Butternut

[William Roscoe]

I was thinking of making a knife holder like in the new issue of woodshop (?) but I've never used this wood before. Is this as hard as regular walnut or is it softer? I'm concerned that the knives over time might dig into a soft wood.

 

[Mark Gottesman]

Don't know about the wood, but most damaged slot in my block is the serrated bread knife. Years of sliding it in have chewed up the opening. Several years ago, I started slotting my sushi knife edge up, so there is one possible solution to slot damage.

A quick look show butternut ans much softer than black walnut and favored by carvers. Use it and inset a hardwood wear protector in each slot.

 

[Howard Acheson]

Butternut is a very lightweight and soft wood. I would probably not use it for a knife holder. I would use real walnut. It will be more durable.

 

[CrealBilly]

Maybe bind the slots with copper or aluminum even plastic guitar binding might be ok?

 

[Michael Mathews]

Butternut is usually the second wood compared to Basswood that us carvers grab for a project....

 

[Jeff]

I was thinking of making a knife holder like in the new issue of woodshop (?) but I've never used this wood before. Is this as hard as regular walnut or is it softer? I'm concerned that the knives over time might dig into a soft wood.

I'm a naysayer here, but I think it'll work just fine. Yes, it is much softer than black walnut but those sharp knife edges aren't really going to dig in-all you're doing is sliding the knife into the slot without much muscle work. It's replaceable and cheaper than a high quality knife blade grinding against a hard surface.

Janka hardness:

Butternut 490

Douglas Fir 660

Black walnut 1010

 

[William Roscoe]

Thanks for the varied opinions. All things considered, I'm just going to make it out of some walnut I have. In the mean time, I can possibly use the butternut for a future project in wood carving. I've always wanted to learn how to carve wood.

 

[ScottM]

I have done scroll saw work using butternut. It is soft and cuts very well but it does get the fuzzy like poplar can and requires a lot of sanding. The butternut I have worked with is a darker wood but no where as dark as walnut.