Does this "crack" seem natural?

G

giantgiraffe

Joined
Sep 2, 2016
Messages
2
I received a custom knife and it has a "crack" on one of the scales. I contacted the creator who assured me that the crack is just a natural part of the wood. I wanted to get some other opinions on whether it seems like a natural part of the wood, or if it's a manufacturing defect.

Additionally There's also a second "crack" running parallel to the pictured crack on the other side of the screw. Both of these can be felt by a fingernail, and my fingernail will catch on it when being ran across it.

bpCMZc6.jpg

0ZZqJuS.jpg


Thanks for the input.
 
giantgiraffe said:
I received a custom knife and it has a "crack" on one of the scales. I contacted the creator who assured me that the crack is just a natural part of the wood. I wanted to get some other opinions on whether it seems like a natural part of the wood, or if it's a manufacturing defect.
Click to expand...

Welcome.

Doesn't matter. You paid for a custom, and its not to your satisfaction. The maker needs to make it right.
 
Is that a steel shaving in the top of the first picture??
Also, can we see a pic of the entire knife??
 
marcinek said:
Unless the maker warned you ahead of time that the handle material may crack. Like something spalted.
Click to expand...

Agreed, at custom prices. Even if it's supposed to be "natural," that look sure wouldn't appeal to me. After a few years of "hard use," maybe, but not out of the box.
 
OP, there appears to be additional marring on the tang itself near the top of the photo/bottom of the tang, no?
 
No, that's not acceptable, and please show pictures of the whole knife, we want to know what it is!
 
All cracks are natural unless they are made on purpose...
It does not look like this one was a result of whatever the maker did to the wood. But it does not look like a feature of a wood grain, it looks like a crack. So the maker has likely picked a defective piece of wood and did not see it till the very end, so it is his mistake rather than fault. Would that make me any happier if I were the buyer? I do not think so. Would I replace the scale if I were the maker? I think I would.
 
Poez said:
All cracks are natural unless they are made on purpose...
It does not look like this one was a result of whatever the maker did to the wood. But it does not look like a feature of a wood grain, it looks like a crack. So the maker has likely picked a defective piece of wood and did not see it till the very end, so it is his mistake rather than fault. Would that make me any happier if I were the buyer? I do not think so. Would I replace the scale if I were the maker? I think I would.
Click to expand...

This ^

Its a crack that will eventually cause a fail. Poor selection of the wood. Its something the maker should have picked up and solved.
I have a few much older knives where tiny cracks can appear through expansion and contraction. Usually around pins. But a good knife shouldn't start with such an obvious crack.
 
Poez said:
All cracks are natural unless they are made on purpose...
It does not look like this one was a result of whatever the maker did to the wood. But it does not look like a feature of a wood grain, it looks like a crack. So the maker has likely picked a defective piece of wood and did not see it till the very end, so it is his mistake rather than fault. Would that make me any happier if I were the buyer? I do not think so. Would I replace the scale if I were the maker? I think I would.
Click to expand...

^ im with this guy.

Cracks in wood do occur naturally, from conversion to product, or my tampering. That particular mark looks natural to me, not noticeable weakening in structure, and pre-existent. Guy just accepted piece.. as mark being natural.. which is certainly possible.

Strength and qualities of wood would be something to note in custom making a knife, no? Like say if it was a wood that has marks? What type of wood is that?

A lot of the finished handles appear the way they do being polished to. High degree, wood filler, or laminate, so it becomes smooth like plastic.

Your rights and perhaps disclosures should be in the contract.
 
Cracking against the grain like that (note the larger missing areas in a circular shape) isn't natural. That's a sign of negligent cutting/strain etc. regardless of the makers experience that does NOT look natural imho... My experience? I have a great amount of time repairing head stocks on high end guitars... Believe me.. I know how wood cracks when it isn't "natural"...
 
^ While I certainly defer to your knowledge in wood, are you referring to ring shake? What type of woods are used in guitar heads?

As far as I know, ring shake isn't the only cause of cracks pre-converting/treatment. Where the cracks are parallel to grain/rings.
 
Doesn't matter if it's natural or not, that piece of wood should have never been used in my opinion.
 
Natural on a 50 dollar knife..
It does give it character. Lets see the whole knife.
 
If I'm shelling out custom money I'd want it to be to my standards out of the box. Cracks in scales, no matter how small, should have been communicated to the buyer and resolved before shipment.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top