Pre-milled African Sapele Handle Block

African Sapele Wood Handle Block, pre-milled

Handle blocks from two wood types, pre-milled for easier tang fitting to the blade.

Grind or file the blade tang until it fits the existing hole in the block and glue it in with epoxy glue.

A great way to speed up the process or if not having a good drill press and small files, a good starting point.

The slit is about 3 x 13 mm at the face of the block and about 70 mm deep.

The photos are showing sanded blocks sealed with UBHF, they come as raw wood.

They are about 30 x 30 x 130 mm in size, the front bolster bit is securely embedded into the main piece and might not be squared up completely, meaning you will get less than 30 x 30 mm square if squaring these up before shaping the handle.

An important wood economically for African exports, Sapele is not a "true" Mahogany but in the same Meliaceae family and with a similar appearance. Sapele Mahogany is almost 50% harder than "true" Honduras Mahogany making it popular with guitar makers as it is hard and still fairly easy to work.

The Sapele trees can reach up to 45 m in height with slender 1 m diameter trunks and have been an important export from Tropical Africa for a long time. It is not on the threatened species list.

Used both as veneer due to attractive hue and as wood in furniture and boat building, it is an attractive handle material but requires care and sharp tools to avoid tear-outs when worked.

This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices, but is on the IUCN Red List. It is listed as vulnerable due to a population reduction of over 20% in the past three generations, caused by a decline in its natural range, and exploitation.