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Handles that keep changing after you buy them

The part of a collection that keeps moving is the handles. I think the handles are the most underrated thing in knife collecting.

Steel does what it does and then stops. A blade you put away in 1990 looks about the today if the blade was stored properly. The handle does not work like that all.

Stag darkens and the colour shifts over decades and no two pieces do that at the rate, which is why matching a replacement scale to an old knife almost never looks right. Bone takes dye. Then wears back through bone exactly where fingers sit so a well used bone handle tells you how the owner held the handle. Camel bone is dense enough that this takes years than months and when it happens the handle has quietly mapped itself to one persons grip.

Wood is the one that surprises people. Rosewood and walnut both darken with handling oils and a knife that lived in a pocket looks different from its twin that lived in a drawer, year same batch.

What I like about this is that the handle makes a used knife genuinely different from a knife rather than just worse. A blade with wear on it is a blade with wear on it. A handle with wear on it is a record.

The flip side is storage. Natural materials move with humidity. A handle that dried out in a hot attic can shrink enough to leave a lip at the bolster you can catch a nail on. Silica packs in the case cost nothing and prevent the one thing that actually ruins these materials.

I have put a clip below of handle fitting side of things in our shop since a few threads here have asked about how scales get matched to a tang. I make knives in Memphis so take the shop footage as context than a pitch.

The care side of natural handle materials is the part I get asked about most. I wrote it out properly rather than repeating myself in threads: knife care guide

Curious what the oldest natural handle, in anybodys collection is and whether you have watched that handle change or whether that handle came to you already aged.

Tags: custom, knifes, knives

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Permalink Reply by Lars on Sunday

What a great thread here Mamba - this is one of those topics where I knew this, but did I take it to heart?

I take pride in being the "Worlds expert" on the pieces I own, whether it's a knife, bayonet, or sword. And while I know a lot about a lot of knife things as a collector, I readlily admit I don't know everything. And this is a great example. Everything you discribed I sat here and said - "Yep, that's right, I know that". But did I really?

The answer is Yes - I know all of this at the Head-knowledge level...but not at the Heart-knowledge level. It's one thing to "know" about something, but it's altogether different to embrace the knowlege.

I'm not sure if I am explaining this very well. I love natural material handles - the woods, leather, horn, bone, and stag. Synthetics have thier place - but it's all in the name - it's synthethic.

The naturals have always appealed more to me....but I never really considered why. They just do. Your explanation above - although great knowledge - clicked and answered my Why. It's for those very reasons you described - those subtle nuances that only apply to the naturals. Those changes on color over time and wear patterns - they all add to the life and history of the piece. They are part of the life and story of the piece.

You helped me apply another level of depth on many of the pieces I own, and a new way at looking and appreciating them.

Great - you know this means I have to dig everyone of them out now and look at them all over again to identify the signs of handle change. This could months! (Not sorry!!)

Good stuff Mamba - thanks for the thread. I enjoyed this....