Thread: Scales material - best wood?

Lignum Vitae: Wood So Bad-Ass, It's Used to Make Shaft Bearings for Nuclear Submarines (and More) - Core77


It is the most Waterproof and Densest wood there is

Made scales from various types of wood.
Yellow& purple hart
African mahogany
African paudak
Ebony
Walnut
Birdseye maple
5000+ yrs old bog oak
African black wood
Teak
Bloodwood

I really like the African black wood with its dark brown, almost black, with golden highlites.

And the bog oak. Very dense, hard, and jet black. It has a look of horn once finished.

well if its good enough for a submarine

I've worked with a bunch of woods, some were a breeze to work with, others a PITA!
For durability, strength and mold/fungus resistance, African Blackwood hands down. I had a piece with a selection of other woods in a moldy basement for a couple years... the other woods were ruined, the AB not even touched, perfectly fine!
I've not worked Lignum Vitae, so I don't know how durable and mold resistant, but submarine bearings is awesome!
But it's not the hardest wood there is, that distinction goes to Quebracho.
BUT, many considerations need to be addressed when choosing woods.
Red Coolibah burl is amazing but challenging to work with.
Sometimes the most challenging are the coolest woods.

Teak is a great wood. It's pretty impervious to water. It's so dense when they fell the tree it has to remain for a year or more because the stuff won't float it sinks.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Teak is a great wood. It's pretty impervious to water. It's so dense when they fell the tree it has to remain for a year or more because the stuff won't float it sinks.

Agree. And has good strength, and a very nice open grain about it.
All that is needed for maintenance is a bit of teak oil now and then.

I think the stabilized burls make nice sets myself! But I like horn; some acrylics; and other mediums as well.

In fact....here is the latest buckeye burl I made for this older German Imperial razor that looks great in my opinion.

Originally Posted by JakobD

I also really love Desert ironwood! And it'll last for ever!
But its rediculously brittle at that thickness (for razor scales) These here i made for a "Hand forged Mussel" from "ERN"
and have already been cracked and re glued together from assembeling... and i had to take the whole thing appart to back the wood with vulcanised fibre. It just looks too beautiful and is to special to throw away!Attachment 241987


Is Crosscut D.ironwood Burl...

Oh my... o_O... look at those scales...I always said the most beautiful things come from nature.

Originally Posted by Str8Up

Oh my... o_O... look at those scales...I always said the most beautiful things come from nature.

I agree. I love natural materials. And those burls have great character!
That desert ironwood is definitely on the list too. But I've got a dozen types of wood in stock that I have never worked with so probably should get to those first.
If brittle, then I wonder what backing might be good for desert ironwood...?

Originally Posted by MikeT

I agree. I love natural materials. And those burls have great character!
That desert ironwood is definitely on the list too. But I've got a dozen types of wood in stock that I have never worked with so probably should get to those first.
If brittle, then I wonder what backing might be good for desert ironwood...?

Id heard before i worked with it that it was a brittle wood, but i think it was so brittle for those scale because it was cross cut. Who knows, if you made the scales where the grain runs with the scales, maybe it doesnt need to be backed it at all...?
One way to find out ^^