Burl with sap into knife handle?

C

CivilGuy93

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Dec 10, 2020
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I have a burl that my grandparents had sitting around for a few years that I am trying to make into scales for a knife handle. The wood type is unknown aside from it being from Northern California, after cutting into it is releasing a pretty strong piney scent. After cutting it up it has started to release sap as well.

This is my first time making scales of any kind with my own wood and was wondering how I should proceed with it.

From what I read it is advised to stabilize burls, and have read about people setting the sap. First, do I need to set the sap before sending it out to get stabilized? My concern is that the moisture is already at 10% (measured with moisture gauge) and heating it up to set the sap will cause cracking.

Second, do I need to stabalize it at all? It seems pretty hard and not too brittle at the moment, and I feel like im over thinking things and trying to do things perfect. Maybe I could just do some surface stabalizing/sealing it myself without of vaccum?

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Looks piney to me as well, not sure that will stabilize good. Probably doesn't need it anyway.
 
My worry would be that the sap will be sticky once you make the knife if you don't seal or stabilize it. But I have no idea of what stabilizer would do on sap.
 
I just know my students find chunks of hard "crispy sap" or pieces of wood full of sap that they put in their pocket to save for fire making and a few days later their pocket is a sticky mess regardless of how "Dry" the sap had first seemed to be. I have no idea of how to coat or cure the sappy wood either.
 
You say it is 10% moisture, what kind of meter did you use? If it was a contactless one, what did you put as the input weight?

Im highly, highly doubtful its redwood. I went to school up in the redwood forests, and the color is just all wrong to me.

Redwood sap is also not very aromatic, not in the way you are describing. My best guess is that its a Douglas fir knot burl.

As for stabilizing/ using it for a knife handle. I would not reccomend it. You are gonna run into all sorts of issues
 
My big concern is that weird shaped foot in the bottom left corner. You better go get that checked out.
 
How thick is it? If its 4 or 5 inches thick having 10% moisture on the outside wont necessarily mean its 10% in the middle. Could possibly still be 20% in the middle.
 
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