Working ebony (knife handle)

[Bill Brush]

So I'm getting my shop in order (new shelves, pegboard, storage cabinet, work table), and I'm looking at these knife blanks I bought a few (several) years ago.

I just got my blades back from the sharpener, so I'm considering the functional side of how I'll shape the knife handles. I can use the table saw to true up the edges of the wood (it's an irregular chunk), and slice off pieces, but from there I'm not sure how to proceed.

My bandsaw is barely up to the task of cutting pine or masonite so it's pretty much out. Will a coping saw and patience suffice to shape this stuff? Maybe a special blade for the scroll saw?

Is a file a good choice for forming curves? It almost seems like it is going to work more like a metal than a wood, so I'm wondering if the hack saw and the dremel should be employed.

Will sandpaper be effective for shaping or will it just laugh off the normal stuff? I have silicon carbide (black) stuff, but I don't normally use it on wood.

I don't have a comprehensive set of tools, so I frequently have to get creative with how I work.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

I've asked this before, don't remember an answer.

Aren't certain woods like ebony poor candidates for handles and things that need
contact to human skin? (because of the sap, oils, toxic emmissions, whatever:o)

[Kent Chasson]

Ebony cuts well with sharp edge tools so chisels or knives would be fine for shaping. Rasps, files, or sandpaper should make quick work of it too. Small drum sanders in a drill press could work. A disc sander for outside curves. Ebony is hard but it's not full of silica that will kill edge tools or oil that will kill sandpaper.

By the way, if your band saw won't cut an ebony knife handle, something is seriously wrong.

It's extremely rare that skin contact with wood causes a problem. I've heard of a case with a cocobolo bracelet but usually it's fresh sawdust that can be a problem.

[Prashun Patel]

A coarse rasp or spokeshave will work. But don't expect nice shavings. Expect dust.

[Moses Yoder]

To make a knife usually there are a couple brass or steel rivets in the handle. I rough cut the wood to about 1/8" of the metal. I epoxy one side onto the knife blank, then drill for the rivets then install the other side. After the glue dries drill the hole all the way through and install the rivets. Then use a file or rasp to shape the handle. Ebony is kind of brittle so a coarse rasp will cause it to splinter off in chunks; better to use a fine rasp or file. After rasping then filing then sanding I use linseed oil on the handle.

[Bill Brush]

By the way, if your band saw won't cut an ebony knife handle, something is seriously wrong.



It's a cheap bandsaw Kent. I knew that when I bought it and it hasn't disappointed me as long as I don't expect it to do more than its designed for.

Thanks for the information guys. I'm beginning to form a plan of action.

Bill

[Bill Edwards(2)]

Interesting:

Potentially Toxic Woods

(lots of info, plus this)

Note that this data does not take into consideration Man's penchant for trying to poison himself by using formaldehyde in plywood, treated woods, sodium compounds in white pine to prevent blue stain, etc.


Afromosia: irritant/eye & skin, respiratory/great/dust/rare
Alder: irritant/eye & skin, respiratory
Angelico: irritant/eye & skin, respiratory/great/dust
Arborvitae: irritant/respiratory
Ash: irritant/respiratory
Baldcypress: sensitizer/respiratory/small/dust/rare
Balsam fir: sensitizer/eye & skin/small/dust/rare
Beech: sensitizer/respiratory/great/dust/rare
Birch: sensitizer/respiratory, nausea/great/dust, wood/rare
Black locust: irritant/nausea/great/rare
Blackwood: sensitizer/eye & skin/great/dust, wood/common
Boxwood: sensitizer/respiratory/small/dust, wood/rare
Cashew: sensitizer/eye & skin/great/dust, wood/rare
Chechem: irritant/respiratory, eye & skin/great/dust, wood/unknown
Cocobolo: irritant/respiratory, eye & skin/great/dust, wood/common
Dahoma: sensitizer/respiratory/great/dust/common
Ebony: irritant, sensitizer/respiratory, eye & skin/great/dust, wood/common
Elm: sensitizer/eye & skin/small/dust/rare
Fir: irritant/eye & skin/small/rare
Goncolo alves: sensitizer/eye & skin/small/dust, wood/rare
Greenheart: sensitizer/respiratory, eye & skin/extreme/dust, wood/common
Guarea: sensitizer/eye & skin/extreme/dust/rare
Hemlock: nasal cancer/great/dust/rare
Ipe: irritant/respiratory, eye & skin
Iroko: irritant/respiratory, eye & skin/extreme/dust, wood/common
Katon: irritant/respiratory
Kingwood: irritant/eye & skin
Mahogany, American: sensitizer/respiratory, eye & skin/small/dust/rare
Mahogany, African: sensitizer/respiratory/great/dust/rare
Makore: irritant/respiratory, eye & skin
Mansonia: irritant/respiratory, eye & skin/extreme/dust, wood/common
Manzinilla: irritant/respiratory/dust/rare
Maple: sensitizer/respiratory/great/dust, wood/rare
Mimosa: irritant/nasal/extreme/dust, wood/common
Myrtle: sensitizer/respiratory/great/dust, wood/common
Oak, red: nasal/great/dust/rare
Obeche: sensitizer/respiratory, eye & skin/great/dust/common
Olivewood: sensitizer/respiratory, eye & skin/great/dust, wood/common
Opepe: sensitizer/respiratory/small/dust/rare
Orangewood: respiratory/rare
Padauk: irritant/respiratory, eye & skin, nausea/extreme/dust, wood/common
Pau ferro: sensitizer/eye & skin/small/dust, wood/rare
Peroba rose: sensitizer/respiratory/great/dust, wood/common
Peroba white: sensitizer/respiratory, eye & skin
Purpleheart: sensitizer/eye & skin, nausea/small/dust, wood/rare
Quebracho: nasal cancer/great/dust/rare
Ramin: irritant/respiratory, eye & skin/small/dust/rare
Redwood: sensitizer/respiratory, nasal cancer/small/dust/rare
Rosewood(s): irritant, sensitizer/respiratory, eye & skin/extreme/dust, wood/common
Satinwood: irritant/respiratory, eye & skin/extreme/dust, wood/common
Sassafras: sensitizer/respiratory, nausea, nasal cancer/small/dust, wood/rare
Sequoia: irritant/respiratory, nasal cancer/small/dust, wood/rare
Snakewood: irritant/respiratory/great/dust, wood/rare
Spruce: sensitizer/respiratory/small/dust, wood/rare
Stavewood: irritant/respiratory
Sucupira: irritant/respiratory
Teak: sensitizer/eye & skin/extreme/dust/common
Walnut, black: sensitizer/eye & skin/great/leaves & bark/unknown
Wenge: sensitizer/respiratory, eye & skin/great/dust/common
Willow: sensitizer/nasal cancer/great/dust/unknown
W. redcedar: sensitizer/respiratory, nasal cancer/great/dust/common
Yew, Europe: irritant/eye & skin/great/dust/common
Zebrawood: sensitizer/eye & skin/great/dust/rare

