Stabilizing wood

[O.L.C.]

Would a different resin maybe be better? Like alumilite slow. Give it more time to bond?

 

[Willie71]

I’m real curious how this system works. Does it work well? I always hear “don’t bother, it will never work as well as K&G.” Is that true? Has anyone compared home brew stabilized to K&G? Do they weigh the same? I wonder if there’s a way to test the Janka Hardness and compare to other stabilization methods. Is the wood completely adequate for knife handles? I’m not suggesting they’re not. I’m just wondering, because I don’t know.

I’ve got a ton (quite literally several tons) of figured and spalting poplar. I’ve had great results with this wood with cactus juice. I’ve done walnut, Zebrano, and wenge, and they did gain 15-20% weight, if I left the wood under vacuum until no more bubbles, then let the wood sit in the resin until it no longer floated. Gidgee gained about 10%, but the poplar gained 200-300%, iirc. I know I do a good job on my wood, but I have some really nice figured maple and a few other woods that I sent to K&G, as I don’t want to have the undeserved negative connotation of home stabilized wood preventing a sale. Those pieces will go on higher end knives, that command a higher price. Cactus juice is perfectly fine if done right.

The advantage of K&G is they have the ability to use high pressure, like 4000psi if the wood needs it, and you are guaranteed to get it done right.