Natural vs stabilized wood scales

[amamachinist]

I'll be buying my first set of scales soon. I have little to no experience with woodworking.

What are the pros and cons for stabilized and natural scales?

Is one easier to work?

Does stabilized last longer?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

Nick

Its for this knife

 

[amamachinist]

Also the plan is to use fasteners that screw together so I will need to drill and counterbore the scales .250 with a .375 CB. does either stabilized or natural lend itself to this process better??

Thanks again

Nick

 

[defaultuser]

The difference is stabilized wood will be much less affected by temperature/moisture change, so it will not expand or contract nearly as much as unstabilized version of the same wood.
Some woods don't respond well to stabilization (ex: Ironwood - too dense, cocobolo - oily?).

Edited: Sweet blade BTW; I assume those things were machined? Planning on a saber grind?

 

[amamachinist]

The difference is stabilized wood will be much less affected by temperature/moisture change, so it will not expand or contract nearly as much as unstabilized version of the same wood.
Some woods don't respond well to stabilization (ex: Ironwood - too dense, cocobolo - oily?).

Edited: Sweet blade BTW; I assume those things were machined? Planning on a saber grind?

Thanks!

yes the pockets are machined and I will be doing a flat saber grind.

 

[watercrawl]

Another advantage to stabilized is that it won't absorb moisture....sweat, water, humidity, blood, etc.....nearly as much as stabilized woods.

Some woods you simply would never want to use un-stabilized either....spalted and/or burl woods can be extremely soft in their natural form. Once stabilized, they are mucho better.

Working ability can vary a lot. Un-stabilized spalted/burl woods can be extremely difficult to work with. Their soft spots dissolve almost when sanding while the surrounding harder/denser areas sand slower.

Typically, though, there isn't much working difference between un-stabilized hard woods (ironwood, ebony, cocobolo, rosewoods, etc.) and stabilized woods.

 

[Fred.Rowe]

Sanding and finishing the two types is quite different. Wood that has been impregnated with plastic resin tends to "hold" the wood fibers in place; reducing chip out and galling. Stabilized wood responds well to burnishing and polishing; keep in mind, you are working with plastic/wood.

Try the edge of stiff leather and/or bluejean material to bring out the character and glow of your stabilized wood handles.

When the handle shaping and finishing is completed very little is needed in the way of surface finish.

Post us a pic of the finished product.

Fred

 

[amamachinist]

Sanding and finishing the two types is quite different. Wood that has been impregnated with plastic resin tends to "hold" the wood fibers in place; reducing chip out and galling. Stabilized wood responds well to burnishing and polishing; keep in mind, you are working with plastic/wood.

Try the edge of stiff leather and/or bluejean material to bring out the character and glow of your stabilized wood handles.

When the handle shaping and finishing is completed very little is needed in the way of surface finish.

Post us a pic of the finished product.

Fred

Thanks Fred will do!

it'll be a while though

 

[Brian Ayres]

As has been said. Stabilizing allows you to use woods you otherwise wouldn't use.

My personal preference is stabilized wood from burlsource. http://www.burlsource.us/servlet/StoreFront

He's in the knifemakers for sale area. He has all his wood professionally stabilized and you always know you're getting the best product possible. His blocks are always cleaned up well and square, AND if you see a block you like he'll cut it into scales for you.

If you use Corby bolts, Pop's makes reamers for them to get a nice snug fit. http://popsupply.bizhosting.com/counterbore_tools.html

As said, Cocobolo and Ironwood can be used as is.

One thing to keep in mind, it's often best to hand file corby bolts flush with the wood when shaping the handle scales. Taking off too much metal from your fasteners at once can cause them to build heat and leave scorch rings around your fasteners in the scales...

 

[amamachinist]

One thing to keep in mind, it's often best to hand file corby bolts flush with the wood when shaping the handle scales. Taking off too much metal from your fasteners at once can cause them to build heat and leave scorch rings around your fasteners in the scales...

Thanks I actually just ordered a set of scales from burl source.

I am using corby bolts that I made
I was wondering about potentially buning the wood. I'll use a file. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Fred.Rowe]

Thanks I actually just ordered a set of scales from burl source.

I am using corby bolts that I made
I was wondering about potentially buning the wood. I'll use a file. Thanks for the tip!

Punch a hole in a piece of aluminum duct tape the size of the corby bolt and put it on the handle slab with the bolt sticking through. When you go to file the bolt, the tape will give you warning if the file is cocked getting ready to cut into the handle slab.