Nice offer Graham. Thanks. The only Randall I have with a ringed gidgee handle is this one.
Best, Capt. Chris

These might show the gidgee grain a bit better

Absolutely a better shot. I have had very few dealings with this wood but all have been pleasant. I know of nobody who has experienced problems with it.
Best, Capt. Chris

WOW!
That's nice! Thanks Graham!

I don't believe anyone has mentioned ebony yet.
Attached is a classy looking #2 "letter opener" that recently sold on eBay. It shows how ebony goes well with brass and it certainly goes well with NS too...

Ed

I am going to try and post a picture of a Ebony wooded Model 5 I have. It is certainly different looking that your Ebony. [img:center]http://C:\Documents and Settings\Rodney Brown.RODNEY-UOGPUY56\My Documents\My Pictures\Guns & Knives\June 2009 guns& knives[/img]
[img:center]http://C:\Documents and Settings\Rodney Brown.RODNEY-UOGPUY56\My Documents\My Pictures\Guns & Knives\June 2009 guns& knives[/img]

Well it is quite obvious I don't have posting a pic down pat. I will work on it and try to do better in a while!!

I tried copying your photo Rod and it did no good. If you can send me a copy via my email I can give it a whirl.
Best, Capt. Chris

Rod has sent me a photo to post....here goes.
Best, Capt. Chris
P.S.: I suspect I know what these woods are, but Rod knows for sure so we'll let him describe them...They're drop-dead gorgeous, I can tell ya' that much...CCS

Capt.

Many thanks for posting the pics for me. Man am I computer dumb, but I am stubborn and will get picture posting down eventually.

The top wood is Ebony, a part of a piece Greg Gutcher and I bought at the Blade Show in 2005. I have no idea why mine is so much different than Ed Thompson's Ebony. I will contact Greg and see if he can shed more light as to why my knife is so different from Ed's.

The bottom knife is Ironwood. I bought the knife from Nordic Knives in 2003. I did not order the knife, just bought it off the website, if I recall.

Rod,

I make no claim to be wood expert but I understand that, like most natural materials, ebony can show up in different "flavors". Sometimes you hear terms like black ebony, black and white, or striped ebony to describe a particular piece of wood. (Just like two pieces of ironwood can look very different, although they are both ironwood).

The knife pic that I posted has an all black ebony handle, your knife has a black and white ebony handle...

To illustrate, here are two different ebony pics that I found on the web...