what is it to "Stabilize"?

[DaQo'tah Forge]

Hi this is DaQo'tah

I wish to understand the place stabilizing has in making a knife handle.

I wish to make some hidden tang handles out of some oak from my back yard. But I dont know how to treat the oak to make the handle lasting.

I have heard you guys talk about stabilizing wood, but Im not sure what you are talking about,,,

And if I did stabilize the oak for my handle, when do you do this?
Before you cut it to shape?
Before you glue it to the steel tang?

after the oak is glued and sanded to it final form?

 

[rlinger]

I will use wood as my example. All wood I have worked is porous and therefore is a host for atmosphere and moisture. This causes the wood to respond to cimate change. Wood will swell and eventually degrade from moisture.

Basically, simply sealing the wood can be done after the handle is finish sanded by applying wood sealers. These sealers penetrate to a relatively shallow depth. Stabalized wood has been impregnated throughout with a sealer or hardener. The entire cross section is penetrated and, ideally, all grain filled with a solid sealer. The wood is stabilized before applying to the knife handle.

Roger

 

[Mike Hull]

DaQo'tah, it is not a necessity to stabilize the wood for your handle.
Stabilizing came about so that people could use beautifully grained native woods that were too soft for knife/tool handles. It just got carried over to even the hard woods, as it makes finishing them very easy. Just sand and buff. If your Oak was dry, don't worry about it. When you finish sanding it, put a couple of coats of sealer, like Watco, according to the instructions. Finish off with a coat of Carnauba wax, either car, or floor.

 

[Wild Rose]

Got agree with Mike. I think folks may have gotten a little carried away with the "necessity" to stabilize "everything". It definitely has it's place, but knife grips have been made for thousands of years out of "unstabilized" wood, bone, and antler. In my shop I see a lot of old originals from the 19th century with lots of use and the handles if cared for have held up well.

Chuck