Couple of questions on Scales and Liners...

[The Big Lebowski]

Just curious about a few things before a major purchase

Are liners purley cosmetic, or do they protect the inside of the scales somehow?

And, how would Bocote stand up to the test of time...
another hardwood i'm really loving is Ocher Spalted Maple Burl.

Doe's anyone have any long standing knowledge of these two types of wood.

Grateful for any advice, thought it best to ask here first.

Regards, TBL.

 

[JonathanD]

Liners lesson shock and reduce expansion and contraction problems and help retain a slab to tang adhesion without gaps if these occur. If treated with a soaking with Danish oil, they also minimise water engress between the slabs and tang, which in the case of O1, reduces corrosion possibilities.

 

[The Big Lebowski]

Cheers jonathan, i thought they might be more than cosmetic, but i'm fairly new to fieldcraft knifes!

Regards, TBL.

 

[Boreas]

Bocote is a beautiful hardwood. Off the top of my head, it is about as dense as say rosewood or walnut. Not the absolute most durable wood but it will work. It will on the other hand shrink and expand with moisture like all woods.

ocher SPALTED maple burl is very nice to look at. It's been dyed the ocher colour. However spalting is actually a form of rotting that gives it those nice lines running through it. Spalted wood is significantly less durable than non spalted. A knife maker I was speaking to once told me he factors in the cost of his spalted handles the cost to replace a good percentage of them because they WILL break. Just keep that in mind if you plan on using the knife hard.