One guy at the gem show made me rethink my blade scales

Talked to a maker from Eugene for 20 minutes at a weekend show, he said his best handles come from wood he cuts himself, not kits. He showed me a piece of figured maple with a crack he filled with epoxy and brass dust, looked amazing. Anyone else tried building scales from scrap lumber instead of buying precut slabs?

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1 Comment

william4071mo ago

Saw a forum post last year about a guy who pulled old oak from a barn demolition, quarter-sawed it himself, and made the ugliest but toughest knife handles I've ever seen. He swore the grain was tighter than anything you'd buy, because the tree grew slow. That stuck with me. I've been grabbing scrap from a local cabinet shop ever since, mostly walnut and cherry offcuts. You gotta watch for hidden nails and cracks, but the character is worth the extra work. Plus you can't beat free when you're just testing a new design.