Guard ring loose

[BillL]

I bought a Japanese knife, a Kanetsune 5" blade about a year ago. I live in a very dry climate and somehow I think the wood on the handle must have shrunk slightly. The guard ring is now loose and can swivel about 1/2 an inch. How do I fix it?

 

[orthogonal1]

Well, I suppose you could try the "soak it water" trick. Works for a time with ax heads and hammers.

Or I suppose you could try the tung oil trick - soak the area in tung oil as sometimes the wood expands.

I'd probably see if the knife can be disassembled and then use a thick epoxy when reassembling to fill in any gaps.

Wonder what the makers would do, though.