see it! http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/4330-Next-Year-s-Burl?p=69733&viewfull=1#post69733



Not bad, looks like a nice 3-D piece.

Stefan


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## apicius9

O.k., who of you guys bought my block of Belize rosewood on ebay? Dang, I was eying it for a while and kept trying to convince myself I don't need it...

Stefan


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## jmforge

Stefan, there are a couple of guys who recently got the go ahead to start exporting their rosewood burl from Belize once again. I bought a couple of blocks at the Lakeland show a few weeks back and it is some hard, dense stuff!!! The trees were cut down during the building of highway and it appears to have been drying for a while.


apicius9 said:


> O.k., who of you guys bought my block of Belize rosewood on ebay? Dang, I was eying it for a while and kept trying to convince myself I don't need it...
> 
> Stefan


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## Boatbuilder

You guys are showing some amazing wood on here. I have been stabilizing wood for some time now and have no problem finding spalted maple, curly maple and maple Burl. Just wondering where everyone is able to find all their unstabilized wood. 
Jim


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## Bishopmaker

I got to get out of here before I blow my heat treat oven $ on more wood!


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## Mike Davis

I am lucky enough to have friends in the tree/logging industries. When they remove dead trees (or trees removed for safety reasons) that have any sort of burl on them, they cut the burls off and give them to me. I am running out of places to stash the burls....my 8x12 shed is full...and by full, i mean 4-5 feet high in the whole thing.


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## apicius9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btSGRadCNIY

Little video from the Big Island wood show, some nice pieces there.

Stefan


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## Taz575

Addicted??? Me??? Noooooo.....

Cut up a bunch of wood on my new bandsaw on Friday  I had like 6 or 7 pieces of Hard Maple. Some spalted, some curl, other had different figure, some was plain. Got over 55 pieces, some are big enough for 2 or 3 handles, others will be nice for bolsters or ferrules. Ended up with 30# of wood blocks!!































And Friday night I was shopping online for more whole burls :spin chair::IMOK:


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## Dave Martell

Thread closed - AGAIN - for good this time

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...for-wood-addicts?p=65958&viewfull=1#post65958


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