Drying woods

K

knifemaker3

Joined
Dec 26, 1999
Messages
119
I was wondering if anyone has ever tried drying wood overnight in a kitchen oven on warm like you would do for making deer jerky? Would this sufficiently dry the wood for use on knife handles without splitting or cracking?
The reason I'm asking is 'cause I'm fixing to start buying some kiln dried exotic hardwoods for my handles and really don't want to take the time to make a drying kiln with plywood and a heating lamp.

How about it guys? Anyone every tried using a kitchen oven with any favorable results?
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Craig Blankenship
Blankenship Knives
http://www.blankenship-knives.com
 
Craig, It is funny that you mention that idea of the oven I have thought about the same for stag, and other horns in general. I have not experimented with it and nor do I know anyone who has. But if you do, please let me know the results.

Ric
www.knifesupplies.com
 
I've never tried a kitchen oven, but I have placed pieces of wood on top of heat register grates with good results. I've been thinking about one of those boxes you route the clothes dryer exhaust through, kinda kill two birds with one stone.

Jake
 
The wood I tried to dry in the oven cracked on the ends. I might have been in a bit of a hurry on the heat but it has been a long time ago so I don't remember everything. You can use a microwave oven but cycling the wood through short times in the oven. One minute in and 5 minutes out until you think it is dry enough.
I don't know if I would hook a dryer up to it or not. Seems like the air would be moist coming of the wet laundry. I would be alright without the clothes and you could go for a hot or cool airflow.
I built a shelf rack and put a foam layer around it. In the bottom of the rack, I put a limit switch in line with 2 light bulbs of 100 watts. When it gets to 140 deg., the lights will go out. I stack all my wood, bone, stag, and horn on the trays inside. It is about 24" X 36" X 48" tall. When I built it I just knew it would be plenty big. The wood takes a lot of room and I can't afford enough stag to fill it so it has been plenty big so far.
I collect the bone and horn from the area. The bones are usually pretty dry when I get them but the horns are fresh. I put the horns up outside for a year or so, clean them the rest of the way up and then put them in the drying box. Some of the horn I have is 4 or 5 yrs old so I don't worry too much about it shrinking on the blade.
I hope this has helped a little. It is the way I do my handle material.
When buying dyed bone, it will shrink pretty bad unless dry it a while first. I bought some red jigged bone once and it was wet enough to mark my fingers with wet dye when I was grinding it. The heat caused the dye to come out.

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Ray Kirk
http://www.tah-usa.net/raker
 
it WONT work....believe me....wood has to be dried slowly....the accepted rule of thumb is one year for every inch thick....sorry. best thing to do is buy kiln dried wood, it has be moisture stabilized...if you have to dry you own, get an old file cabinet or locker, and put a light bulb inside-and THATS all the heat you can use...or else you will end up with a lot of cracked wood... i made furniture before i started making knives and read LOTS of books about making lumber.

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Tom,
doesn't even kiln dried lumber still need dried some before use as knife handles? I've never used much wood for handles except for ironwood and some oak & walnut I've had that was at least 35 years old stored in a friends garage rafters. In 10 years of making knives, most of my handles have either been made from stag, ironwood, and micarta.(time to branch out!)
Thanks though for letting me know ahead of time not to try using the oven!
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Craig Blankenship
Blankenship Knives
http://www.blankenship-knives.com
 
kiln dried is stable....i would let it sit in my shop for at least three months before i used it if i were u...but there are a few, cocobolo and the rosewoods especially, that you dont need to worry about cause they have so much oil in them they are very stable. better safe than sorry...others, like desert ironwood, lignum vitae, kingwood, ebony, seem like they want to crack no matter how long youve had them...i mean ive had some of these woods hanging out in my shop for OVER ten years and i still have to be careful... and the weather here is the same almost all the time. go figure.

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Jake, wouldn't the moisture from the wet clothes make the wood wetter??

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L6, that box I was refering to has the vent passing through it. The direct air from the dryer warms the metal tube running through the box, so no moisture.

Jake
 
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