Thanks for the comments. Here's some gnarly cedar limbs that I found along the coast on the last trip - all destined to become knife
handles one day. The cedars grow behind the sand dunes along the South Carolina coast and are very prolific. I look for the dead
fallen branches that have some character with the twists, turns and insect activity. Photo of the limbs as I found them and after I cut
and trimmed them down to knife handle size. There are a few that I've cleaned up and stained with a natural oil based stain. I do it
all by hand and get a light gloss on the wood with up to a 1,000 grit sand paper before staining them.