shrunken wood handle repair?

[Runs With Scissors]

I've got an old Puukko I'm trying to refurbish. It's got a heckuva great carbon steel blade, stacked birch bark handle with a piece of birch securing the end. This is really a pretty old looking knife, but very neat.

The wood on the end of the handle has shrunken and become loose over the years, and I'm trying to find a way to make it swell back up and try to recondition it a little. (a better way than a glass of water anyways)

I was wondering if any of y'all had any suggestions?

 

[Walking Man]

The only way to get it to swell is to oil it. Give it a coat of mineral oil, and if it seems to help it after about 24 hours, apply again, maybe two or three time. DON'T leave oil on it where it can soak in, or the wood will fall apart after awhile. After you're done getting it back to shape, if you can, you might want to apply a coat of ren. wax, but wipe it off with a dry cloth first.

 

[DGG]

Usually oil rots wood. I would use a strong thick epoxy and let it fill the gaps and bond the handle. Brownells, who sells stuff for gunsmiths has some with a tint to match to the wood.

 

[Walking Man]

Usually oil rots wood.

It takes a long while for oil to rod wood, and even then you need an excess of it, many furniture makers, and other wood artists use an oil finish.

 

[JohnR7]

I would use a strong thick epoxy and let it fill the gaps and bond the handle.

I use epoxy to fill the gap in around the handle. It works real good, sometimes I use clear epoxy and sometimes I use black. Some of the knife parts supply people sell a color mix for the epoxy. Also what I like to do is crush some sort of stone from old neckless or whatever I can find. I will mix that with the epoxy to make a handle for the knife. It works out esp good with old knives like hammer where the surface is not flat to use wood.

 

[Walking Man]

The wood on the end of the handle has shrunken and become loose over the years, and I'm trying to find a way to make it swell back up and try to recondition it a little. (a better way than a glass of water anyways)
I was wondering if any of y'all had any suggestions?

He wants to see if it can swell back up. Let's help him, not discourage him.
I have actually done this with a shrunken handle on a Randall carving knife. The handle was stag. If you try this on your wood, it won't anything AT ALL. My only concern is that because it is so old it might not expand back all of the way. But it might. You really have nothing to lose by giving it a little mineral oil.