Thread: Revisor in Cocobolo

I finished up this Revisor in some Cocobolo with an olive wood wedge last night.i particularly like the grain in this set.

The grain does look great, but I also like the shape the you used on these looks nice and looks comfortable great job!!!!!!

Another fine looking job. LOVE IT!!!

It looks much better in person. There is more range in color and hue than in the photo. My little camera does not capture the full range of color.

I have been slowly changing the shape over the past few months. I have thinned out the scale near the hinge pin and put a little more curve in the cut. I think it fit the hand nicely. After all, if it is not comfortable, you won’t use it.

I took the camera outside and snapped another photo in the shade. I had to put the camera in manual mode to force an overexposure by one stop to get a better photo. The grain is still hard to see, guess I make them to shiny, the reflections make it hard to get a photo of.

Does teh cocobolo cause irritation at all with the shave? I think it is related to the poison oak

Originally Posted by Akady

Does teh cocobolo cause irritation at all with the shave? I think it is related to the poison oak

I bought a piece of cocobolo this weekend and did some sanding on it and wasn't bothered at all by the dust on my skin. The guy at the store did tell me though that it is in the poison oak or ivy family, and to wear a respirator when working with it. BTW, very nice scales Dave.

Cocobolo is actually highly toxic. Most exotic woods are and you should take the needed precautions when working them. The wood itself is usually not a problem, however the dust can cause some serious problems.

I ware a respirator ALL the time when I am working on any wood. These scales were finished in epoxy resin which essentially creates a shell a couple 32nds thick and completely seals the wood. You could literally submerge them in water. The blade would rust before the wood suffered any ill effects. I have also tested the durability of the finish by pounding on a set of cherry scales with a hammer as hard as I could a half dozen times. It put a scuff on the finish, nothing else. You would break the blade before the scales broke.

Originally Posted by cannonfodder

Cocobolo is actually highly toxic. Most exotic woods are and you should take the needed precautions when working them. The wood itself is usually not a problem, however the dust can cause some serious problems.

I ware a respirator ALL the time when I am working on any wood. These scales were finished in epoxy resin which essentially creates a shell a couple 32nds thick and completely seals the wood. You could literally submerge them in water. The blade would rust before the wood suffered any ill effects. I have also tested the durability of the finish by pounding on a set of cherry scales with a hammer as hard as I could a half dozen times. It put a scuff on the finish, nothing else. You would break the blade before the scales broke.

I wouldn't say cocobolo is "highly toxic". It comes down to one's sensitivity to the stuff. Of course the dust is the worst. I personally have no problems with cocobolo, However, I have developed a serious respiratory infection from working with spalted wood. Those dormant fungal spores that make spalted wood so pretty awoke and tried to kill me once they found themselves in my bronchial passages, likea bunch of sneaky Trojans hiding inside a wooden horse.

Here is a cool website wiitha very solid reference chart:

http://www.riparia.org/toxic_woods.htm

I hope this is helpful,

Brad

P.S. While coco may cause some unfortunate users a form of contact dermatitis similar to poison ivy, the plants are not related.

Ok, highly toxic may not be the best choice of words, how about highly prone to allergic reactions. Dad spent 3 months getting over a repertory problem after lathing some Coco for me and sanding it without his respirator for some unknown reason. Of all the exotic, Cocobolo is ranked in the top handful of woods most likely to cause a reaction. There are several wood toxicity charts out there and coco is always in the top few, but it looks so darn good.

Very nice looking scales!