Another one nears completion..

[ironglow]

.
  ..Stopped by my grandson's forge , just to see what is going on..  He was finishing a custom order by my neighbor, who wants to present it to his son for Christmas.
  Neighbor wanted a smallish hunter, so that is what grandson was working on.  I watched him forge, harden/temper.. and get the blade through most of the needed grinding.

Then to choose the handle material...  Neighbor was confident, so he was given free wheel in designing and executing the knife.

  For the wood, he selected a nice grain with a historical touch.  As I have said, he has been into exotic woodsfor years, and stabalizes them regularly..so this knife will have a handle of stabalized White Oak..

   Not just any white oak, butthe white Oak that was featured in th emovie, "The Shawshank Redemption".

   Here is the knife withthe scales attached..  Now he will go through refining the finish on the blade and sanding the wood down to a nice visual and tactile work.  (nice figure for a white Oak root)   Then to etch his mark on it ...and deliver..

[BUGEYE]

Awesome, I had never seen a knife with a oak handle.

[ironglow]

Almost any wood will work, so long as it is stabalized.  That way it can never shrink, warp, bend or lose it's shape in any normal way.

  Spalted maple is really maple wood that has gone very soft on it's way to decomopsition..bt after being stabalized with acrylics, it is hard , durable and beautiful.

  Below, see a duck call made from spalted maple.

[BUGEYE]

Wow,  I'd love a gunstock of that maple.

[Anduril]

Very nice!

 ................ the white Oak that was featured in the movie, "The Shawshank Redemption". ...........  (nice figure for a white Oak root) 

Did that big tree on the stone wall finally blow over? Any idea how old it was?
..

[ironglow]

Very nice!

 ................ the white Oak that was featured in the movie, "The Shawshank Redemption". ...........  (nice figure for a white Oak root) 

Did that big tree on the stone wall finally blow over? Any idea how old it was?
..

   It looks like the white oak involved inmthe movie had stone a wall near it , but not touching.  Not unless there was some stones placed adjacentfor the movie.
  Any way; if there is a notable tree in any neighborhood..wood afficinados, such as my grandson ..will already have connections arranged, should anything happen to the special tree.  The wood afficinado who bought the tree was an acquaintance of my grandson
  Anyway..here's the story..   https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/famous-shawshank-oak-falls/530-0b669624-5159-4d27-8c02-b76cc3df63cd

[ironglow]

  .
  Here is a memorial park about 25 miles from my home, up toward Letchworth state park.  You can rest assured, if anything happens to that tree, my grandson will be "johnny -on-the-spot"..up there aty Cuylerville, just across the Genesee River from the college town of Geneseo.
  He already has some small, dry limbs he  under the tree..to make gift pens from, but larger pieces would be treasured by many people...myself included.  I would make a personal knife with TT handles.

  https://www.oddthingsiveseen.com/2018/01/here-we-go-round-boyd-parker-torture.html

   https://www.gatheringgrowth.org/trees-of-significance/torture-tree  (click on pic..for more views)
   

[Graybeard]

I've watched a LOT of movies in my lifetime, many I have watched several times cuz I really enjoy them. But I have to admit I've never seen a movie that had a tree in it that would cause me to want part of that tree for myself whether as a knife or for any other reason.

I reckon I'm just not made that way. I do enjoy seeing and owning beautifully grained wood however, I just place no value on it being from a movie. I guess to me that would place too much meaning on hollyweird.

[ironglow]

I've watched a LOT of movies in my lifetime, many I have watched several times cuz I really enjoy them. But I have to admit I've never seen a movie that had a tree in it that would cause me to want part of that tree for myself whether as a knife or for any other reason.

I reckon I'm just not made that way. I do enjoy seeing and owning beautifully grained wood however, I just place no value on it being from a movie. I guess to me that would place too much meaning on hollyweird.

  I completely understand you Bill, since what means a great deal to one may be boring to the other.  I happen to be a history buff, and am thrilled to stand where gladiators or legions once fought, where SS troops or GIs fought to the death in WW2..  What a thrill, when my feet found a WW2 German helmet on the floor of a German lake ..in 1965 !  It was a thrill to roam through castles once occupied by kings, knights, and where pages and ladies fair once dwelled.
   
   ..And to wield a 14th century Samurai sword..was a pleasure...all of which I jhave done and more.

  On the other hand, I see people pay fairly big money to attend a concert, a pro football game or a broadway play...things I wouldn't pay a thin dime to see any of them.

  I know, for many that doesn't mean spit !   ..But that is the beauty of God's creation...no two exactly alike..