Like a member's affinity to Ironwood, I have an affinity to regional hardwoods, namely Osage Orange and Honey Locust. Both are known to be used as fence posts due to their toughness and rot resistance. Osage Orange starts out with a green tint and as it's exposed to the elements, turns a dark brown.

I recently bought some "turning blocks" of each. Knowing full well that they're green, the plan is to gently air-dry them over the course of 2-3 years. First step is to get them all bagged and let them sit for six months, airing them out once a month. If they blow out and split all over the place, they'll get tossed into the fire pit. If they hold up after drying for a few years, I'll pick out the nicer blocks and size them depending on the target RMK.

Some of them arrived dipped in wax stem-to-stern, meaning they would have still been 99% green when I pull them out in two years. *scowl* I spent a fair amount of the day scraping the wax off (sides only) with a card scraper. All done, everything bagged.

As I was scraping, I got to thinking.. aside from having non-split wood of the proper size, what would make for an ideal CW customer?

"As I was scraping, I got to thinking.. aside from having non-split wood of the proper size, what would make for an ideal CW customer?"
Not really sure what you mean, but.....an ideal "cw" customer, I would think, is one that generates an order every 3 months!!!
:-)Rocky

As I was scraping, I got to thinking.. aside from having non-split wood of the proper size, what would make for an ideal CW customer?

Knowing the correct dimensions of the material for knives that you order, & cut it down to them.
Knowing what the difference is in the end result to the handle size with spacers vs. collars.
Finding a way to get your CW approved before sending it in.
And my personal favorite don't get miffed when you get told no we can't do that on that size blade.

I can keep my non-dealer four-per-year purchases rolling for several years without ever submitting a CW option.

This question was really posed for dealers, since I'd like for them to bless my material and manage the order. The goal is to be the least headache for them possible.

I've seen mention (elsewhere) of some dealers simply avoiding CW options, and that's a shame. Understandable, though.

Rob,
Why don't you give your blocks a few months (to cure and dry, somewhat) and send them off to be stabilized? That should save you quite a bit of time. As for osage and the like, I have had no difficulties with it, in the past, so long as you do not put too high of expectations on it, re: color, figure, etc.
Good luck with your endeavor.
Capt. Chris

Rob,

since you like Osage Orange a lot, (and Osage handled randalls are pretty rare) here are two pics of a Nr1 I bought years ago from Perry Miller (I believe he had a website at the time with an underside shot of an alligator on it.

I sold this knife a year later, and I still kick myself in the behind for doing so, as it was the nicest nr1 I ever owned.

Just look at the options and that beautiful Osage!

Sorry mods, if this is a bit off topic, feel free to delete or move.

Not off topic at all, and I have to agree. What a good looking knife. I like everything about it. Definitely a winner.
Thanxxx for the post

Awesome, thanks.

Most of my CW wishlist is loaded with NS options, too.

Aside from the rarity, I'm also banking on the fact that OO darkens with age and exposure.

Was the wood for that knife stabilized?

9 options? I would buy that all day. I like the 1's with a forward curved hilt....sexy!

Rob, the OO on that knife was not stabilized, just polished. I have no idea of the age of that knife when I bought it. I had it for about a year, and although the OO was not bright yellow anymore it still had that yellowisch sheen. Unmistakenly OO, and hard as nails.