Graphy.
Bottom line is the only only way to get those scales flat again is the sand them flat on the backside then seal them with finish and hope they do not warp anymore. I recommend sending them back to the maker and letting him fix it. He took your $$ for the grips, so any issues should be fixed by him IMHO. I am sure he will make things right as rain when given the chance.
Having said that, Wood WILL do what it wants no matter how pretty it is to look at..
. Even though wood is the "bones" of a dead tree it never really dies.. Water vapor can make it move and do crazy stuff. Even laminated wood can and will warp if things are not just perfect when it as dried and glued.
During this past summer temperatures in my non Air conditioned and unshaded shop ( death trap?) reached over 120 (yes 120) degrees F when the shop was locked up during the day. The humidity here was down to less than 10% some days at that time. Then ,we would have rainy spells with 80% humity and lower temps. With such wild climatic swings, I saw a LOT of what wood might do based on what my removable wood Becker scales did during that time.
Most of the scales did just fine. Maybe 5% of them moved at all and even then it was minor. Most of my solid scales use 5 year + air dried North American native grown woods. I do NOT like to use tropical woods for prolonged use in most non tropical North American climates because the stuff eventually dries and and shrinks and even cracks. I don't care how pretty, hard ,cheap or stable the stuff appears to be when you first mill it. Eventually, it all shrinks and cracks over time. Cocobolo, Rosewoods, Bocote, you name it. It's lovely stuff and many times cheaper than High grade Walnut, Maple and other NA woods But I do not use it unless I have to. Also, those oily woods like Cocobolo PREVENT proper adhesion of glues and PREVENT the curing of good weather proof finishes like Spar varnishes etc. Which is why almost all of them are finished in simple single oil type finishes that transfer water though the surface when wet. All of which leads to a lot of movement of that wood back and forth over time.
Besides the species of wood, there is the grain flow of the scales. If they are all burled up or slab sawn they will warp more often. Quarter sawn wood is best to prevent gaps, but is more prone to split at the bolt holes. It's a tough call there. I have seen both grain types warp a bit and both hold up just fine under severe use on a Becker. One thng is for sure, most Wildly grained Burl wood is going to be more prone to warp than straight grained stuff. That is the case as a gunstock or scales on a Becker knife.
That's my experience working high grade furniture and gunstock woods longer than BK&T has been making knives ( Over 30 years).
Recently, I conducted experiments where I have laminated good solid wood to G-10 liners that were .040", .060" and .125" thick. I did this to see if the liners would help stiffen the scales enough to prevent warpage. The answer is -NO- they do not. If a peice of wood wants to bend, even IF it is solidly epoxied to the liner- it WILL BEND. I did not use liners thicker than .125" but frankly,when you get that thick, things start to look weird.
