Stabilized wood that is cracking

[Bühlmann]

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.

It's already been said, but I just want to add that it is nice to see a mature, measured, and intelligent approach to a customer service issue. Good for you for respecting the privacy and reputations of the wood supplier & maker in question, and giving them a chance to correct the issue. I hope if I ever have a customer return for material or workmanship quality that they are as reasonable as you have been with your issue. I'm betting you will be made whole. Understanding that we all strive for perfection but sometimes may fall short is a great way to look at custom orders. I believe all makers/suppliers should have an opportunity to correct an issue for their customer.

 

[Greenberg Woods]

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

Not exactly "Rest" but wood can build up stresses that are released when the wood is cut or otherwise worked. Especially in curly or burl wood, the wood fibers are in tension across many diffrent directions. When the piece is cut or drilled one plane of fibers is severed and built up tensions often from drying can be released and cause the wood to curl

 

[Taz]

Thanks Ben! I figured you would be the one to answer that question for me! When I did mine, I sliced all of the blocks down into scales and glued the liners to the scales after flattening in order to have them ready to go when I got to the blades. It took me over a month to do the handles and they were good for another month or two and then started moving. I guess safe practice is to slice down blocks and let sit for a few days in case any movement happens before flattening?

IIRC, it was in the fall when I did the handles and over the winter they moved a lot, but they went from a milder area to a much colder location, too.

Wood is wood; there are no guarantees or absolutes I guess!

 

[Cliff Carter Knives]

Prior to becoming a knife maker, I had two custom knives with stabilized handles crack on me. One was curly maple and one was redwood burl.

They were both stored inside my bedside nightstand. It wasn’t until a few months later I realized the nightstand sat 8 inches above a heat vent in the floor. Point is, any stabilized wood handle can crack if the environment is “right”.