non stabilized wood

[Predator]

I have a question concerning wood for knife handles. I have some stabilized wood for my knives that are burl type wood , thenI have some other wood that isn`t Burl wood and therefore isn`t stabilized. My question is the following.
What can be done to prevent it from cracking or separating from the handle after it is epoxied and pinned in place since it isn`t stabilized.I`m asking this , because a handle I put on a knife 10 years ago has started to lift away from the handle at the back of the tang. the knife is rarely used and when washed off , is dried.The wood I used was dry and I only finised it with linseed oil. The wood used was rosewood--slabs that I used.
I never had any trouble when I used Walnut.
I am curious since I will be using wood to hide the tang and do not want it to weaken and separate -- especially when I can not see it.
Thanks in advance

[Ray Rogers]

Wood doesn't have to be a burl to be stabilized. As long as the wood you want to use is a good candidate for stabilization then send it out and have it stabilized. If it's not a good candidate for stabilizing - such as ironwood, cocobolo, and rosewood - then don't put it on any knife where it will be at risk. Any kind of surface finish will eventually wear off if the knife is really out to use.

And don't forget to use the best epoxy you can get .....

[Hank]

Ive noticed in different posts that folks are saying "send out" for stabilizing.. I guess I have two questions.

BTW...Up to this point I have purchased the "stabilized wood" at a dealer.

Question: Where does one send out for stabilizing?

and more importantly ...

What would it take to stabilize it yourself?

Seems to me a unit could be made to do small sections of wood

What are we talking bout...

Drying and injection through pressure?

Anybody have Idea's or comment's

[Predator]

Hank
You asked " Where does one send out for stabilizing?", check out this link--I`m happy with their work.

http://stabilizedwood.com/

This web site explains the process some what.

[Ray Rogers]

I send my wood to K&G Finishing.

Use the blue Search button at the top of this page to look for threads where we have discussed building your own stabilizing equipment. There are some complex ways to do it and some amazingly simple ways too. The big problem is the chemistry. There are many chemicals that will work but I have never yet seen anyone say with certainty what it is that the pros like K&G use. Whatever it is, it's better than anything I've seen that was home brewed ......

[Hank]

I'll check it out thanks...

[Don Robinson]

I've got knives out there that are older than that, and to my knowledge the rosewood has never separated. :confused:

Is this a knife you own, or does it belong to someone else? My first guess is that it's been in a dishwasher. The heat and steam will turn any natural material loose.

As Ray said, rosewood isn't a candidate for stabilizing because it is so hard, dense, and naturally oily.

Rosewood is one of my favorites. Makes a beautiful knife. I finish the handle, then buff in paste wax for a finish.

Years ago, I used some ebony, which is in the same class as rosewood, and the handle slabs shrank and curled. I used the ebony because it is a local wood, and it came from this area. I think the mistake I made with it was to use a piece that combined sap wood with outside wood, to get a two color affect. I think the sap wood shrank, even though I had had the wood drying for a few years.

Fortunately for me, that set of knives hadn't been sold when I noticed the shrinkage.

Ray, I didn't know K&G does stabilizing. Or did they just carry it in their stock?

[Ray Rogers]

Don,

K&G does carry stabilized wood in stock - I'm guessing they probably stabilized it themselves - but they also offer a stabilizing service. If you have their catalog there is a page devoted to what stabilized woods they sell as well as how to send wood to them to be stabilized.

I've used them for quite a few years and the wood I get back has the same characteristics as any piece of commercially stabilized wood I have ever purchased. They use some type of acrylic which is pretty heavy but they manage to get it all the way through the wood. I've sent them high quality fancy wood and I've seent them crap wood, old bone, soft wood, etc. just to see what happens. It doesn't look any better when I get it back than when I sent it but it will make a knife handle .........

[Don Robinson]

Thanks, Ray. A question, though. After finishing does it take a high shine like wood that's been stabilixed with acrylic, such as Dymondwood?

[Kevin Malone]

I use the term cured, What we do is place the intended material in a hot box , An aluminum box with a few 100 Watt light bulbs (we make our own polishing wheels and store them in there as well) you want to leave it in there at least a week to completely dehydrate. this will do several things, shrink the wood to its maximum,and it will also help it to accept a sealer. clean with a good alcohol rub and paint it with epoxy. We also paint it with super glue . Super Glue works best on slab handles . after grinding and finishing you can use a finish of your choice I prefer linseed myself or tung oil . You can also apply super glue as a finish it will buff out like glass , We have produced a lot of knifes in this manner and its what works best for me.

[Kevin Malone]

I would post a picture. But I'm new at the computer and cant seem to figure it out can you help . I looked at the help page and the URL and HTTP thing that might as well be Latin to me :confused:

[Ray Rogers]

Don,

Yes, it can be easily polished to a high shine exactly like Dymondwood. If you don't want a high shine then finish with fine sandpaper and a little Ren wax for a more subdued finish ....

[shgeo]

The wood they call Texas ebony is actually mimosa. It is a hard dark wood, but is not ebony.

I like the hard, naturally stable wood burls like ironwood, mesquite and manzanita. They have the figured grain but do not need to be turned to plastic to make good knife handles. The burls tend to have cracks when you get them, but you can cut around them or fill them, either way. I have never had any trouble with these woods.

I also use rosewood types like bocote and kingwood, but not as much because I like using woods that are native to the west.

[Ray Rogers]

Steve's got a good point about the naturally stable woods like ironwood. There are environments in which they may have some strange problems though. I made a fancy kitchen knife with an ironwood handle a few years ago. It was being used in a commercial kitchen when the chef advised me that a white powder was forming on the handle. The same kitchen had some of my knives with stabilized handles and this did not happen to them. Long story short, we finally determined that the white powder was some sort of growing thing, maybe a fungus, so now the chef treats the handle with tung oil occassionally and everything's been fine. Maybe it wouldn't have happened with every piece of ironwood placed in that kitchen but it did happen with that one piece. From now on, it's only stabilized wood for my kitchen knives ......

[Don Robinson]

Good point, Ray. Any organic matter is subject to fungus growth if it's exposed to moisture.

I use man-made materials or mineral stones for the kitchen knives I make.

I once made a set of six steak knives for a doctor/collector. The handles were made of turquoise. I've used corian, too, but it's very brittle. I wouldn't do that again.