Another cracked handle -- whats up with this

Jack O'Neill

Jack O'Neill

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Just got back a customers knife with a cracked handle . The 3rd one this winter . The 1st 2 were stabilized so I blamed a poor process from the folks that did the job .

Now this one was Hondura Burl not stabilized and with a moisture content of 5.7 % with a teak oil treatment . It has shrunk so much that the tang is at least 1/16" proud now .

What is going on . Is 5.7 % to wet ?

The knife was kept in his home in a drawer in Colorado for 4 weeks before the cracks showed up .
 
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With the stabilized ones, if they are heated up too much while drilling or finishing it causes the acrylic to fracture and spit the wood. I was shaping one by hand and had it fall apart. I blamed the wood, and when I contacted the people that I got it from they told me about the problems that heat can cause, but they still replaced the block free of charge. I didn't drill out the block I had a friend do it, and when I asked him about how hot he got it he said that it was smoking and melting. I have no answer for the non stabilized stuff.
 
The relative humidity in Colorado must be much lower
than in Washington. That's about the only reason for
that much shrinkage.

How were you checking the moisture content of the
wood?

Bill
 
We may not be able to help anyway, but pictures would make it easier.

Moisture gauges are funny things, many models give false readings for a variety of reasons. Mainly, the surface reads differently than the inside.

Many people can tell you that stabilization will help but not cure all the problems associated with climate fluctuation.

It was indeed a bad year for cracking, had one guy (more of a production type) up here had 39 antler handles crack. He blamed it on the glue he used but I use the same glue and had no problems.

Best of luck. Mark
 
It is very dry here in Colorado and much of the wood here cracks.
 
I own 2 handmade knives with stabilized handle scales that I purchased before I started making knives. I think one came from Texas, and the other from (maybe...going from hazy memory) Oklahoma? They both cracked and otherwise came apart pretty badly within the first year of owning them, and I assumed it was because of the drastic humidity difference between here and where they were made. This surprised me, however, because I own a few others with natural (i.e., unstabilized) handle materials that have had no problems.
 
I fix more stabalized scaled knives (% wise) than unstabalized by a long shot. Stabalizing is a shenannigan IMO. Wood moves with heat and moisture. Do you guarantee it won't? Why?
 
We moved a cherry grandmothers clock from Ohio to Colorado. In one year sitting in its new home, the clock literally fell apart from shrinkage.

Relative humidity is a killer out west.

Fred
 
Fiddleback said:
.....Stabalizing is a shenannigan IMO. Wood moves with heat and moisture. Do you guarantee it won't? Why?
Click to expand...

Why yes, I do. I only used stabilized or synthetic and with rare exceptions, I only use WSSI. Of about 2000 knives, I've had four cracks. One was dropped off a roof and landed on a wood deck. Two were from being tossed in bus tubs and run through a commercial dishwasher. The other, I had difficulty explaining except it was being kept in a knife block that pounded the leading edge when it was dropped in. Of course I replace or repair. If it happened repeatedly (and it hasn't) I'd suggest that the handle wasn't appropriate to the use and replace with synthetic.

I have had stabilized wood fail while I'm working on it, but that seem to be from pre-existing fractures or faults and we know stabilizing doesn't 'repair' those. I guess I'm saying I've had good results with stabilized handles - apparently others have not. Following this thread with interest.
 
Not only is the humidity very low in some places, but in winter the central heat is sucking the moisture out of everything in the house.

I keep all handle material at least one year (most longer) before using, no matter how dry it was when I got.
 
before moving here to the wet world , we lived in the desert so I never had this problem . After the 1st. two handles cracked ( they went to N.Y. ) I set up a dry box . An old frig. with the light and fan on circulating air . I also put in one of those silica moisture collecting canisters ( it has worked great for the belts ) . The wood was cut into scales from a block and has been in the frig for 3-4 months . My moisture indicator in the frig says it is dry in there .

May be as Don says , they need to sit longer before use . It is frustrating though .
 
My parents had received a piece of furniture from Hong Kong .Did OK in NYC during the summer but come drier winter it came apart .All solid mahogany but only some of the pieces cracked others were OK. The good pieces are now part of a table !!
Yes CO is much drier [semi-arid] than WA at least it's western section.
My point here is that prior treatment which you have no way of knowing can make a huge difference and exotics and especially burl or highly figured wood will be more of a problem.There was a time when musical instruments were cracking when machined [woodwinds like clarinets] .They found the natives in Africa were burning things around the trees and the heat produced stresses that caused the problem !!
The best advice is to let it dry a few years before you use it.
 
tryppyr said:
That's an interesting statement. Does the same apply to hidden tang handles?
Click to expand...

I don't make hidden tangs.

Knifemaker.ca, 2000 knives is quite an accomplishment. I've only made 750. I don't warranty that wood won't move, stabalized or not. It will, in fact, regardless of whether I warranty either way. I repair movement when necessary. Replacement has been necessary once. Repair only a dozen or so times. But it does happen. I took knives from Atlanta to Vegas for a show once. Even the micarta handled knives moved some with that change. Heat moves everything.
 
Is it standard practice for a buyer to ask for a fix in the case of a crack due to relative dryness? I guess I have been very lucky up till recently. I live in what must be one of the top 5 most dry states and have not had problems till now. I was not going to say anything to the maker but it is enough of a crack that a small section may come off if the crack travels.
 
taper all your pin holes From top to bottom. Always use sharp belt!!!!!!!!!!!!!! use lemon oil on all handle material evern micarte. This will put natural oils back into material after sanding.
 
Colorado is classified as "semi-arid," with annual precipitation where I am averaging 13 inches a year. Humidity typically hovers in the 13-15% range. That's extremely dry.

I won't use wood for anything until I've had it for at least a year. Most of the really noticeable cracking will show up within the first few months, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
 
ONeill said:
before moving here to the wet world , we lived in the desert so I never had this problem . After the 1st. two handles cracked ( they went to N.Y. ) I set up a dry box . An old frig. with the light and fan on circulating air . I also put in one of those silica moisture collecting canisters ( it has worked great for the belts ) . The wood was cut into scales from a block and has been in the frig for 3-4 months . My moisture indicator in the frig says it is dry in there .

May be as Don says , they need to sit longer before use . It is frustrating though .
Click to expand...

I wonder how long it takes wood when it is removed from dry storage to reabsorb moisture from the environment while working on it in the shop? From what I've seen, generally, wood is pretty dynamic and can change it's "mood" (relative to heat and moisture) in a pretty short period of time.
 
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