hhey guys I am about to order new bandsaw blades (lenox diemaster) for cutting the steel but I also want to get one or 2 cheaper ones for cutting handle material I never got a blade specifically for handle material any one have any tips on what kind or how many tpi or certain features I should look for?? any info would help thanks

What handle material? wood, bone, antler, horn, polyester, HDPE, epoxy composites, brass, leather, stone! If you decide what materials you want to cut the blade specs should tell you what is suitable if not ask the supplier.

mostly g10 micarta and stabilized wood. I use lenox diemaster 14-18 tpi for the metal so I was thinking maybe just slightly less tpi  but didn't know if there is anything that would work better I know there is straight tooth wavy tooth skip tooth all that kinda stuff I don't know much about

I use a 3/8" wide blade with I'm thinking 7 tpi for splitting wood blocks and I use a 1/8" wide blade with 18 tpi for cutting a rough profile out of wood. I wok with a guy that mostly uses antler and just uses the portaband at work which has a variable tpi metal cutting blade in it. I don't know if there's a right or wrong as much as a personal preference. I just pick mine up for about $8US at my local Lowe's when I need them. I think for what you're wanting I'd keep to the higher tpi but again it's just a preference thing as far as I know.

Why not use a froe to split the wood, It will follow the grain. You can then use a draw knife to bring it down to shape and size. Let one of the wood working folks chime in on this one.

I would imagine a cheap blade in the 7-8 tpi for wood would cut those just fine , lower will cut faster but leave a rougher surface higher will be clean but slow. Variable and skip is more for resawing were the blade is buried in a lot of material ( think ripping a 2x6 into 2 1x6's) skip allows room for the dust to get out of the way and variable is keep the resonance of blade down. But this woodworker seems to neglect the bandsaw and use the old diston handsaws hangin on the wall. 

THANKS GUYS I am going to order some more blades today thanks again for the help

On 8/25/2016 at 6:02 PM, Glenn said:

Why not use a froe to split the wood, It will follow the grain. You can then use a draw knife to bring it down to shape and size. Let one of the wood working folks chime in on this one.

Those are exactly what I use.  Don't have a bandsaw, froe works fine.