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Attn: PNW and Alaska members ISO: sitka spruce (Alaskan preferred) or other PNW figured? Wood

thedutchtouch

thedutchtouch

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Alright saddle brethren (and sistren) I have a really weird request but not sure where to turn, so here goes.

I have a bit of a crazy idea to make my brother and I a matching knife set and to give him his during our September hunt (ideally when it comes time to field dress/butcher a sitka blacktail, but I'll give it to him even if we aren't successful). I have a length of knife steel (to be honest, don't remember exactly what type of steel, but I know it's knife steel.) and want to make these knives myself over the next few months. I would love to handle it with scales made from sitka spruce or some other type of Alaskan wood. I can epoxy-stabilize them if need be, but am mainly trying to get my hands on a few small pieces of wood that would work for this endeavour. I realize spruce isn't a great wood for knife handle durability, but it's more of a sentimental/wanting to bring out some of the SE Alaska connection.

Crazy idea, I know, and this isn't a knifemaking or woodworking forum, I know, but y'all are a good bunch and he isn't on here so figured I'd start here.

Would compensate you/pay shipping etc if you can hook me up. Thanks.
 
Exhumis said:
When do you need it by? What other woods would you consider? I’ll see if my pop can get me some. He lives in Palmer.
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Our hunt is in mid September so ideally early August at latest to give me time to glue it up and shape it, Honestly I don't have much preference (or knowledge of what's local and would be appropriate) I just chose sitka because of the name overlap with the deer we'll be chasing on Admiralty
 
thedutchtouch said:
Our hunt is in mid September so ideally early August at latest to give me time to glue it up and shape it, Honestly I don't have much preference (or knowledge of what's local and would be appropriate) I just chose sitka because of the name overlap with the deer we'll be chasing on Admiralty
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Cool. My pop should have access to a couple types of spruce, some willow and birch (which is what moose prefer) and probably mountain hemlock. Admiralty being southeast has primarily red cedar, sitka spruce and hemlock IIRC, I’ll see what he can get.
Edit: what condition do you want the wood? Handle sized blanks, rough hewn pieces, kindling size, logs, matchsticks?
 
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You have the hook up with Exhumis, but with my experience in Alaska, you will be doing a lot of bushwhacking through alder with cottonwood mixed if. Neither of these woods are strong, but since you will be epoxying some epoxied alder handles would be pretty and trip appropriate. You will not soon forget the alders.
 
Exhumis said:
Cool. My pop should have access to a couple types of spruce, some willow and birch (which is what moose prefer) and probably mountain hemlock. Admiralty being southeast has primarily red cedar, sitka spruce and hemlock IIRC, I’ll see what he can get.
Edit: what condition do you want the wood? Handle sized blanks, rough hewn pieces, kindling size, logs, matchsticks?
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Anything roughly 2 inch by 2 inch by 6 inch or larger (ideally not including the pith/center of the tree/branch) as I could separate that down to two scale pieces and rasp/sand them to handle shape
 
Update:
No guarantees but didn’t want to leave you hanging. My pop has a line on some willow and possibly Sitka.
 
Hey thanks again. I suppose I was a bit too hasty with this post, I was just visiting my parents for the weekend and actually just spur of the moment planned a trip out with my dad in July so hoping to put a chunk of something in my suitcase on the way home. Spoiling myself with two Alaska trips in one year, but I told myself I'm worth it (and thank you Alaska airlines for companion fares, that make this possible)

My humblest apologies for wasting you or your dad's time. If he's gone too far down this road to stop, I'll still gladly compensate you/him for the time and effort, likely better to have a backup anyway if I can't get something home or screw it up.
 
I can't help from MN, but I have a thought. If the Alaskan coastline has significance to your project, maybe some chunks of driftwood? The wood would be a mystery but I'd bet you'd get some spalting and interesting interaction with the salt and moss and marine life and whatnot. Especially if you stabilize it, or use colorful/pearl/metallic epoxy to fill in gaps or weak spots, or incorporate beach glass somehow.
 
Iron_llama said:
I can't help from MN, but I have a thought. If the Alaskan coastline has significance to your project, maybe some chunks of driftwood? The wood would be a mystery but I'd bet you'd get some spalting and interesting interaction with the salt and moss and marine life and whatnot. Especially if you stabilize it, or use colorful/pearl/metallic epoxy to fill in gaps or weak spots, or incorporate beach glass somehow.
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This is exactly my plan, I'm hoping to find something floating or along the shoreline in July (that's small enough to bring home lol). We will be headed to a usfs cabin in part of Tongass to fish for halibut/salmon, so hoping to find a suitable chunk of driftwood to use for knife scales and deer calls (adgf published a pdf that is almost as old as I am about how to make a sitka call with wood and a rubber band) and ideally I'll be able to do it one of the days my brother is flying heli tours/unable to join my dad and I, to maintain the surprise.
 
Exhumis said:
Not a waste, it’s friends helping friends. He is also sending me some caribou antler, want that instead?
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No, but thank you. If I make something out of antler it has to be from something we've found/shot ourselves. Hopefully that will be next.
 
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