Stabilized wood swelling?

[jasperdog032469]

Had a buddy of mine pull out a knife that I gave him about a year ago....yearly sharpening before the start of gun season....I made the handles out of stabilized maple burl. It seemed like the wood swelled. There is like a lip around the edges, and the brass pins are under the wood line. He keeps them in a drawer, and I know he's taken care of it. Just worries me, because I've sold 10 or so since then that where made from the same sorce that his scales were from. Looked beautiful when I gave it to him.
Any ideas?

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

No way to know for certain, but my answer would be:

There is stabilized....and there is stabilized.

Many folks sell wood that is called stabilized, but is not the same process or degree of stability as the bigger stabilization houses use. I use WSSI, and have never had a problem with any of their stabilization. I have use wood from other folks that was not as well stabilized.

The blocks of wood from the lesser sources may seem OK, but after you grind off the outside to make a knife handle, you may have ground off the main part of the stabilization,too.

Re-sanding the handle on that knife you made will probably solve the problem. Every unstabilized ( or partially stabilized) knife will normalize to the ambient humidity level. Some will shrink and some will swell. That is one reason to let any handle material sit on the shelf for four to six months before using it. It allows the wood to normalize to your local humidity.

Stacy