Magnetic Knife Strips for Sale: 2.1 - Birdseye, Danggai, and Marblewood

Alongside Magnetic Knife Strip 2.0, I now have version 2.1, which is largely the same as 2.0, just made from different, more exotic materials. Also, I'm selling them on the etsy. Check out the storefront here.

Pics and descriptions of the materials after the jump.


I talked about birdseye maple here. I made a knife strip out of it:

This is a pretty good quality piece of birdseye based on the number and density of the birdseye figure. Just like with the other knife strips, I just gave it some butcher's block oil, which helps bring out the figure. Embiggen this picture and you can get a good look at the birdseye patterning.

I used danggai in a chessboard, but that was all endgrain up. This piece gives you a better look at the material. It comes out with a nice reddish color with the butcher's block oil on it:

Lastly, marblewood, which I talked about during a random post on different hardwood species. This is the first time I've worked with marblewood, which has a light tan color that darkens after finishing. Its naturally-occurring contrasting colors end up being very striking.

It has a strange, slightly unpleasant odor when you cut it. Many tropical woods are oily, and those oils heat up when the saw blade cuts them, causing different aromas. Some, like bloodwood are nearly intoxicating they smell so good. Some are used specifically for their aroma, like sandalwood. Marblewood, on the other hand, is never going to be the best smelling gal at the perfume shop.

Its grain is long, which is to say that the way it grows there are long stretches that want to stick together more than they want to stay as part of the board. This makes it prone to chipping and tearing out those long grain stretches. It's actually a little temperamental to work with. From what I hear, hickory is the worst for this problem, and marblewood is by no means unworkable, but it definitely makes a person appreciate easier woods to work. If I were building a larger project all out of marblewood, I'd almost certainly have to build in room for boards that get ruined by excessive splintering by buying extra material.

Anyway, as always, feel free to email me about one of these. Pop over to the etsy if you feel like it. Buy one, or three, whatever works for you.