how to stablize wood

I've tried minwax wood hardener with poor results, I've tried pulling polyester resin into it with little or no penetration. Finally after several failed attempts I sent a box of spalted Maple, spalted Birch and Black Cherry burl to Woodstabilizer. Very ecomomical, they kept me updated through every step and the finished product was perfect. I will not try home stabilizing again.
 
This has been talked over for years, but the final outcome is always .....send it to WSSI or one of the other stabilizers. It would cost a lot of money to set up a proper stabilizing unit for home use. For the same money, most makers could get their wood stabilized better for life. Burl source is a wood seller. He tried to set up a stabilizing unit and do his own wood. In his case ,that made economic sense. After less than a year, he shut down the unit and started sending out his wood.

I can't say enough good things about WSSI. Their stabilization process is tops IMHO.
 
+1 on WSSI. I've sent several batches to them and the results have been perfect. In fact, I sent another batch to them a week or two ago... can't wait to get it back. It's always fun to see what the process does to the more interesting pieces of wood.
 
as everyone has stated, it is cheaper, easier and much safer to send it out... My local wood supplier told me a story of a local maker that blew his shop up with the flammable chemicals used to stabilize, and he had been doing it for years.

The question is: if you send your scales out to be stabilized are you still a knife maker? :D
 
RyanW said:
The question is: if you send your scales out to be stabilized are you still a knife maker? :D
Click to expand...

Answer: Yes, and a smart one.

I actually went about 2 years doing my own stabilizing. After talking to Ken from K&G I decided to try them out with some redwood that I was having difficulty stabilizing to my satisfaction. (every wood reacts differently). He explained that they use different formulas for redwood and some of the others. The first batch turned out way better than anything I had ever been able to accomplish. After that I tried them out with several other difficult woods. Everything turned out great.

After having them stabilize about 100 pounds I did the math. It was costing less to have K&G do the stabilizing than it was for me to do it myself. And that was just based on what I was paying for chemicals. Not even considering equipment and labor. I send all my stabilizing to K&G now. Takes about 2 weeks from when they get it before they send it back.

I haven't tried WSSI or any of the other stabilizers. No reason to since everything from K&G has turned out great, the prices are good and the people there have always been friendly.
 
One word of caution... when you send wood out to get it stablilized and the box comes back... go OUTSIDE to open it. The chemical odor that blasts forth from the box can knock you on your butt. And if you have a wife that has a sensitive nose, she would NOT appreciate you overwhelming the house with that smell.

- Greg
 
Mesquite does not need to be stabilized but takes it very well,I have my mesquite stabilized.
Stan
 
Just got back my latest batch from WSSI. There are some amazing pieces in this batch, and some boring ones. Yesterday I sanded off the excess goo (using/ruining two belts on the 4x36), and man... some eye candy to be sure. One piece in particular I think will be a stand out... I'll post a pic later if I think of it.
 
Here is the standout block from the last batch.

DSCN5624.JPG
 
Ok I'm convinced stabilized is the way to go. I really like using curly maple from my area which I can get alot of. Personally I prefer it stained a darker reddish color rather than the normal blond color. Can they stain color with the stablizing?
 
Why don't you do it? Just don't like stained or is there a finishing problem, etc? Also curious of what size blocks do you send away. 1" thick or standard 3/8"
 
If you use scales on your knives and are going to have the wood dyed and stabilized go ahead and cut them into oversized scales first. When I want 3/8" scales I try to cut them about 1/2" to allow for material that will be removed when I clean them up. The scales will come back dark and gunky. That is cured stabilizing solution on the exterior of your pieces. When you sand that off you can see what you really have. Most stabilizers will prefer to do the dying themselves to prevent their stabilizing solution from getting contaminated by incompatible dyes.

Most important.
The wood you send to be stabilized must be dry. Under 10% moisture content.
 
I don't use the dying service because I prefer to see how the wood looks without the dye. Just a preference thing. And I don't use scales, only blocks.
 
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