Strength of wood

[wayne]

Hi

Can anyone help me rank in terms of resistance to moisture, strength, or durability, which is best. I am choosing a knife handle but is unfamiliar with the woods quality. which is usally the most dense?

thanks

oak hickory beech walnut olive wood

thanks

[wayne]

please include ash wood too

thanks

[Lew Hodgett]

All my kitchen utensils have Rosewood handles.

Lew

[Ross Hebeisen]

walnut would be a good choice. If your looking for something fancy, black ash burl is often used for fine knife making. I just shipped 20 burl blanks to a knife maker in Germany. Ross

[DonkeyHody]

I don't know anything about Olive Wood, but Hickory is the hardest and most dense of the other woods listed. It was the wood of choice for handles for hammers and axes, etc.

DonkeyHody "The best things in life . . . aren't things."

[RicodJour]

What do you mean by strength? Here's a hardness scale:

might be more up your alley:

[randyswoodshoop]

Hi, ANy of the woods you have listed abve will work for a nice handle. Of the woods listed, Walnut will make the most attractive and will wear well. If you finish the handle with polyurthane there will be no mositure problem. Oak, will be somewhat moisture resistand and is a very strong wood.

Randy

[randyswoodshoop]

Randy

http:nokeswoodworks.com

[dadiOH]

Among those you list, hickory. If you want the n'est plus ultra wood for the ALL characteristics you list, use lignum vitae...not always easy to find but most knife supply places will have it.

If you DO use lignum vitae, don't be surprised if it turns either sky blue or a bilious green when you apply a finish. That color will disappear in a day or two and the wood will be a rich, nutty brown. That brown can be anywhere from pretty light to almost as dark as walnut depending on the particular piece; regardless of the main color there will be darker markings as well.

[Woodchuck34]

Mahogany is one of the most water resistant woods out there (along with walnut), but not many people use it for outdoor furniture or decks because of the expence. If I was making a knife handle however, it wouldn't cost very much.

Chuck

[Fred the Red Shirt]

WHITE oak is somewhat moisture resistant. Red oak is not and will probably blacken if it is left damp for any appreciable length of time.

Because it is commonly used for kitchen impliments I suspect that olivewood has good moisture resistance. After that, from the above list, walnut would be a second choice.

Locust is very hard and very moisture resistant, the same is true of osage orange aka hedge.

[EXT]

Strength really wouldn't play a part as a knife handle, but the other characteristics would. Regarding resistance to moisture, no knife with a wood handle should be soaked nor cleaned in a dishwasher as this will destroy any wooden handle. I would prefer wood that doesn't have pores, as these could collect moisture and other contaminants within the pores depending on the uses you intend.