A.McPherson
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So, I have about 200lbs of spalted aspen... so you guys think it'd be worth using as knife handles? Should I have it stabilized?
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Spalted aspen?
- Thread starter A.McPherson
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A.McPherson
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Ok thanks! Any ideas on ever to get it done (preferably on the west coast)?
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Send it to K&G Finishing in Lakeside, AZ
Britt_Askew
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It needs to be dry to be stabilized. K&G is a good place.
A.McPherson
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Ok. I'll hang on to it for a while... it's pretty wet.
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I'm not certain as I have not done it before myself or even know of anybody who does it but I THINK you can send it out to have it dried if you don't want to wait a few years to use it. Someone else in here can correct me if I'm wrong but I just have a feeling that you could do that.
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Some woods can be dried slightly (cooking anything too fast from too wet is guaranteed to kill it), the vast majority cannot without a lot of unneeded waste. Best practice is the simplest, cover in wax and let sit in a cool moderate place out of direct sunlight. 1yr per 1" of sectional thickness... You want single digit moisture content before stabilizing.
Beyond that, call and ask around, search out references (like this) and more ask to see finished photos of their work. K&G is great and I have used wood stabilized by them. Wood Dynamics SBI (Not west coast but flat rate is flat rate... Dover PA) get my current vote though... Nothing like wood that still smells and feels like natural wood but has the stain and moisture resistance of a resin laminate. Both of these places can provide that. A lot of the eBay crap looks and feels like a block of cheap plastic...
Aspen is great wood. Light, takes color well, easy to work... And anything spalted is just awesome. I have this block of spalted maple waiting to be dry enough to stabilize... Almost there... Covered in a layer of wax ATM...
-Eric
Beyond that, call and ask around, search out references (like this) and more ask to see finished photos of their work. K&G is great and I have used wood stabilized by them. Wood Dynamics SBI (Not west coast but flat rate is flat rate... Dover PA) get my current vote though... Nothing like wood that still smells and feels like natural wood but has the stain and moisture resistance of a resin laminate. Both of these places can provide that. A lot of the eBay crap looks and feels like a block of cheap plastic...
Aspen is great wood. Light, takes color well, easy to work... And anything spalted is just awesome. I have this block of spalted maple waiting to be dry enough to stabilize... Almost there... Covered in a layer of wax ATM...
-Eric