Cracked wa handle

H

Hubert S.

Joined
Dec 14, 2019
Messages
1,437
I have been working on a kitchen knife that my daughter asked for as a Christmas present. I ground the handle today from the wood that I asked about in this thread and that @Greenberg Woods identified as Amara ebony. The handle turned out perfect and the wood looks spectacular. Just as I was getting ready to glue the blade in I noticed a crack in the back of the handle. I tried to shorten the handle but after taking off 5mm the crack is still there. I am a bit frustrated to be honest, but I guess I'll have to get up early tomorrow and start on another handle.
2aAL6La.jpg
 
I’ve had experiences with some oily exotics micro cracking if you get them too hot while grinding which you would have again trying to grind off 5mm. Before you totally bin it maybe try slicing off a thin piece with a saw see if you get through it. Then again some people say ebony is prone to cracking, I haven’t used it, just sharing what I’ve seen on purple heart and rosewoods. Also that’s a great looking facet on the butt.
 
I'll try to take a sliver off on the table saw tomorrow when I cut the new blank. I don't think I got the wood hot at all, I constantly kept checking and cooling it with the koolmist. There is a stainless spacer in the handle, so I was concerned about the epoxy getting too hot. Good to know that these woods can crack due to heat, though. I'll pay extra attention on the next one. The most frustrating thing about all this is that this was the best handle I've made so far. Perfect fit-up, no gaps, perfect facets, everything went so well. Oh well, I guess it's practice for the next one.
 
Are you saying that the crack is there now, where it wasn't earlier? Or did the crack show up as you were removing material while shaping the handle? If the second part is the case, it could just be that the crack was there and you wouldn't have seen it until you ground down to it. Don't forget that you are dealing with a natural material that can have cracks, splits, voids, etc... on the inside.

Here's a blast from the past that some of you might remember:
NickWheeler said:
Well... this sucks giant donkey balls... but I guess life does that sometimes. I was in the homestretch when this popped up. It's just a natural void in the wood. NO WAY of knowing it was there until I filed into it.
Click to expand...
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...he-metal-with-you.808140/page-20#post-9203594
 
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Do you see the crack on the sides of the handle? You could try filling it with wood dust and super glue or bin it. If you bin, I would cut it up to see how deep the crack goes and how it moves (as a learning experience). It would be a shame though.
 
weo said:
Are you saying that the crack is there now, where it wasn't earlier? Or did the crack show up as you were removing material while shaping the handle? If the second part is the case, it could just be that the crack was there and you wouldn't have seen it until you ground down to it. Don't forget that you are dealing with a natural material that can have cracks, splits, voids, etc... on the inside.

Here's a blast from the past that some of you might remember:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...he-metal-with-you.808140/page-20#post-9203594
Click to expand...
The crack was probably there all along, I just did not notice it before I sanded the end smooth. I will double and triple check the next blank to make sure there are no cracks to start with.

Unfortunately, the pictures from Nick Wheelers' thread are not there anymore. It sounds like he had a lot more time invested in the project.
 
FredyCro said:
Do you see the crack on the sides of the handle? You could try filling it with wood dust and super glue or bin it. If you bin, I would cut it up to see how deep the crack goes and how it moves (as a learning experience). It would be a shame though.
Click to expand...
I can't really see any indication of the crack on the side. On the end, my fingernail catches on the crack, on the sides not. I'll look at it under a magnifier tomorrow. If I can't salvage it, I'll definitely cut it up.
 
Hubert S. said:
I can't really see any indication of the crack on the side. On the end, my fingernail catches on the crack, on the sides not. I'll look at it under a magnifier tomorrow. If I can't salvage it, I'll definitely cut it up.
Click to expand...
Then you can add some stainless at end to hide that crack ?
 
Hubert S. said:
Unfortunately, the pictures from Nick Wheelers' thread are not there anymore. It sounds like he had a lot more time invested in the project.
Click to expand...
Most of them are still up on the WIP. I'd suggest checking out the whole thread if you haven't already. Shows most every step in really good detail with drawings too.
 
If it was a chopper I would worry, for kitchen knife not really, ebnoy won't move much anymore in you. Maybe small (2mm) HOLES on the end of the crack, fill it up with epoxy and add a stainless cap to top it off.
 
Flood the crack with thin CA several times, letting it dry between applications. When it won't take any more, sand flat and add a butt cap of either metal or wood. Ebony cracks easily ... especially oif it got hot while snading/grinding. Some of te cracks are in the wood from the drying of the logs.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Flood the crack with thin CA several times, letting it dry between applications. When it won't take any more, sand flat and add a butt cap of either metal or wood. Ebony cracks easily ... especially oif it got hot while snading/grinding. Some of te cracks are in the wood from the drying of the logs.
Click to expand...
I have one left over piece about 30x30x30 mm and want to use it on some knife ...i drill tight hole for hidden pin and it crack in half like glass....My lovely walnut will never ever do that .
 
True, but walnut isn't black like ebony... And probably more importantly you can't say "this handle is made from EBONY!" If it's made from walnut.
Well you can say that, but then you're just a liar...
 
A.McPherson said:
True, but walnut isn't black like ebony... And probably more importantly you can't say "this handle is made from EBONY!" If it's made from walnut.
Well you can say that, but then you're just a liar...
Click to expand...
I can paint it black :D Seems that woods are same as steel ....... the stronger they are the easier it is to crack them :)
 
Hubert S. said:
The crack was probably there all along, I just did not notice it before I sanded the end smooth. I will double and triple check the next blank to make sure there are no cracks to start with.

Unfortunately, the pictures from Nick Wheelers' thread are not there anymore. It sounds like he had a lot more time invested in the project.
Click to expand...
Nick's void.

awq1e6M.jpg


Does anyone have that pdf ?
 
weo said:
Not sure what pdf you're referring to, but IIRC, I did save each page of the thread as pdfs a few years ago and should have it on a thumb drive, if that's what you're asking.
Click to expand...

Yes, there was talk of preserving the photos in the thread, but they are long gone.
 
I just checked out my folder, and from the file details, it looks like I downloaded it in December of 2017, but not all the pictures are there. It looks like it's no different than what's currently here on Bladeforums
 
Thanks to everybody for your suggestions. I glued up another blank earlier today, hopefully one that is free of cracks.

I have not done anything with the cracked handle yet, other than look at it under a magnifier. I discovered a second small crack on the end. The board the handle was cut from has lots of cracks on one end. I thought I had cut enough off, but apparently I did not. For the new blank, I stayed well away from the edges of the board and looked at the ends under a magnifier. So far, so good, no cracks that I can see.

I may try to put a stainless steel butt cap on the end of the cracked one and use it for another knife. Is epoxy enough to hold that on, or do I need to use pins?

Here is a picture of the cracked handle.
DeHiake.jpg
 
Ebony is some of the hardest woods to dry without cracking. If the wood was not completely dry, when you cut it you exposed fresh wood and that can dry out to fast and cause the crack.

Count it seems like I remember something about Salem hosting the pictures ?? not sure though
 
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