One of the mystery wood handles in today’s name game on Facebook was kingwood. When I sanded it down it had a beautiful purple color, and a hard, tight grain. Because it was so hard, I had to use fresh abrasives to keep from burning the wood.
The thing I like about this kingwood is the way that is shows the grain of the wood. Synthetic handle materials are great; they’re durable and they come in a variety of shapes and colors and patterns, but there’s something about a natural wood handle that is really just nice to see and a pleasure to work with.
The kingwood that I’m using comes from a desert region in the northeastern part of Brazil, and the climate that it comes from is probably a good part of the reason for its hard, tight wood, like a desert ironwood would be. Especially after working with all of this camel bone for “The General” limited edition knives, it was nice to sand on some wood again.
Kingwood takes a great polish too. When it’s finished, it will really shine. I envy the lucky guy who gets this knife! It will probably be for sale on the site when it’s finished – unless I just can’t bare to part with it myself. If you’re interested or you know someone who’s interested, be sure to sign up for the mailing list on my site, and you’ll be the first notified when new products become available.