Thread: Scales material - best wood?

In your honest or professional opinion which wood or woods would you say are the best as far as looks/longetivity is concerned?

I absolutely adore desert ironwood, birch, snakewood to name a few.

i would start at the wiki
Category:Scale Making - Straight Razor Place Library

but generally speaking looks being obviously subjective i prefer darker woods

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!


Is Crosscut D.ironwood Burl...

Yellow heart looks very nice with an oil finish and with a CA finish it looks fantastic. That being said it is also the only wood that I've worked with so far that made my skin itch and made my nose run. Even with that I like using it. A lot of woods look better with different finishes. Ironwood I like without a finish just sanded fine and buffed. Especially ironwood burl.

I like olivewood and ebony.

I like cocobolo or the different rosewood types.
Very oily and easy to work with.

Originally Posted by JSmith1983

Yellow heart looks very nice with an oil finish and with a CA finish it looks fantastic. That being said it is also the only wood that I've worked with so far that made my skin itch and made my nose run. Even with that I like using it. A lot of woods look better with different finishes. Ironwood I like without a finish just sanded fine and buffed. Especially ironwood burl.

+1, I start by thinking about what finish I would like to use and decide on the wood from there. Not all woods work well with all finishes. As you said, some need no finish at all and get better with time and handling.

Lignum Vitae

Period end of story no really look into it

Other then that I agree with Stefan the Rosewoods are a great choice..

After that it comes down to taste

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...ae-scales.html

this is what i found about it

IMHO spalted maple is stunning, but is so soft that stabilization is required. Runny CA (not the usual thick or gel version) works well for that.

Bocote has interesting - and often unpredictable - grain and so is another fave.