Handles: What's Your Favorite Wood?

[@ftermath]

Ho for natural finishes and maple for stabilized.

 

[Corradobrit1]

Burnt chestnut, hands down. But anything thats not stabilized tbh.

 

[Heckel7302]

Just took in a knife with a Chinese quince handle. Very beautiful wood.

 

[Hz_zzzzzz]

Burnt chestnut, hands down. But anything thats not stabilized tbh.

where did get the d shape burnt chestnut handle? looks really good.

 

[Corradobrit1]

where did get the d shape burnt chestnut handle? looks really good.

Both are from JNS

 

[@ftermath]

Both are from JNS

We’re you able to buy the handles separately?

 

[Corradobrit1]

We’re you able to buy the handles separately?

Thats a negative

 

[user 16756]

Burnt chestnut is an easy recommendation, definitely my favorite.

But Shi.Han's thermory is also pretty amazing.

 

[IsoJ]

Burnt chestnut is an easy recommendation, definitely my favorite.

But Shi.Han's thermory is also pretty amazing.

Agreed with the Shihan thermory handle, looks and feels great in hand and very grippy.

 

[@ftermath]

Agreed with Shi.han but I would go one step further and say all his handles are amazing. I’m not sure if they all get the same treatment as thermory but they all seem to have that smoky smell when they first arrive so it’s possible. I’ve tried his thermory, walnut, mora, and sapele and been equally impressed with each. Shehan is known for his blades but he quietly makes some of the best handles on the market IMO.

Maybe I need to ask if he will make a figured maple handle…

 

[DitmasPork]

Handle design and wood type can make a world of difference. I got a Gesshin Hinoura Ajikataya—the oval handle it came with was very well made, but I personally am not a fan of ovals. I then got Jon to install a burnt chestnut handle, which changed the balance point, and now is more to my liking. Love the knife. Also, dig burnt chestnut aesthetically over ho.

Original oval.

New burnt chestnut installed.

 

[lemeneid]

TF pakka, burnt chestnut, ho, rosewood.

 

[Carlo]

Ho, specifically the ones JNS ships knives with (also got one from Watanabe as an upgrade from the plastic ferrule), …and burnt chestnut. Not a fan of the denser woods. I love the look of chatoyance but I don’t want it in a handle.

I just saw some knives on one of the web sites (can’t remember where, maybe Carbon?) with natural cedar …that would definitely work for me, I wish they were more common or I knew where to find them (and was motivated enough to swap out a bunch of handles).

 

[Bobby2shots]

Spalted Maple should be interesting. Macassar ebony might also be nice. Coco Bolo?

 

[Corradobrit1]

Ho, specifically the ones JNS ships knives with (also got one from Watanabe as an upgrade from the plastic ferrule), …and burnt chestnut. Not a fan of the denser woods. I love the look of chatoyance but I don’t want it in a handle.

I just saw some knives on one of the web sites (can’t remember where, maybe Carbon?) with natural cedar …that would definitely work for me, I wish they were more common or I knew where to find them (and was motivated enough to swap out a bunch of handles).

Not had great experience with JNS Ho vs other sources like Morihei. The wood has to be sealed and sanded otherwise the fibers expand and gives it a cheap feel in hand. The porous wood picks up gunk eg swarf, like crazy adding to the budget feel. A step below JNS Ho is TF's.

 

[DitmasPork]

TF pakka, burnt chestnut, ho, rosewood.

That TF red pakka is sexy.

 

[Dendrobatez]

Whiskey barrel oak or American cherry are my 2 favorite handle woods right now. Both take a walnut or linseed curing oil very well, rarely need reapplying, dense and grippy. Not a wood but corian is up there for me, as long as it's not taken to a polish it is very grippy.

 

[xxxclx]

Whiskey barrel oak or American cherry are my 2 favorite handle woods right now. Both take a walnut or linseed curing oil very well, rarely need reapplying, dense and grippy. Not a wood but corian is up there for me, as long as it's not taken to a polish it is very grippy.

Whiskey barrel oak sounds really cool. What knife is that handle for?

 

[Sebas]

Go

What's your favorite wood for knife handles?

Before diving into J-knives, it was either plastic or pakka wood for decades in my kitchen—Wustof, Sabs and Mac—which were fine, no complaints back then.

I've since gotten to appreciate a wider range of handle materials.

Favorite wood is of course purely subjective.

For me, there are two woods that stand out above the rest:
• Koa. Being from Hawaii, I have a special affection for koa, a nostalgia and familiarity with the wood. Koa was always around, wither carved into bowls, ukuleles, benches, floorboards or tables. An old church in Kona, Hawaii, is famed for its interior built from koa. I'd have more koa handles if not for the price of top-shelf quality koa.
• Raquin's burnt oak. There's an understated beauty to those black handles—they feel warm, comfortable, functional, well designed, and confident in the hand. Just the right amount of grippiness when wet; ideal dimensions for my hands.

Honorable mention: burnt chestnut. The majority of my off-the-shelf knives are in burnt chestnut. Love the look, weight and feel over magnolia 24/7.

Handles that are 'meh' to me? Magnolia, despite working alright, they're too common to excite me. Ironwood—never been a fan of the look or feel. They also remind me of a chef I know who slaps ironwood onto all his knives to fancy them up.

View attachment 130831
View attachment 130832

Gotta love a nice handle.
I Almost Rehandle al knifes i got actully.

