Stabilized wood that is cracking

W

Walleyewhiz

Joined
Feb 3, 2022
Messages
8
Hey fellas. Ordered a piece of spalted maple from a reputable wood dealer. Had wood shipped to knife maker. Get finished knife to me, and after a few days, I notice the wood is developing cracks. In multiple places. Maker was great about it and said send it back and he’d try and repair or replace with Micarta no charge. Bit of a hassle as I am in Canada and the wood guy and maker are in the US.

My question is if the wood is stabilized, should it be developing cracks, and should the gentleman who sold and stabilized the wood stand behind it and replace with another set of scales?

I am new to this whole game and ask this question out of complete sincerity as I don’t really know. Those scales cost me near $100 cdn to get to the maker to start with, and shipping back to the maker is gonna run me some more $.

How would you fellas handle? Would you bother approaching the wood guy or am I on my own and just swallow hard?

Thanks in advance.

PS: Please don’t ask for names, as I am not trying to slander anyone. Just asking an honest question.
 
Do you know how it was stabilized?
Do you think this is a problem he may not be aware of?
Have you used him before?
At the very least I’d let him know and take it from there depending on his response. I think I would at least want either a good replacement or refund.
 
DanF has stated all my comments -

NO - wood that is normally stabilized should NOT be developing cracks. There are some woods that tend to crack, but I don't think any of those are normally stabilized. Spalted Maple for sure shouldn't be cracking. Please post a couple of pictures of the wood and cracks.

Ooops, I see Dave beat me to the request for pics.
 
You might consider repairing it yourself. Get some thin "superglue". Carefully flow it into the cracks, sand well till you like the finish. Maybe buff. Would save a whole lot of money/time. Just a thought.
 
As a wild guess … the wood was not thoroughly dry when it was stabilized. Was the wood stabilized by an individual, or by a professional outfit (like k&g)?
 
I don't believe in strict rules for what will/ won't crack given that wood is a natural product, but no Stabilized spalted maple should not be propagating cracks during use, any cracks that were going to form should have started in the stabilizing process.

If you'd like what I think is technically an expert opinion, you can either post the photos or send the photos to my email below in my signature. I'll do my best to let you know if they are minor enough to be filled with superglue or if you should pursue a refund from the supplier.
 
Another issue may have been heat in sanding and buffing the handle. If the maker greatly overheated the handle in finishing he may have put tiny cracks in it. You may not have noticed them at first or they may have been filled with polish or wax.
 
Hey guys. Thanks for all your responses. They are appreciated. As I alluded to in my post, my question was not meant to lay blame on anyone. If I were to post pics, people from another forum would recognize the maker, and by association the gentleman who supplies his wood. My question was simply to see if it was out of the norm. It’s been shipped back to the maker, and based on the answers here, I’m gonna let the wood guy know and he can talk to the maker. I have no reason to believe he won’t be a stand-up guy if together they agree it is out of the norm. And, even if he weren’t, I’ve been screwed a whole helluva lot worse. Truth is, most knife-makers are just trying to make an extra buck doing something they are good at, so I just won’t get into that internet blame game. Both these fellas were great to deal with.
 
Walleyewhiz said:
Hey guys. Thanks for all your responses. They are appreciated. As I alluded to in my post, my question was not meant to lay blame on anyone. If I were to post pics, people from another forum would recognize the maker, and by association the gentleman who supplies his wood. My question was simply to see if it was out of the norm. It’s been shipped back to the maker, and based on the answers here, I’m gonna let the wood guy know and he can talk to the maker. I have no reason to believe he won’t be a stand-up guy if together they agree it is out of the norm. And, even if he weren’t, I’ve been screwed a whole helluva lot worse. Truth is, most knife-makers are just trying to make an extra buck doing something they are good at, so I just won’t get into that internet blame game. Both these fellas were great to deal with.
Click to expand...
Knowing the maker's name helps us finding Other good maker to buy from, assuming they actually stand behind their work......
 
