Woodlore clone & antler handles on knives

[Peanut]

Hi all,

I'm looking into getting a custom knife made to similar specs to the AW Woodlore. I have a woodlore (a drawer queen), and really like the handle shape and thickness, but I'm after a custom version, with ideally antler or bone handles as I really like the look of these materials. This will be my main user. I did have a maker lined up to do this, but that fell through due to other commitments unfortunately.

Does anyone have any pictures of Alan Wood's bushcrafter that they could post please so that I can compare it to the woodlore? I've tried looking for alan's website but it says "coming soon" and doesn't have any contact details. I imagine he's probably got quite a long waiting list, so if anyone has any other suggestions I'm open to suggestions. I have seen the numerous other threads on here with links to makers, and aside from about 4 or so that always get mentioned, I'm interested in any that anyone has personal experience of if possible.

I'm guessing jonathanD is the best person to answer this, but does anyone know how the Deval bushcrafter compares to the woodlore in both handle shape/size and comfort in use?

Also, what are antler and bone like as handle materials compared to wood? Are they heavier/lighter, easier/harder to maintain, and is there any advantage to usingthem over wood or vice versa other than aesthetics?

Thanks in advance guys and gals,
Luke

 

[JonathanD]

Oooh, loads of questions to answer there. First pics of comparisons which will answer most I think...

Alan Wood's Bushcrafter. Great knife...

And in the centre of two Alan Wood Deval Bushcrafters...

Woodlore with Deval Bushies...

Antler is one of my fave handle materials, strong, robust, but heavier than wood. Easy to maintain over wood and more resistant to moisture, especially if treated. Ray chose it for his personal knife, so he must agree.

The handle of my knife is bigger than the regular Woodlore, but about the same as the antler Instructors version. A bigger handle I find, is less tiring on the hand and better to grip securely and comfortably. I found the regular Woodlore too thin, which became tiring after prologed use.

Hope that answers some of the questions.

 

[Peanut]

Thanks for the brilliant reply JonathanD, that's definitely helped a lot.

You mentioned treated antler...is that the process you posted on another thread with the knife left in heated oil for a couple of days that gave your antler Deval the more golden colour instead of the white?

When it comes to maintaining antler handles, what's the best method? I think you've mentioned camellia (sp?) oil before?

I think the bigger handle of the Deval will suit me more to be honest. I can't stand slim handles (I have an A Wright bushcraft knife from a few years ago and it's farrrrrrr to thin). I've even found myself holding the woodlore and thinking I need more of the palm swell on the right side as it's not quite perfect.

Sorry for the 1001 questions, it's just easier than starting a load of pointless threads

 

[JonathanD]

I treated the antler on my knife, but it was not really necessary. You just have to make sure you have quality antler that is dense. Mine warped slightly after I left it on top of a heated area and it moved 0.0005 of a mm Most normal folks wouldn't even have noticed. If I'd left it, it would have gone back to normal by itself. The first few weeks are important as you shouldn't expose it to large temperature ranges. Now I can leave it in direct sun, expose it to water and cold, and it won't move. It's settled in now and is stable. It'll last me out. Danish oil will help to seal the porous core.

Stabilised giraffe bone is nice too, looks like antler and is dense and as tough as you can get in a natural material. There are better pics of it on my site and on here somewhere.

My knife came about after using the Woodlore for years, then the AW bushcrafter. I always wanted a thicker handle on it. The Alan Wood Tamarack was the closest that I got before asking Alan to make the first Deval bushies.

 

[delbach]

JD What are the dimentions of the Deval Bushcraft knife .In some of your pics it looks a lot wider than the Woodlore
Cheers Andrew

 

[JonathanD]

JD What are the dimentions of the Deval Bushcraft knife .In some of your pics it looks a lot wider than the Woodlore
Cheers Andrew

It is wider in the handle. I can put up the differences later tomorrow if you want.

 

[delbach]

It is wider in the handle. I can put up the differences later tomorrow if you want.

Cheers JD in the third picture down your knife looks a lot wider in the blade ,sorry i can't think of the proper word, compared to the woodlore
ANDREW

 

[JonathanD]

Cheers JD in the third picture down your knife looks a lot wider in the blade ,sorry i can't think of the proper word, compared to the woodlore
ANDREW

Ahhh gotcha. Blade height? It runs about 5mm more than the Woodlore. I like to choke up on my blade for fine work and making it bigger by just those few mils made a great difference. I can get a good firm grip with those extra mils of steel.

 

[Something In The Woodshed]

Here's my Alan Wood (second from left) which has the woodlore pattern with exceedingly dense heavy Antler. I don't have an above view of it at the moment, but its quite chunky and fills the hand well. This one doesn't have a coke bottle shape and is straight from Alan and not an instructor model. Its a bit of a beast and a pleasure to use. But if I am honest the knife on the left, a Woodlore pattern with Damascus and Tufnol, is my all time favourite bushcraft style user, it just works and has absolutely no problems that can sometimes come with natural handles, not that they bother me...

 

[delbach]

Ahhh gotcha. Blade height? It runs about 5mm more than the Woodlore. I like to choke up on my blade for fine work and making it bigger by just those few mils made a great difference. I can get a good firm grip with those extra mils of steel.

Cheers JD
Andrew

 

[Peanut]

Does anyone know any contact details for Alan Wood? His website is under construction at the moment so it's just a page with "Coming Soon"

Also, does anyone know what the waiting list length is like at the moment?

Cheers,
Luke

 

[JonathanD]

Does anyone know any contact details for Alan Wood? His website is under construction at the moment so it's just a page with "Coming Soon"

Also, does anyone know what the waiting list length is like at the moment?

Cheers,
Luke

is waiting list is about a year to 18 months. Maybe more now. Don't hold your breath on his website, it's been like that for years now. He is a member on BB, try and give him a shout there. He is oneLnoS

 

[delbach]

I think he has changed his username on BB to Alan Wood
Andrew

 

[JonathanD]

I think he has changed his username on BB to Alan Wood
Andrew

Oooh, sneaky.

 

[knifefan]

Never seen so may "Deval's" in one thread!!!!! I would definately recommend Stu M for your consideration, a genuine all round good guy and will make anything you want

 

[Peanut]

I must say I always kinda liked the Deval and this thread has really added to that. I really want to try one out so I've sent a message to Stu M through his website asking about a commission.

Does anyone know what the waiting list is like for Stu M?

If it's not too bad I may get a Deval first and get my name on the waiting list for the Alan Wood custom I have in mind. That should spread the payments out a bit and make sure SWMBO doesn't realise! You can never have too many knives! (although I'm sure my mrs disagrees)

 

[JonathanD]

I love Alan Wood's work, and have his work in my collection and would never part with them. But... and this is a massive but. Stuart Mitchell is at the top of the knife game.. third generation knife maker et al. He will bend over backwards, forwards and sideways to get you the knife you want and communicate constantly to make sure it is running to plan. He is by far the first knifemaker I would go to for a 100% custom because of this. Have a chat with him and go from there. He will advise you with your interests in mind.

 

[Peanut]

Thanks JonathanD, I'm definitely gonna have a chat with stu m about a custom knife. I've heard nothing but good things about him and I think he's the guy that'll be able to make my ideas into a usable tool that'll last a lifetime. I'm gonna send him a PM on here to get the ball rolling and hopefully soon I'll have something in the pipeline being made.

I'm still gonna arrange an Alan Wood blade I think, even if it's not for a while. It's just one of those things I've wanted for a while. By what everyone has told me, Stuart Mitchell will be able to sort me out with what I want, and make it a good experience at the same time.