Poison Ivy Grips

[Saint]

I am looking to make some new grips for my SBH and wanted to try somethimg really exotic. I have made pens from poison ivy wood before but the wood i used was given to me by a friend and was not really big enough to make a pistol grip. I have to admit I dont spend as much time outdoors as i would like so I am not sure how big poison ivy gets so it may not even be possible to get a piece large enough to do this but if anyone knows of a place in Utah that I could track down a piece large enough to do this i would appreciate it. Also if anyone has ever done this i would love to see the pics.
A note for anyone who wants to try working with this. Do so at your own risk. I started working the wood too early the first time and i payed the price. If you think a poison ivy rash is bad try a lung full of poson ivy sawdust. It is extremely important to let the wood dry out completely before attempting to work with it but once it is completely dry it seems to lose whatever compounds that cause the irritation.

[subsonic]

It gets big enough. Keep those grips over there in Utah! And pens too!

I cut through a vine that was about 3" diameter on accident with a handsaw when trimming a tree. Won't do that again!

[462]

Man, that stuff is bad news. Haven't had a case in a few years, however one episode resulted in rashes in some very tender places. Hot showers help . . . for a while.

Knew a guy who had it so bad he ended up in the hospital for a few days. Worked with an old Chinaman who had a bunch of it on his property. He would eat the new, springtime leaves, so he wouldn't be bothered by it, while clearing it out. The phone company gives its linemen a concoction to increase their immunity to it.

Leaves of three, leave it be.

[Saint]

Yeah the lung full of sawdust nearly landed me in the ER. I am not thrilled with the idea of working with it again but for something this unique I think it will be worth it. I will probably let the wood dry for at least a year this time though.

[subsonic]

The best idea I have for "curing" it is throw it in the river and when you can find it, it's "cured"!

Seriously, this stuff is pretty soft and google retreives this:

The Evil Sleeping Bag

As a teenager in the '70's, I helped my Dad clear some land in the country for a house. We camped out there for the weekend. Giant 4-inch diameter vines were choking the large pecan trees. We'd pry a section of vine away from the trunk, and I would hold it away from the trunk by hand while my Dad chain-sawed out a section so the vines above would die.

The chainsaw sprayed "juice", and when the cut was made all the way through, a huge flow of clear liquid would gush from the upper part of the vine (perhaps a half gallon each), that completely drenched my clothing. Just wild grape vine sap - poison ivy can't get THAT large, right?

We camped that night in our sleeping bags, and by the following afternoon, I started feeling an itching sensation. By Monday afternoon, I was red all over and breaking out in blisters. Oh, the agony. It only got worse over the next 3 days.It took three weeks to get the rash under control, and over a month and a half to get totally rid of it.

I went camping again the following winter in the same sleeping bag: THE SAME THING HAPPENED ALL OVER AGAIN!!! Another month of misery. So I repeatedly washed the sleeping bag in hot water.

I went on a spring camp-out a couple of months later. And good grief! It happened YET AGAIN, though to a much lesser degree. I threw out that sleeping bag.

And

How long does the oil last?
The oil from poison ivy is extremely stable and will stay potent - essentially forever. You can get a rash from clothing or tools that have the oil from last summer, or even from many years back.

So if you don't remove the oil by washing, using alcohol to dissolve it, or by just hosing off with a hard spray from a hose - assume it will stay forever.

http://www.poison-ivy.org/html/faq.htm

There is an entry in the guiness book about someone catching it from a log that had the oil on it from over 100 years before.

[Jim]

My wife works in the medical profession and I showed her your post. She said, if you're allergic to it, you're courting disaster. The toxin becomes dormant when dried, but is reactivated by nothing more than the oil on your skin or the moisture in your lungs, eyes, nasal passages, etc..

Sounds like a bad plan to me.

[Bullet Caster]

My only episode with poison ivy was when I was out clearing some woods and accidently cut myself with a knife. I just let it bleed and when I finished clearing out the vines I noticed that some of the ivy rosin had gotten into the wound. It got a little itchy while healing up but I thought that was just the healing process.

Later I became exposed to poison ivy and never got a rash or anything from it. I believe that I somehow innoculated myself against it by getting it in my blood stream. I can strip leaves from the plant with my bare hands and noting ever happens. Lol. Thank God for that. BC

[jh45gun]

I have never seen Poison Ivy that big here in WI it only grows like small plants and vines.