But gotta say nr 1 Ironwood
Becouse of its weight and natrual feel Becouse its not stabilazed.

nr 2 honduras Rosewood burl
Also Becouse of it natrual feel Also not stabilzed

nr 3 koa
Just Becouse of it looks But its a stabilzed wood so its more of a plastic non life feel.

But i do Rehandle the knife Becouse i am a 270 Guy and Almost al knifes ootb is not balanced in the right spot.

Cherrs

 

[JayS20]

For me it's definitely form and taper over handle material. I really like Kamon's handles, fit my hand so well.
But I'm definitely a sucker for nice woods. Be it natural or also dyed and stabilized sometimes. Some nice chatoyance and burls are great.
If you would force me onto one type of wood I would probably go with walnut burl.
I also really like the look of Koa but don't own one yet.
Burned chestnut just feels good and also unremarkable in a good way in hand. Got one on my Gengetsu and on my Vintage Y.Tanaka.
I have some wood blocks laying around and usually send them to the maker when I order a custom one. They need to fit to the style, dami, wrought, more simple mono, carbon or stainless...
Really like Australian woods and the like, e.g. ringed gidgee, tasmanian blackwood, mallee, brigalow...
While Rosewood is alright to good looking, can be annoying with German custom considering CITES. I nearly got a really great looking piece of Honduran Rosewood which is banned but opted out since I couldn't be sure if it would get throught or if they would confiscate it and fine me.

I have seen redwood burl with chatoyance in it. Stunning!
I have a bunch of amboyna burl with chantoyance in the eyes.

I had a block of Vavona/Redwood burl which looked promising. Sent it to Radiona Breg for my knife. It looks brighter than I thought it would but also revealed more chatoyance, big fan.


Probably my favourite handle from JJTritz, amboyna, bronze spacer and boxwood, need to take a proper pic of the handle


Some of my wood blocks with some already work in progress

 

[Mikeltee]

Koa for sure. It's such a perfect wood for handles!

 

[Michi]

I'm a sucker for burl wood.

 

[DitmasPork]

Koa for sure. It's such a perfect wood for handles!

Koa speaks to me in sooo many ways—beautiful, nostalgic, familiar in both look and feel. If I had the money, I’d have more koa handles.

 

[NO ChoP!]

Cocobolo, ironwood, African blackwood, osage orange, Honduran rosewood, ziricote, olivewood and tamarind are some of my favs over the years.

 

[Dendrobatez]

Cocobolo, ironwood, African blackwood, osage orange, Honduran rosewood, ziricote, olivewood and tamarind are some of my favs over the years.

I really enjoy the feel of tamarind once cured, it likes to split on me though - only reason it's not my favorite.

 

[ampersandcetera]

I love the look of mango, and I like the feel and grippiness of burnt chestnut.

 

[zizirex]

Desert Ironwood, Cocobolo, Ziritcote, Olive, Gaboon & Makassar Ebony, East Indies Rosewood and Amboyna for the exotic selection.
Walnut, Curly & Spalted Maple, some Oak and Bloodwood for easier to get wood.

Kinda hate Ho wood and Burnt Chesnut, unless it's Octagonal or Heart-shaped, but still too light for my taste. I don't know why people love these handles.

 

[M1k3]

Desert Ironwood, Cocobolo, Ziritcote, Olive, Gaboon & Makassar Ebony, East Indies Rosewood and Amboyna for the exotic selection.
Walnut, Curly & Spalted Maple, some Oak and Bloodwood for easier to get wood.

Kinda hate Ho wood and Burnt Chesnut, unless it's Octagonal or Heart-shaped, but still too light for my taste. I don't know why people love these handles.

Because they're light enough while not being overly light? Chestnut that is.

 

[Hz_zzzzzz]

Desert Ironwood, Cocobolo, Ziritcote, Olive, Gaboon & Makassar Ebony, East Indies Rosewood and Amboyna for the exotic selection.
Walnut, Curly & Spalted Maple, some Oak and Bloodwood for easier to get wood.

Kinda hate Ho wood and Burnt Chesnut, unless it's Octagonal or Heart-shaped, but still too light for my taste. I don't know why people love these handles.

I like forward balanced knives because it feels like the knife is chopping with its own weight, so I like light handles. The dense wood handles usually screw the balance too much. And ho and chestnut are grippy while dense wood could be slippery especially when they are polished. Being slippery might not be a problem until you have oil/fat or blood from fresh meat on your hand.

 

[JoBone]

My wife and daughter tease me because, I spend hour and hours looking at various woods and knife handles. For my personal handle preference, I am non-binary and wood-fluid.

I tend to favor natural oily woods with good figure like rosewoods, walnuts, olive, ironwood and ziricote, combined with a horn.

I also really like highly figured woods like Amboyna, Koa, and rosewood burls.There is something about the look that is amazing and sublime; makes you wonder how did nature produce anything so beautiful.

Exotic woods, strive for CITES certified, reclaimed or old stock woods. I recently visited a dealer that had a stash of Brazilian rosewood that was sitting in his workshop since the 80s. Some exotics coming from Australia and Tasmania (if it’s not domestic for you) are ethically harvested, especially the ones coming from old stumps or rivers. Masur or Karelian birch is well regulated out of Finland, not sure if it’s the same from Russia. Olive wood can be tricky depending on the origins.


Local woods - I recently started visiting local saw mills when I travel. It’s a great way to see all sorts of woods - the obvious ones like hickory, cherry, maple, walnut, but others like pecan, hackberry, beech, holly, cedars, chittum and cypress. It’s also a great way to talk to experts as most of them will know local woods used for knife handles.