Fat wood, never again

[monkey boy]

So iv been making knives again, went with the stone effect once again.
I thought it would be a bit different to use fat wood as a handle, as in some respects it will already be stabilised. There is a lot to be said for using fat wood, personally I think it make a great handle material which look and feel very nice. But there is a reason why makers avoid it... As it clogs up all your tools, sand paper doesn't stand a couple of passes before it turns into leather and I had to brush my files with a wire brush after a few strokes.
I persevered with it until the end and ended up with this little beauty, but I don't think I want to work with fat wood again.

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[crosslandkelly]

Looks good, worth the perseverance, just keep it away from open flames.

 

[Robbi]

LOL ! can you use a fire steel with it ?

 

[monkey boy]

Yeah you can use it with a fire steel, I have treated the wood so it won't set a light near open flames

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[bopdude]

I like that a lot, great job.

 

[Amy Turner]

From the hand made perspective this is looking great

 

[Samon]

I like it!

Never used fat wood for anything, even fire.. but I have held some I dug out of a cheap pine bookcase I smashed up lol. Certainly wouldn't think of it as handle material.

If that were mine, I'd force a really deep rustic patina on the blade, I think that would add alot to an already rustic styled knife. get the lemons out!

 

[monkey boy]

I like it!

Never used fat wood for anything, even fire.. but I have held some I dug out of a cheap pine bookcase I smashed up lol. Certainly wouldn't think of it as handle material.

If that were mine, I'd force a really deep rustic patina on the blade, I think that would add alot to an already rustic styled knife. get the lemons out!

Hi samon
I was thinking of doing a patina on the blade, once iv done the sheath I'm going to sell it anyway so I may let someone else deside


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[C_Claycomb]

There is another reason not to use it. If the knife is left somewhere warm, a sunny spot on warm ground will do, but a window or vehicle in the sun, the heat can cause resin to leach out from the wood and collect on the surface.

 

[SoldierPalmer]

I'm going to be honest I don't like it my self the blade its self will be a rust trap. The pins don't line up in the handle and the shape of the handle would slip out of my hands when wet or cold if I'm using it for snedding branches. Like I say its only my opinion and I'm sure plenty more will like it.

 

[santaman2000]

I'm going to be honest I don't like it my self the blade its self will be a rust trap. The pins don't line up in the handle and the shape of the handle would slip out of my hands when wet or cold if I'm using it for snedding branches. Like I say its only my opinion and I'm sure plenty more will like it.

Lightard )fatwood) is a bit sticky by nature. That might abate the slipping problem.

 

[Janne]

In 10 million years it will turn to Amber impregnated wood......

I think a thorough wash in Turpentine should remove some of the stickiness?

 

[Robson Valley]

Shaping any soft material, rub the file or rasp first with chalk or ordinary baking flour.
This fills the bottoms of the stitches so they can't plug up with particles and shavings.
Any file for any reason in any material will cut cleaner when you do this.

 

[SoldierPalmer]

Lightard )fatwood) is a bit sticky by nature. That might abate the slipping problem.

He said he has treated the wood so I assuming it would loose the stickiness of the wood.

 

[Janne]

But is fatwood not fragile? I recall it not cutting well.
I used to harvest it from marshes in Sweden. Hard but not easy to cut. Axe worked well, kind off broke off chunks.

 

[santaman2000]

In 10 million years it will turn to Amber impregnated wood......

I think a thorough wash in Turpentine should remove some of the stickiness?

The stickiness basically IS turpentine. It goes all the way through the wood, not on it.

He said he has treated the wood so I assuming it would loose the stickiness of the wood.

I don't know. I suppose, maybe.

But is fatwood not fragile? I recall it not cutting well.
I used to harvest it from marshes in Sweden. Hard but not easy to cut. Axe worked well, kind off broke off chunks.

Yeah, that's a good description. It's very hard cross grain, but it splits easily; though only along it's grain line which is usually quite knotty.

 

[Janne]

And it smells nice!

 

[Robson Valley]

It's a conifer, likely a pine of some sort.
In the wood anatomy of conifers, the main water/nutrient conducting cells are called secondary xylem tracheids.
The ends of the cells are pointed and overlap = that's how the water moves up from cell through cell.

Every once in a while, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, there are 'resin ducts' in the wood.
Just imagine vertical pipes made from living bricks. No, not pitch pockets that blurt all over your hands and axe.
The volume of the microscopic pipes is filled with resin, pitch. . . whatever you want to call it.
Warm it up, the resin softens and expands and sweats out of the wood = sticky.
No, you can't wash it out of the wood.

That's a truely fine knife. I'd be inclined to use the fatwood scales as templates for really exotic figured wood
when that just happened to come along.

See the junk log pieces in my avatar? That's really poor Douglasfir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Not for open fires but in a wood stove.
The resin ducts explode like little bombs and scatter burning charcoal all over the place (onto clothes & tents, etc)