[762 shooter]

This brings to mind the Jesse James chopper build that had a sharpened point built into the rear of the gas tank right in front of the rider's crotch.

Ivy wood would seem to be very soft. All I have to do is look at it and I get a rash and start itching.

You go girl.

BulletCaster; You are dreaming. Be careful. I had to take an employee to the hospital because he thought he was not susceptible. Poison Ivy oil is a carbolic acid. It doesn't care if you think you are innoculated. It's like saying you are not allergic to sulfuric acid. It's a chemical thing. Trust me.

762

[Saint]

Thanks for all the great feedback. I worked with it pretty extensively after it dried out and never had an issue. I was hesitant to give away anything I made with it though. I do not recommend trying this either and the feedback I am getting is making me reconsider. I think I will get the wood and mull it over for the year it takes to dry.

[I'll Make Mine]

My only episode with poison ivy was when I was out clearing some woods and accidently cut myself with a knife. I just let it bleed and when I finished clearing out the vines I noticed that some of the ivy rosin had gotten into the wound. It got a little itchy while healing up but I thought that was just the healing process.

Later I became exposed to poison ivy and never got a rash or anything from it. I believe that I somehow innoculated myself against it by getting it in my blood stream. I can strip leaves from the plant with my bare hands and noting ever happens. Lol. Thank God for that. BC

Or, more likely, you're one of the roughly 2% of humans who aren't naturally allergic to poison ivy, so it doesn't bother you any more than blackberry leaves bother me (the blackberry leaves, however, would give my ex a rash that looked a lot like poison ivy, only less persistent).

Even burning poison ivy can spread the toxin -- anywhere the smoke goes! -- if the fire isn't hot enough to completely consume the oil.

[Plate plinker]

It would have to be mighty pretty to even consider what you want to do.

Last time I had it I had to go on the steroid pills and an inhaler, that's bad for me as I was once basically immune, I could walk through a whole patch, but not anymore. I would give this up if I was you. Seems every time I get it now it worse than the time before.

[I'll Make Mine]

Seems every time I get it now it worse than the time before.

This is the mark of sensitization to an allergen. Get this with bee stings, and if your doctor knows about it, he'll have you carrying an epinephrine injector pen for the rest of your life. Get it with epoxy, and you'll be permanently disabled from working with, or in some cases even using epoxy based products (fiberglass, carbon fiber -- including action bedding compound, fishing rods, boats, or Corvettes). I'd take it seriously with poison ivy...

[tek4260]

Man, that stuff is bad news. Haven't had a case in a few years, however one episode resulted in rashes in some very tender places. Hot showers help . . . for a while.

Knew a guy who had it so bad he ended up in the hospital for a few days. Worked with an old Chinaman who had a bunch of it on his property. He would eat the new, springtime leaves, so he wouldn't be bothered by it, while clearing it out. The phone company gives its linemen a concoction to increase their immunity to it.

Leaves of three, leave it be.



The only thing we have is a wash to remove the oil and hopefully keep it from breaking you out. Technu is what it is called I believe. It actually works good on the rash from it and will keep it from spreading. I got it pretty bad once and had to go to the doc and get a shot. Decadron or something like that. It didn't work quick enough and I got another shot. I haven't gotten it again since then. I have heard of outgrowing an allergy, so maybe it is the same with PI.

[Multigunner]

Sawdust from chestnut can kill if you are alergic to it, several woods and leathers have caused death to craftsmen over the years.
Skins brought back from African Safaris were at one time soaked with arsenic or cyanide (I forget which). Leather from Sourh America sometimes carried spores of several ugly diseases that survived tanning methods of the era and remained viable for decades. One nick and a leatherworker could end up dying a horrible death.

Some woods like Osage Orange contain natural insecticides, though I've never heard of Osage Orange causing illness in humans, and that wood is great for making bows. Due to the natural poison in the wood they have found Indian bows buried for over 300 years old without a trace of insect damage.

For a unusual wood for pistol grips you might try Sycamore, AKA Lacewood. I've only seen Sycamore used as the drawer liner veneer in very old chests and cabinets, it looks great in that application.

[crowbuster]

I've seen poison ivy vines round here big as your wrist. problem is, when then get dried out they get real brittle, I wouldnt want it for a knife handle or gun grips. Walnut burl would be nice.

[subsonic]

Technu definitely helps! So does rubbing alcohol and Dawn dish soap. I use all 3 when I think I might have gotten into some!

