Thoughts on Generic Wenge Handles

[tostadas]

I picked up a knife a little while back with one of those basic wenge/horn handles, similar to the recent batch of Myojin's at Homebutcher. It felt cheap and absolutely horrible. The finish on the facets looked and felt like plastic, similar to something that came straight off of a CNC machine. The wood also came with some weird shiny hard flat coating that only added to this feeling. But the knife was cheap, so I thought whatever.

Fast forward, I've been working on some custom handles, and while testing out some new products I purchased, decided to experiment on this handle I cared little about anyways. So I rounded many of the sharp edges around the handle and ferrule, hand sanded the horn up to the highest grit I have available, stripped off the factory surface of the wood, resanding it to 220 and applied a couple thin layers of hardwax oil.

The results were surprising to me. Simply modifying the finish on the handle has really brought new life to it. Gone is the plastic dollar store look and feel. The wood now has a warm, slightly grippy texture, and the smooth polished horn comfortably molds to my pinch grip. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's as nice as a handle made from high quality hardwoods, but it's a significant step up from where it started. So to those who might have one of these plain wenge handles on your new knife and hate it, maybe consider screwing with it for the better.

 

[btbyrd]

I think wenge is beautiful if it's finished properly. I don't know what that handle looks like originally, but it looks great now -- both the wood and the horn. Nice work!

 

[superworrier]

Worth noting that tagayasan (on Jiro knives) is wenge, and they're quite nice. I heard it's a pain to work because the two colors of wood wear unevenly.

 

[Midsummer]

Wenge is a fairly expensive hardwood but is usually not highly figured wood. The figured woods, like the burls, are definitely more expensive. Wenge has a high silicone content.

I made some furniture when I was younger and I made a table out of quatersawn wenge. The quatersawn is a very subtle pattern. But, the silicates in the wood dulled tools quickly. The sawdust off the table saw stung my skin. The wood splinters easily. It is brittle. The splinters were dangerous; they can stab pretty well.

Properly prepared, it should make a nice performing handle. The wood is dense, a bit heavy.

Glad you were able to get the handle where you liked it!

 

[tostadas]

Sounds like from the responses that this wood is not necessarily trash, and maybe quite the contrary. I guess my initial impressions put a bad taste in my mouth because of how cheap it felt out of the box.

 

[ian]

I've had some badass wenge handles.. liked the one I had on a Tanaka Yohei, although it was pretty simple, LOVED the ones on two Catchesides I had. I made a wenge handle recently that turned out nice, too. It's a great handle wood.

Where are you getting these cheap knives with wenge handles, btw? I've never heard of that. Interesting.

 

[zizirex]

H&K supplied these handles to most of their knife with nice wood but somehow they finish it with crappy stuff that makes it worse than how it is supposed to be.

I saw a guy complain that the teak handle looks like some wood from home depot. I'm kinda surprised why? then after he said that, I got another one of the teak handles. Damn its looks like they just dip it in the clear coat and give it to the customer.
It's very cheap plasticky glossy on the wood that slippery and doesn't feel nice on hands.

 

[tostadas]

I've had some badass wenge handles.. liked the one I had on a Tanaka Yohei, although it was pretty simple, LOVED the ones on two Catchesides I had. I made a wenge handle recently that turned out nice, too. It's a great handle wood.

Where are you getting these cheap knives with wenge handles, btw? I've never heard of that. Interesting.

It was on a "budget" knife by a frequently recommended smith that puts out good stuff. And the vendor is a legit one too.

H&K supplied these handles to most of their knife with nice wood but somehow they finish it with crappy stuff that makes it worse than how it is supposed to be.

I saw a guy complain that the teak handle looks like some wood from home depot. I'm kinda surprised why? then after he said that, I got another one of the teak handles. Damn its looks like they just dip it in the clear coat and give it to the customer.
It's very cheap plasticky glossy on the wood that slippery and doesn't feel nice on hands.

Yea the coating was indeed a plasticky glossy layer exactly as you described.

 

[zizirex]

Because my previous Teak handles Shigeki Tanaka is not like these. it finishes like a regular "normal" was handle.

 

[Delat]

For my personal preferences, I like a handle that’s just finished with mineral oil and maybe wax. The raw wood just has a better feel in hand than handles finished with a solid topcoat like varnish or polyurethane.

Once you put on a solid topcoat that probably eliminates any factor from the underlying wood - all you’re going to feel is the topcoat and not the handle.

Back when I was into woodworking I remember wenge being moderately expensive, basically in line with most African woods like purple heart, etc. I’m not a huge fan as it’s heavy and splinters as noted above, and basically just looks like stained oak. But I think my Shiro Kamo has a wenge handle and it’s held up well and has proven to not fuzz up after getting wet unlike my Ho wood handles.

 

[M1k3]

I have a handle in Wenge, done by @HSC /// Knives. It feels nice in hand. And in my opinion, is a good alternative to burnt chestnut or oak, if you're a fan of those.

 

[Choppin]

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