Is Tabaek right for your knife? Choose it when you want a warm, golden-brown handle with a rippling figure that moves as you turn the knife, at a Standard-tier price. It pairs naturally with brass and a black or marbled horn ferrule. If you need a declared botanical species, density figures or trade paperwork for the wood, read the note below first: our catalogue does not give them for Tabaek.
Tabaek at a glance
- Name and species: our configurator lists this wood as “Tabaek Wood”, and our catalogue does not declare a botanical name for it. Tabaek is a trade name, so we do not attach a species, a density figure or a hardness rating to it.
- Trade rules: the CITES Checklist is searched by scientific name, so a trade name alone cannot be checked against it. If you are shipping wood across borders and need that answer, ask us about the actual material before ordering.
- Availability: Tabaek is marked available in the configurator, not “check stock” (captured 26 October 2026).
- Price: Tabaek sits in the configurator’s Standard tier, shown at $55 for a mid-size build with a black horn ferrule. A marbled horn ferrule adds $5.
- Handle length: it follows the knife, not the wood. Our wa handle size guide starts Compact at about 105–115 mm, Mid-size 115–125 mm, Chef 125–135 mm and Long 140–150 mm and over, and calls these starting ranges, not ceilings.
How Tabaek looks
In the configurator’s material photo, our Tabaek is golden to mid-brown with a strong ripple running across the grain, the kind of figure that catches the light differently on each face of an octagonal handle. That photo shows one piece. The next blank may show more or less ripple and a lighter or darker brown, so if the figure is the reason you are choosing it, ask to see the blank.
Without a declared species we make no claim about how the colour will age, how heavy the finished handle will be or how it compares with other woods on hardness. Finished weight and balance come from the whole build: the blank, the handle’s length and cross-section, the ferrule and end cap, and the tang.
Ferrule and rings
We build our Tabaek designs for harmony: one ring metal per handle, an end cap that matches the ferrule, and only a few rings. Brass follows the warm wood, so the current designs pair black or marbled buffalo horn with brass rings or no rings at all.
Caring for a Tabaek handle
Wipe the handle after washing, dry the ferrule joint, and keep the knife out of the dishwasher and standing water. Ask which finish is on the handle before applying oil or wax. Oil is not a repair for movement or a gap at the ferrule.
Fit and measurement
Keep a secure installed handle installed. Close side and spine photographs of its junction can show accessible height, thickness, alignment, and condition, but they are partial observations rather than hidden tang dimensions. If the tang is already exposed, record exactly three primary dimensions in millimetres: usable shoulder- or seating-line-to-tip length, near-shoulder height, and face-to-face thickness at that same station.
Use the configurator to choose the wood, ferrule, shape, and size. Measurements and photographs are optional before purchase and can be added or corrected on the order page after payment until bench work starts.
Tabaek handles you can order now
- Tabaek & Black Buffalo Horn with Horn End Cap (pictured above)
- Tabaek & Black Buffalo Horn with a Brass Ring and Horn End Cap
- Tabaek & Black Buffalo Horn with Brass Rings and Horn End Cap
- Tabaek & Marbled Buffalo Horn with 2 Brass Rings
- Tabaek & Marbled Buffalo Horn with a Brass Ring and Marbled Horn End Cap
Each is made to order and cut to your knife. To compare Tabaek with the other Standard-tier woods, including Purpleheart and Huong (Padauk), see the best wa handle woods guide, or build your own in the configurator.