By the way, I get it bad!

[MBTcustom]

My grandfather was deathly allergic to poison ivy. He cured himself by feeding the vines to his cows and drinking the milk.

[462]

tek4260,
Yep, Technu it is. I thought it was a before exposure product, rather than after, though.

[subsonic]

The technu will help remove any oil that hasn't soaked into your skin yet, and may remove some of the oil that has soaked in - reducing the irritation from it.

Urushiol - it even sounds nasty.

[.22-10-45]

Best be careful...Might develope an itchy trigger finger!

[OneSkinnyMass]

I had a piece of ironwood for probably 20 years I was gone make grips from but never got "a round tuit" cause man that stuff was hard to work. sure was pretty stuff tho

Skinny

[UT Phoneguy]

Well, I am probably going to be scolded, but... The last place I saw any amount of Poison Ivy was at the Old Mill Golf Course- they have signs everywhere telling people to stay out of the trees. All the plants I saw were small, but I am not going to tempt fate searching! I would bet if you are serious, that area near Big Cottonwood Canyon might have some. Then again- there are a couple of shops in SLC that sell really nice exotic woods that don't require special rash treatments or ER visits... ;-)

[I'll Make Mine]

Urushiol - it even sounds nasty.

Now, imagine you're a Japanese craftsman, and you're doing lacquer-like finishes on wood using straight urushiol oil. Yep, they do it. Yep, they suffer for their art...

[44man]

I have never had PI. I have always pulled it by hand, even tearing it from trees I put a stand in. I just don't know why I am immune.
I was always itching as a kid, Exzema or however you spell it--A topic dermatitus or what.
The truth was I was allergic to cats and every pollen on earth but not PI.
I outgrew it all but it came back when I got old. I had to get shots of pollens for 5 years. The very first shots, one in each arm stopped the problems. But I needed to go the 5 years. Walnut pollen was the hardest to cure.
Long ago they did not recognize just an allergy and could not treat it.
Your body will do the work if the stuff is put inside.

[Multigunner]

Now, imagine you're a Japanese craftsman, and you're doing lacquer-like finishes on wood using straight urushiol oil. Yep, they do it. Yep, they suffer for their art...

I'd heard that sanding the finish of some Japanese rifles could be dangerous due to a plant based toxin in the finish , but no real details on what it was.
IIRC the finish is a plum colored laquer, and works to prevent insect damage in tropical environments.


I have never had PI. I have always pulled it by hand, even tearing it from trees I put a stand in. I just don't know why I am immune.
I was always itching as a kid, Exzema or however you spell it--A topic dermatitus or what.
The truth was I was allergic to cats and every pollen on earth but not PI.
I outgrew it all but it came back when I got old. I had to get shots of pollens for 5 years. The very first shots, one in each arm stopped the problems. But I needed to go the 5 years. Walnut pollen was the hardest to cure.
Long ago they did not recognize just an allergy and could not treat it.
Your body will do the work if the stuff is put inside.
I was insensitive to poison ivy as a youngster, but in recent years I've developed a bad rash whenever around it.
There have been reports of poison ivy in the U S becoming far more toxic in the last couple of decades (blamed on CO2 emissions of course).

[Whiterabbit]

Worked with an old Chinaman who had a bunch of it on his property. He would eat the new, springtime leaves, so he wouldn't be bothered by it, while clearing it out. .

That Chinaman has enormous, brass balls.

[Whiterabbit]

I have never had PI. I have always pulled it by hand, even tearing it from trees I put a stand in. I just don't know why I am immune.
I was always itching as a kid, Exzema or however you spell it--A topic dermatitus or what.
The truth was I was allergic to cats and every pollen on earth but not PI.
I outgrew it all but it came back when I got old. I had to get shots of pollens for 5 years. The very first shots, one in each arm stopped the problems. But I needed to go the 5 years. Walnut pollen was the hardest to cure.
Long ago they did not recognize just an allergy and could not treat it.
Your body will do the work if the stuff is put inside.

You got any native american in your family ancestry?

[Silvercreek Farmer]

They get about as big as your forearm around here. I have spent the last 5 years trying to eradicate it from my 6 acre property, between a handful of goats and 50+ gallons of roundup I thought I about had it licked, then we had a wetter than unsual July and August, now it is popping up everywhere...

It almost put me in the hospital once, and since then, I learned to identify it in the winter.

Make sure to take pictures of your rash!