[Larry Edgerton]

I make handles for doors out of ebony and cocobolo and I use the same tools that I use for metal work after roughing out on the bandsaw.

I don't put a finish on them at all most times, and after sanding to about 320 I take them to the buffing wheel, done......

Larry

[James Carmichael]

How thick is the stock you're planning to use? I doubt if you'd need more than 1" for a knife handle.

Bill,

The dust from just about any wood has the potential for an allergic reaction. Ebony does pose an extra risk, being in the rosewood family, but skin contact with the solid wood is safe.

[Bill White]

Is there an issue with the band saw? Bad blade? I can't imagine why the BS won't cut the ebony if there is a decent blade used.
Bill

[Matthew N. Masail]

I'm a classical guitar player, and high end guitar fingerboards, the part your fingers come in contact with, are 90% of the time made from ebony. I've never heard a thing about a bad reaction. it's commonly finished with a couple coats of boiled linseed oil and then buffed with fine steel wool.

[Bill Brush]

Is there an issue with the band saw? Bad blade? I can't imagine why the BS won't cut the ebony if there is a decent blade used.
Bill

Cheap blade, and underpowered are the primary reasons. I've come close to tripping the overload breaker just cutting 1/4" ply. I have tripped it cutting 3/4" pine.

To be perfectly precise in my language, it would probably cut the wood, but it would not do it quickly, nor well, so I'm not considering it for the job. For a small job like this I think just my coping saw will be sufficient (once I use the table saw to cut some scales), and the blades are cheap and easily replaced.

[Kent Chasson]

I'm a classical guitar player, and high end guitar fingerboards, the part your fingers come in contact with, are 90% of the time made from ebony. I've never heard a thing about a bad reaction. it's commonly finished with a couple coats of boiled linseed oil and then buffed with fine steel wool.

Yes, I think the list Bill posted refers to the dust. Things like bracelets that can sit all day on sweaty skin are potential problems but even that is very rare.

By the way, in addition to about 50 guitars with ebony fingerboards, I've built at least 30 guitars with cocobolo fingerboards and never had a problem. Cocobolo is way more of a sensitizer than ebony. One certainly wants to be careful around the dust but the solid wood poses almost no risk that I am aware of.

[Georg Zudoff]

Hello Bill!

At first - probably my answer will not be made along with all English Grammar Rules.

So, the answer from my real experience.

Right now I have a one ebony board - it was 3 meter length, near 30 cm width and 2 inches thick.
During a few weeks I've ripped and crosscutted it with Japanese handsaws - kataba ripcut and cataba crosscut.
Only with handsaws.
I must say that it was very hard.
The main purpose - blanks and scales for knives handles and make knives handles too.
If you would like to maintain strict dimensions - it will takes near 30 minutes for ripping or crosscutting kerf 130 mm length and 2 inches width.

After I bought Makita LB1200F bandsaw. I need a smooth sawkerf, so despite this bandsaw was equipped with blades 0,5 mm thick, the bandsaw seller recommend me use bimetall blade, 0,65 mm thick varytooth 8/13 teeth per inch, if I remember right. By the way I can ask this free.
Only bimetall, and the blade I use is intended for resawing colour metals - copper, aluminium etc. I use it for ebony, palisander.
But not for resawing veneer.

In any cases here in Ukraine we have a small choice of bandsaw blades. I think you will find here in this forum a lot amount of threads about ebony sawing.
The simple carbon steel blades will be dull so quickly.

Of course I wear respirator - mask.

As regarding making knife handle - a rasp, not coarse, after a coarse file, don't know right English hame but it is a flat square file Number 1 with 6 teeth per 10 mm.

After medium file and sanding paper.

For knife handles and display things I usually use the X2 system.
For example start sanding with 180 grit sanpaper. The next one is 400, next 800 and so on. I stop usually on 1600-2000 grit.
After oil and fat washing by alcohol 99%, and this make up the small wood hairs (corrrect me please), after 3 times of Danish (now use only Rustins, but plan Festool Surfix). And after 30 min after oiling I sand a little 2000 grit.
The drying 24 hours.
After third oil wiping only carnauba wax.

Thats all.
I'm not knife making, only knife handle making.

Regards,

Georg.