Florida Wood Series – Part 4 (Dunstan Chestnut, Crepe Myrtle and Live Oak)

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Florida Wood Series – Part 4

Welcome to Part 4 of our Florida Wood Series blog at GreBec Knives! In this post, we’re showcasing Dunstan Chestnut, Crepe Myrtle, and Live Oak. As described on our Florida Wood Series page, these woods are sourced from North Central Florida through storm-downed trees and other rescued wood. Each brings bold character and natural beauty to our custom high-carbon steel knives.

If you missed them, be sure to explore Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 for more unique Florida woods and handcrafted knives.

Dunstan Chestnut

Heavily figured Dunstan Chestnut handle
Right side view of GreBec Knives custom Dunstan Chestnut handle on a French Trade knife.
Dunstan Chestnut custom knife handle showing heavy figuring and peened D10 Bright finishing nails

Most American Chestnut trees were destroyed by blight in the early 1900s. Over the years, plant breeders developed the Dunstan Chestnut, a hybrid tree combining the blight resistance of Chinese Chestnut with the larger nuts and vigorous growth of the American Chestnut.

A friend of ours has been involved for many years with a grove of Dunstan Chestnut trees in the Monticello area of North Florida. These trees originated from second-generation stock from Chestnut Hill Nursery. After the property owner passed away several years ago, our friend purchased the grove from the family. As trees are pruned or damaged limbs removed, he brings us some of the salvaged wood.

My first attempts at drying and stabilizing the wood resulted in quite a few warped and cracked pieces, but I was eventually able to produce several usable knife handle blocks. I decided a historic French trade knife would be the perfect fit for our first Dunstan Chestnut custom knife.

Crepe Myrtle

Left view of a crepe myrtle and live oak custom knife handle with red, white and blue spacers and mild steel pins.
Closeup of the Crepe Myrtle handle with dark highlights in the light wood.
Right view of a custom Crepe Myrtle knife handle with brass pins on a bamboo background.

Crepe Myrtle is a light-colored wood that stabilizes well. Here in North Florida, there are older trees that occasionally need heavy trimming or removal. A landscaper friend of ours brought us several large branches that were big enough to cut into knife handle blocks. Many of us in this area have Crepe Myrtle in our yards for the beautiful flowers these trees produce.

While it may not display the dramatic figuring of some Florida woods, Crepe Myrtle has a clean, subtle appearance and a light natural color that contrasts beautifully with darker woods and darkened blade finishes.

Live Oak

Left view of a Florida Live Oak custom hunting knife showing the stabilized dark oak wood with black grain pattern and mild steel pins.
Closeup view of a Florida Live Oak knife handle with dark brown wood and black grain pattern on a custom made 1/2 tang historic trade knife.
Stabilized Florida Live Oak knife handle on a handmade high carbon steel Chef knife with brass pins on a bamboo background.

Southern Live Oak is a massive evergreen tree native to the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains, including much of Florida. It commonly grows throughout North Central Florida, and we have several large Live Oaks on our own property.

The wood used for our Live Oak knife handles comes from storm-downed trees — several of which have blocked our road and had to be cut up just so we could get past them! Live Oak is an extremely hard wood that tends to crack and twist while drying. Once properly dried, we stabilize the wood to preserve its natural beauty and improve long-term durability with minimal maintenance.

Many customers request Live Oak for custom knives because it is such a well-known and iconic tree in our area.

If you’ve missed them, take a look at Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of our Florida Wood Series. Discover more Florida woods crafted into custom high-carbon steel knives at GreBec Knives & More. You can also explore our online shop and filter by Florida Woods to browse knives currently in stock featuring these distinctive materials.

Stay tuned as we continue expanding the series over time!

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