[oneokie]

and 50+ gallons of roundup

Remedy® is a better choice for perennials.

[Whiterabbit]

I am looking to make some new grips for my SBH and wanted to try somethimg really exotic.

So.... whats wrong with ironwood, purpleheart, bubinga, bocote, lacewood, snakewood, vermillion, yellowheart, zebrawood, or wenge?

[Tom Ruley]

If you are determined to work with that stuff (poison ivy) then make some toothpicks and I might buy a few to share with some folks I know.

[bowfin]

I once had a piece of wood from an old Lilac bush that was gorgeous and as dense a piece of wood that I have ever seen. I found it while tidying up a very old growth lilac bush that was growing in back of my former home. The wood was a swirled light purple and bright white.

Unfortunately, I figured I would take it out of the brush pile when I went to haul it away, and my wife and kids surprised me the next day by having it done when I got home from work. I didn't say a word, and never will...

I don't see any fascination for poison ivy grips for myself. Poison ivy and I have done a lot of damage to each other.

[44man]

You got any native american in your family ancestry?
No. It is strange. I would get a spider web across my face and itch if it had pollen on it. Yet a mosquito bite, bee or yellow jacket would not raise a bump. Now a yellow jacket will make a bump so our bodies do change.
I can still wade into PI with no results at all. I have seen friends and family suffer---yeah, I would laugh.

[mongo]

Ouch, making grips out of poison ivy is kinda like making candles out of C-4...LOL..

[oneokie]

C-4 is good for heating C-rations.

[km101]

When I was younger, I was not allergic to poison ivy. I handled it numerous times without a problem. But after I started making custome knives and using exotic hardwoods for handle material, I got some cocobola wood to make knife handles. While sanding the handles on a belt sander, the dust covered my shop, and me. Later that night after I had showered and gone to bed, I woke up wheexing and short of breath. I went to my doctor the next morning, and he wanted to put me in the hospital! After 2 shots and 2 presctiptons and 4 days for recomery, I decided that I would not use any more cocobola wood. I started to clean the dust out of my shop wearing a respirator. Three hours later I was back in the Dr's office. My wife had to clean my shop! I have never used cocobola again. An now I am allergic to poison ivy as well! Dont know if it was a coincidence but it seemed related. I try to stay as far from either as I can. I dont want anything made from either one!

[Lead Freak]

I must be missing something here. Why would you want to make grips out of poison ivy wood anyway? I can't say that I've ever seen what the grain looks like, but I'm thinking there are plenty of other choices that might make more sense.

[Dark Helmet]

They make a pre exposure lotion that is supposed to help keep the urishiol from contacting your skin and a cleanser for removing the urishiol from your skin if exposed.

[akajun]

When I worked on a survey crew, we often cut poison ivy vines in the basin 5-7 inches in diameter. IT is very soft, and could often cut large vines with one whack of the brush hook blade, causing the large "rush" of wattery sap to run out of the vine. It never bothered me, me and my father both have pretty good resistance to PI, only sucepptable to getting it on cuts and lengthy exposures not washed off at lunchtime or the end of the day. Others on the crew were bad off, and we knew cutting it with a chainsaw was a no no.
Whoever said that they would feed it to cows, deer will eat that stuff to the ground, especially in the late summer, which is why it grows up trees with no leaves till it gets above the browse line. Ive read its high in protien and I have often taken vines, pulled them off the trees and stretched them onto the ground around my stand early during bow season. They dont last more than a few days.

[wallenba]

I've always been curious about the smoke if you burn old dead vines and inhale it. Is it still a danger?

[Awsar]

just not worth it to many other safer woods out there why take the chance and you never know who else might touch it :oops:

[I'll Make Mine]

I've always been curious about the smoke if you burn old dead vines and inhale it. Is it still a danger?

That's what I keep hearing/reading -- never tried burning the stuff myself, and don't plan to.

[Saint]

As far as the reason well it's just something different. How many people buy a gun knowing it will be a terrible shooter just because it's different. As far as the look is concerned, the stuff I worked with before was interesting looking due to the fact that it had red streaks going through it no matter what finish I used. As some people have mentioned it is very soft wood and as a result it absorbs finish like a sponge which actually hardens it to some extent but I would have to be careful with it.

