matching knife and pistol grips

[manassas dragon]

i need a winter project and i kind of have a hankering to make a knife from a kit(texas knife makers supply) and i want to make grips to match. the problem that i have run across is i need to be able to buy fancy wood that is wide enuff for my vaqueros and for the knife. i reckon i also need screws for the vaquero that i can inlet the hardware nto the grips. any suggestions?

[Ned Buckshot]

Howdy!

For intesting hard wood you'll need to do a search on google for exotic woods to get a big enough piece to make grips, I believe Brownells still carries the proper screw and escutcheon set you'll need.

Ned

[St. George]

I'm thinking of moving this one over to the 'Gunsmithing' forum - I think you'll have better luck, there.

You picked an absorbing winter project - I wish you all success...

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Josh Dabney]

Heya Manassas Dragon,

Just curious if you had a certain type of wood in mind ?

I've never delt with these folks but here are some places-

http://www.amazonexotichardwoods.com/index.html  -

http://www.cookwoods.com/     these folks are well respected in the knife community.

Also do not discount e-bay as a place to shop for wood.  search for the type of wood specifically, or "burl" or "crotch wood" etc and you should have no problem finding something in a size big enough for your needs, probably at a bargain price to boot.  There are at least half a dozen sellers on there who specialize in nothing but woods.  I have bought some stuff from e-bay and never had any problems.

If you want curly maple I've got some of that and would send you a piece for your project.

I your interested just let me know,  Josh

[manassas dragon]

thanks,josh. i am looking for some darker wood with a lot of figure-ironwood,snakewood,but i have to have scales 3" wide
which i haven't found yet. cocobolo might work.

[ChuckBurrows]

Give the folks at Burl Source a shout - tell them what you want and they should be able to fix you up  - http://burlsales.com/

[GunClick Rick]

What is the wood called where the guy goes under water in rivers and retrieves old submerged logs,is it birdseye? He dries them then mills them and it bueatiful~

[Josh Dabney]

+1 on Chuck's post !  Mark at burl source is good people !

In searching e-bay or googling, try searching for "bowl turning blanks"  Should be right up your alley.  I think they're around 6"x6"x3"  or there abouts. 

-Josh