woods suitable for a knife block

[chuck]

Now that I know that oad was a mistake (altho it looks great). I need to find some alternative wood that will not stain my really old nonstainless knives. I can no longer find maple nearby (nor anything more exotic), and ordering what little I need over the net becomes relatively expensive after shipping is added.

I can get poplar, fir, spruce (and of course red oak).

I'm asuming the pine is too soft and splintery and knotty and pitchy.

What about some of whatever the non-knotty 5/4 lumber is being sold by the local home store?

What about the poplar. hasn't much grain but all I want is a knife block after all.

thanks,

chuck

[Leon]

Many knife makers use Walnut. Harder than Poplar, Pine, Fir, ect. but easy to shape.

[xrongor]

you might just check the thrift stores. i see tons of empty blocks waiting for knives where i live. bring your knives with you on a thrift store run and find one that fits.

randy

[chuck]

Great idea. Done that. Problem is, I got a Wusthof

10 1/2 chef's knife, high carbon non-stainless, with a 2 1/2 wide blade almost 1/4" thick. Can't find anything that'll hold this beast.

chuck

[chuck]

Great, thanks.

I was really trying to find out whether any of the woods I CAN find would be suitable. If not, I'll try a different approach.

[Scott Lurndal]

Where are you that you can't find maple or walnut? Even California has both available for sale pretty much anywhere.

scott

[J. Clarke]

It's only knotty and pitchy if you use the knotty and pitchy parts . Seriously, one aspect of lumber grading is the percentage of the board that is defect-free. Low grade lumber has more knots and pitch pockets and the like than higher grade, so a higher percentage of a lot of high-grade lumber will be considered "usable".

Poplar should be fine. Pine as well, just pick your pieces carefully.

You might want to take a look at --they have 20 board foot "project packs" and 8 square foot (S4S to whatever thickness you like) "craft packs" that are ideal for small jobs for a flat price including shipping. They'll deliver 20 board feet of hard maple to my doorstep for less than I would pay at the Borg, and they stock a very wide range of lumbers including a bewildering array of exotics.

[Leon]

Can't find walnut????? That is a pretty common wood. Maybe it is where you are looking. Try a hardwood lumber dealer. They will have it. Don't try Home Depot or Lowe's.

[bridger]

poplar's fine. so's pine, if you can find a piece that won't bleed pitch all over your counters.

[Andy Dingley]

Maple, ash, paulownia, lime (linden, basswood), hornbeam, magnolia. If you're going to do this, do it right.

Maybe white oak around the outside (lots of people with A&C kitchens), but I wouldn't use it for the part that the blade might rest against. I don't know red oak - is it any different to white, in terms of tannin problems with steel ?

I make kitchen knife blocks from ash, because it's locally grown and I have lots of it. I also make furniture for Japanese cutlery and swords, where wood choice gets pretty fussy when the piece is worth mongo-thousands and just polishing it is a couple of grand. I should be importing "the right timber" (for tradition, as much as anything), but I'm actually using lime.

No. Really, really no.

Try asking in rec.knives too

[Woodworm]

Not on your list, but beech is a good choice. I made my first one "remodelling" a coomercial one I had bought adding some offcuts, then another one out of coutertop cut-outs (from sink and hob), then more using cutting boards, Ikea kitchen tops and offcuts lying around the shop.

[CW]

I made on from poplar about a year ago. Holding up fine and doesn't stain the blades.

[chuck]

Thanks CW. I can get poplar pretty easily here.

BTW - I sprayed sealant inside the knife slots that hold the non-stainless blades and have had no more staining from the red oak. Maybe just a matter of thorough drying?

Altho the "emergency" seems to have ended, I'll look for some poplar tomorrow.

chuck