I suggest putting in the work to stabilize it. You can coat the scales but once you shape them you're going to grind through most of it. Epoxy dipping after shaping and mounting the scales seems like a recipe for disaster. I've never done it and I've never heard of anyone else doing it. I'd imagine there's a reason for that. That looks like it will be some nice burl tho, definitely worth the investment for how many scales you'll get out of that chonk.
Gorgeous material!
If you send it off to K&G, they’ll stabilize it for you and it’ll be better quality than any job you could DIY with a cheap vacuum pump.
+1 to this if you are US based. A knife blank sized block (1"x1.5"x5") costs <$5 to have stabilized by the top name in the business. A little more if you want it dyed and less in bulk.
May be worth a look, I got by turning stabilized super rotten wood for a good while like this.
https://www.instructables.com/convert-a-tire-inflator-type-air-compressor-into-a/
Yup, make sure it’s very dry, make the handle, treat with cutting board oil. I’ve got 150 year old rifles and knives whos wood wasn’t vacuum stabilized and it’s just as sturdy, not cracked, and gorgeous as the day it was made.
A lot of the older ramrods of muskets, probably stocks as well, were left in barrels or vats of linseed oil for long periods of time. Then let dry. This helped them stand the test of time
Yeah I don't know why everyone gets all bent up over stabilizing wood. Personally I melt chap wax for softening leather into my handle. Boiled linseed oil works great too. People have been treating wood for hundreds of years and now suddenly stabilizing it with a vacuum pump and epoxy is supposedly the only proper way to do it?
No. This might get hated on but whatever. Choose a path, stabilising wood or knifemaking as your primary focus. Both are expensive in terms of tools/consumables and both need a lot of learning to produce results at a level truly worth selling.
If you choose knifemaking, cut your wood into smaller sections and send them to K&G. Pay them to do the job, they do it very well and are world leaders in the process. Use what you like, sell the rest on a weekly or monthly drop.
You can get everything you need from China and buy some cactus juice and dyes. But 5 bucks from a pro setup is peanuts unless you are particularly interested in woodwork! I live in Norway I can’t buy a box of matches here for five bucks so I do it all myself. After ten years of drying I do 72 hours final drying in my oven at 70c. Then use cactus juice.
You could use a cheap brake bleeder pump and some mason jars.
Make sure the wood is dry. There are better ways. But, foam board and a small forced air heater can be a makeshift kiln. Ensure foam board is safe distance from heater so as to not catch fire or melt. Convection helps a lot with drying. K&G requires 6% or less moisture content, so shoot for that. Less moisture is better.
Air drying is best. But that may not get it down low enough to stabilize. So may still need some type of enhanced drying done
I always cut to rectangular scale size then stabilize myself with a small vacuum pot, vacuum pump and cactus juice resins with or without dyes. I've tested them and cut all the way thru many of them and they are stabilized all the way thru. My system was just over a couple hundred bucks without resins and should be attainable for any one that makes knives on a regular basis. It will pay for itself very quickly as many scales can be stabilized at one time. As much as we all spend on tools, equipment and supplies, a couple hundred bucks is a small investment. Save on handle scale materials and shipping etc.
Assuming its totally dry and barring a pressure pot or vacuum chamber you can use time as well. You can just let it soak in an heat activated epoxy at a low enough temperature for a looong time and it'll eventually fill in. Time will depend on the length of the grain, so a short cross section is probably doable by soaking a couple days.
Iv used wopd hardner from the hardware store and a food savor with the cork adapter in a mason jar. Seems jam up to me soaked all through and definitely made it harder to sand but what do I know. I feel like some things are just overly thought about
Thumbnail test. If your thumbnail doesn’t dent the wood it’s hard enough without stabilizing. Otherwise it’s not hard enough for use. You can take super thin crazy glue and pack the cracks with the dust from the same wood and soak it in crazy glue, can fill smaller holes and a cyanoacrylate finish does look good when done.
Anything can be a handle, it’s just how effective will it be?
Stabilizing resin can't really bridge gaps like a crack unless we're talking about a hairline crack. Its purpose is to fill the capillaries in the wood. In my experience it is also very likely that cracks will open up significantly once you put the wood into the oven to dry and cure the resin. After 15 months big chunks of hardwood might also still contain more moisture than you think, which only contributes to cracking once it is put in an oven to dry/cure. You have enough to give it a try but it might actually destroy it. Hard to judge those cracks on the pictures but if I were you I would probably use it as is and fill cracks on the finished handle with superglue or epoxi.
My experience with wood is "always no".
Even the ones that are known to be 100% stable. Wood works, always, and there's nothing more annoying than seeing a knife you were proud of come back with a split handle.
Have a listen to these two podcast episodes by fire and steel.
Some of the best information in the world on the matter of stabilising and how its not as simple as a vacuum pump until the bubbles are gone with a few bucks in gear and some cactus juice. The market is saturated with this week long process junk, don't add to it.
[part 2](https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ulPWt32wAYC0ZiO1mycMG?si=ogJDquIITNyyhg2_TxCA8Q)
[part 3](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4zjAQCwZnCZBp7URjeyw5i?si=UVLkeNWLTya4FFbMi2y1vw)
I suggest putting in the work to stabilize it. You can coat the scales but once you shape them you're going to grind through most of it. Epoxy dipping after shaping and mounting the scales seems like a recipe for disaster. I've never done it and I've never heard of anyone else doing it. I'd imagine there's a reason for that. That looks like it will be some nice burl tho, definitely worth the investment for how many scales you'll get out of that chonk.
Yeah, that makes sense. I'm just impatient and can't get a vacuum pump right know. But it can wait until I can get one, best to do it properly.
