Scales/handles

[ronbow]

All I can find on the web is scales that are only 1/4 inch thick. Do you guys who make knives make your own scales from scratch ? I have found blocks online that are 1 in. thick which I assume would give me 2 half inch scales when cut in half (assuming I didn't screw up the cut. I'm just starting out so any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Don Krag]

Most commercial made wood scales come in 1/4", 3/8" and blocks. Things like pearl, bone and similar can be found in 1/8", 3/16 and 1/4". Synthetics like G10, carbon fiber, micarta, etc range from 0.010"-1' blocks. I often cut my own scales from woods I've collectedand cured. Some (most) of these I send off for stabilization to make them more suited for knife handles.

[Joel]

Pretty much what Don says.  I find a lot, but not all, of scales to be available in 3/8".  I often order blocks that are 1" in width, and cut then in half with my bandsaw with a metal cutting blade...they're stiffer/heavier than the ones used for soft materials.  Right now I'm doing a series of 7 knives for this lady who had a huge, dead Rock Maple cut down a couple of years ago, and she gave a couple of boards, which are 1 1/2" thick, to cut into scales.  That involved my table saw, my grinder with 40 grit belts and my disk sander with 80 grit discs; mainly because she's going to look at them and I had to clean them up so she could see all the various grains.  After she picks out the one's she likes I'm going to recommend stabilizing them through WSSI. She likes the stabilized wood in the pictures I've shown her.

[Don Krag]

I often buy large blocks of wood from some of the sellers on ebay, then cut it down to sizes I need. This is usually much cheaper than buying scales. These will all be natural unstabilized woods, but there are several woods that make perfectly fine handles without stabilizing.

I helped my father cut up a 40 yr old magnolia they lost in the hurricane last year. The root ball and first couple feet of the main trunk were spalted with all shades of rose, green, brown, purple. It's kind of soft for a handle, so I'll have to have it stabilized. Should make for cool handles. I have some quilted boxelder that's been curing for almost two years with pretty cool shades of brown and reddish-brown.

A tree that gets amazing spalted patterns is tallow. If you ever see one dying, lop off a section. Again, it would need to be stabilized since the spalting/rotting leaves the wood a bit soft.