I think you're a stand up guy for taking the high road. In fact, a conversation with the maker might should have been the first step. If the maker and or wood guy make things right, shower them with praise!

A lady brought a knife back to me with the handle separated from the tang. She was a little upset to say the least. Upon looking at the knife, the finish on the handle was destroyed. So I casually asked her how many times she thought the knife had been run through the dishwasher??? She confessed.
I repaired the handle free, but told her this is the first and last time. Hand wash only.

The moral of that story is this: If she had gone to a forum, review site, or Fbook to air her laundry, my reputation would have been tarnished, through no fault of my own. As it is, I took care of her, helped educate her, and got a customer for life.
Let your maker help you. Most of us will do so gladly!
 
Not sure what to think here. Yes if you have black line spalt it is more apt to split at the black lines. I use liners on heavily spalted stuff to help prevent this. To me, once the wood has been made into a handle it falls on the maker. There are too many variables in finishing a handle that the wood supplier has no control over. This is one reason I never use customer supplied materials.
 
Looks like the OP is doing the right thing and dealing with the maker and the wood guy....

"It’s been shipped back to the maker, and based on the answers here, I’m gonna let the wood guy know and he can talk to the maker. I have no reason to believe he won’t be a stand-up guy if together they agree it is out of the norm."

Breath of fresh air not wanting to be the typical internet slanderer when something goes wrong.
 
Wood is a weird thing! Many years ago, I did 30 handles for a kitchen knife store. He sent me the wood blocks (from a new supplier) and the blades, so I had to cut the blocks in half and install them on the premade blades. Maple burl handles, liners, mosaic pins, etc. The store and I bartered; he drop shipped a KMG VS setup so I could use the new machine on the handles! I did them over a month or so IIRC and sent them back to the store in batches. Customer loved they way they looked and felt! Most of them sold over the next couple months. Then the customer started getting emails after a month or two. Handles curled, shrunk, cracked, etc. He had checked each batch I sent him and then again before they were sent to the end customers who bought them and they were fine on receipt and when they shipped out. After a few months, all were messed up, even the ones that were still at his store. He contacted the wood guy, who said it was my fault for overheating the wood. Funny thing, the mosaic pins were fine and those overheat very quickly!! I got most of them back to redo (or the store gave a credit to those that didn't want to send them back) and used wood from our normal suppliers and all came out fine the second time. It sucked, but we took care of the customers. It was weird that the problems didn't show up for a couple months after they were done and received by the store!

I kept some of the scales I removed; I put them into a freezer and they laid flat. Took them out and they curled up within a day at normal room temps. Even some years later, the "stabilized" scales still move with temp/humidity changes! I had done a ton of handles using the same processes and never had a problem before or after. We are guessing the wood wasn't fully dried or wasn't properly stabilized and we didn't use that supplier again. We were also wondering if being shipped by air (cargo hold unpressurized) had some effect on the scales? I had heard many years ago that after the wood is stabilized, let it sit for a while to let the block rest, but I have no idea if this is true or not?

Ben, have you heard of any issues with wood needing to "rest" after stabilizing or issues with pressure issues with planes?

Even stabilized wood can have some issues, even when it is done professionally and isn't bullet proof! I am interested in hearing the end results!
 
Not hand made, but some years ago, (2009 or so), Spyderco broke with their traditional handle materials and did a run of fixed blades with stabilised spalted maple. Just about the entire batch of 800 developed cracks due to how the wood was processed by their supplier. Also, the knives were made in a very humid place, and then shipped to a very dry one, which cannot have helped. While properly stabilised wood shouldn't crack, I have seen even the good stuff absorb water and swell/shrink when it dried out. The other thing I have experienced is that newly stabilised wood will smell like a chemical factory for some weeks after arriving back in the UK from WSSI and K&G (less so from the latter), which suggests that something is still changing.
 
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