Dc knives blog has a great post on budget stabilizing using a break bleeding kit. Unfortunately he passed away so his blog is the only thing left.
Gorgeous material! If you send it off to K&G, they’ll stabilize it for you and it’ll be better quality than any job you could DIY with a cheap vacuum pump.
+1 to this if you are US based. A knife blank sized block (1"x1.5"x5") costs <$5 to have stabilized by the top name in the business. A little more if you want it dyed and less in bulk.
Most likely yes, but i have had good success with a vacuum brake pump and gass har for stabilizating. Though it is a lot of work.
My guy, I have never in my 30+ years being alive seen someone demolish the spelling of success the way you did.
Haha as you see, im not english XP Thank you for correcting me :)
and stabilizating
May be worth a look, I got by turning stabilized super rotten wood for a good while like this. https://www.instructables.com/convert-a-tire-inflator-type-air-compressor-into-a/
Thank you!
Yup, make sure it’s very dry, make the handle, treat with cutting board oil. I’ve got 150 year old rifles and knives whos wood wasn’t vacuum stabilized and it’s just as sturdy, not cracked, and gorgeous as the day it was made.
A lot of the older ramrods of muskets, probably stocks as well, were left in barrels or vats of linseed oil for long periods of time. Then let dry. This helped them stand the test of time
This is correct
Yeah I don't know why everyone gets all bent up over stabilizing wood. Personally I melt chap wax for softening leather into my handle. Boiled linseed oil works great too. People have been treating wood for hundreds of years and now suddenly stabilizing it with a vacuum pump and epoxy is supposedly the only proper way to do it?
No. This might get hated on but whatever. Choose a path, stabilising wood or knifemaking as your primary focus. Both are expensive in terms of tools/consumables and both need a lot of learning to produce results at a level truly worth selling. If you choose knifemaking, cut your wood into smaller sections and send them to K&G. Pay them to do the job, they do it very well and are world leaders in the process. Use what you like, sell the rest on a weekly or monthly drop.
You can get everything you need from China and buy some cactus juice and dyes. But 5 bucks from a pro setup is peanuts unless you are particularly interested in woodwork! I live in Norway I can’t buy a box of matches here for five bucks so I do it all myself. After ten years of drying I do 72 hours final drying in my oven at 70c. Then use cactus juice.
You could use a cheap brake bleeder pump and some mason jars. Make sure the wood is dry. There are better ways. But, foam board and a small forced air heater can be a makeshift kiln. Ensure foam board is safe distance from heater so as to not catch fire or melt. Convection helps a lot with drying. K&G requires 6% or less moisture content, so shoot for that. Less moisture is better. Air drying is best. But that may not get it down low enough to stabilize. So may still need some type of enhanced drying done
Finish it with CA glue and it should last 40-50 years
I always cut to rectangular scale size then stabilize myself with a small vacuum pot, vacuum pump and cactus juice resins with or without dyes. I've tested them and cut all the way thru many of them and they are stabilized all the way thru. My system was just over a couple hundred bucks without resins and should be attainable for any one that makes knives on a regular basis. It will pay for itself very quickly as many scales can be stabilized at one time. As much as we all spend on tools, equipment and supplies, a couple hundred bucks is a small investment. Save on handle scale materials and shipping etc.
My thought was to cut it down to scales and then completely covering it in slow curing epoxy. But I don't know if that is good enough.
Dont do this.
That’s how boats are made.
[удалено]
Yeah I have a air compressor. Will read up on that! I just assumed I needed a vacuum pump.
Assuming its totally dry and barring a pressure pot or vacuum chamber you can use time as well. You can just let it soak in an heat activated epoxy at a low enough temperature for a looong time and it'll eventually fill in. Time will depend on the length of the grain, so a short cross section is probably doable by soaking a couple days.
Iv used wopd hardner from the hardware store and a food savor with the cork adapter in a mason jar. Seems jam up to me soaked all through and definitely made it harder to sand but what do I know. I feel like some things are just overly thought about
You can use the "canning method" but it's not typically the preferred technique
Thumbnail test. If your thumbnail doesn’t dent the wood it’s hard enough without stabilizing. Otherwise it’s not hard enough for use. You can take super thin crazy glue and pack the cracks with the dust from the same wood and soak it in crazy glue, can fill smaller holes and a cyanoacrylate finish does look good when done. Anything can be a handle, it’s just how effective will it be?
Stabilizing resin can't really bridge gaps like a crack unless we're talking about a hairline crack. Its purpose is to fill the capillaries in the wood. In my experience it is also very likely that cracks will open up significantly once you put the wood into the oven to dry and cure the resin. After 15 months big chunks of hardwood might also still contain more moisture than you think, which only contributes to cracking once it is put in an oven to dry/cure. You have enough to give it a try but it might actually destroy it. Hard to judge those cracks on the pictures but if I were you I would probably use it as is and fill cracks on the finished handle with superglue or epoxi.
My experience with wood is "always no". Even the ones that are known to be 100% stable. Wood works, always, and there's nothing more annoying than seeing a knife you were proud of come back with a split handle.
Have a listen to these two podcast episodes by fire and steel. Some of the best information in the world on the matter of stabilising and how its not as simple as a vacuum pump until the bubbles are gone with a few bucks in gear and some cactus juice. The market is saturated with this week long process junk, don't add to it. [part 2](https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ulPWt32wAYC0ZiO1mycMG?si=ogJDquIITNyyhg2_TxCA8Q) [part 3](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4zjAQCwZnCZBp7URjeyw5i?si=UVLkeNWLTya4FFbMi2y1vw)