[Saint]

Well, I am probably going to be scolded, but... The last place I saw any amount of Poison Ivy was at the Old Mill Golf Course- they have signs everywhere telling people to stay out of the trees. All the plants I saw were small, but I am not going to tempt fate searching! I would bet if you are serious, that area near Big Cottonwood Canyon might have some. Then again- there are a couple of shops in SLC that sell really nice exotic woods that don't require special rash treatments or ER visits... ;-)

Where would I find some of these shops, I wouldn't mind using a different type of wood but I have had a hard time finding exotic woods here.

[oldred]

JUST A WARNING!!!!! That old bs "urban legend", and it's just that BS, about eating a small piece of poison ivy to prevent a reaction can cause a person a lot of grief and in extreme cases could even be fatal! DON'T DO IT, IT DOES NOT WORK!!!! A person does not build up an immunity to urushiol oil (the evil stuff in poison ivy/oak/sumac) so inoculation does not work. The rash and irritation from urushiol oil is just the opposite of a normal allergic reaction and is actually the body's immune system working against itself so instead of inoculation from exposure (eating leaves or drinking contaminated milk) a person is FAR more likely to develop a sensitivity to the stuff. Some people can wallow around in this evil vine with no ill effects and this has led to many ill-conceived rumors about what they did to become immune when the fact is they were simply born that way, with more and more exposure over time they very well may lose that advantage! How do I know all this? Let's just say I am already breaking out in a rash just from reading this thread! Well maybe not quite that bad but close and although I have for all my life been aware of my susceptibility to urushiol poisoning an incident with a weed-eater a few years ago led to an even higher education and some permanent scars, after a long conversation with my dermatologist I now have a better understanding of what to do and what not to do around poison ivy.


DON'T listen to old folk stories and urban legends when it comes to poison ivy, you may regret it!

[Jeff Michel]

+1 for oldred. My mother, to "prove" to my father she was immune to poison ivy, proceeded to eat a couple leaves. Came very close to losing her, closed off her throat. This was years before steroid treatments. Very dumb and very dangerous. With respect to burning, the local fire department had to battle a blaze at an old brick residence that was completely covered with poison ivy vines. Everyone on the FD developed a bad case of poison ivy (including lungs ) from the smoke of the burning ivy. We didn't have a fire department for about two weeks as a result. As a side, some people are very allergic to teak. Not many were aware of this until a lot of soldiers came back from the Pacific theater with Arasaka rifles.

[oldred]

Jeff that's a good example of what I was talking about and it makes me cringe when I hear someone repeat that very dangerous old tale about "just eat a little piece of the leaf and it won't bother you anymore", that one is often repeated and has caused a heck of a lot of grief! It seems whenever this subject comes up there is usually a lot of joking in addition to the common misconceptions but poison ivy is no laughing matter, it can be anything from a mild irritation to a life threatening reaction so it should always be taken seriously. I know people have and will continue to argue that eating poison ivy leaves or drinking contaminated milk (the usual version of that story is that farm dwellers are immune if they drink the milk of cattle that graze where the vine grows) but a little bit of thought should easily debunk that theory. If immunity were so easy by inoculation from eating raw plants why is inoculation not accepted medical practice or better yet a pharmaceutical version administrated from a medical professional instead of the only moderately effective treatments they use now?

[44man]

Don't eat it and don't burn it. It WILL get into lungs.
I have never had it and I will be 75 in Dec. I have even burned it. Yet I heard about some becoming sensitive. Some are so bad they can't look at it from 50 yards.
Don't fool with it.
I can, I can pull it by hand. Been into a huge amount with white berries and leaves all over me. I never got poison oak either.
Nobody else can touch me or a dog that runs in it. You can get it from deer hide. Deer DO eat it too.
I am not stupid enough to eat it, it could tip the balance.
I chain saw it, weed whack it, cut it out of tree stand trees with a hand saw, Yank those big fuzzy vines off the tree, etc.
I don't need to get it as much as I am round it.

[Snapping Twig]

All we got out here on the West Coast is poison oak.

That's the more virulent version of poison ivy.

I tell you now, it's a bad idea to use the wood from these plants for ANYTHING.

[prs]

We've got it here in WV big enough to make salad bowls. Yum....

prs

[StrawHat]

Where would I find some of these shops, I wouldn't mind using a different type of wood but I have had a hard time finding exotic woods here.

Woodcraft is a source for ëxotic"woods. Not sure if they are in Utah, but they are online.

http://www.woodcraft.com/category/1001038/wood-products.aspx

[StrawHat]

Found one,

http://www.woodcraft.com/stores/store.aspx?id=311