Need help on a handle

Justin Presson

Justin Presson

Well-Known Member
This handle is ticking me off. It is supposed to be stabilized spalted pecan (not sure customer sent it to me)and it just keeps looking bad no matter what I do. It seems like the pin stock is sanding off and inbedding into the wood but I can't figure out how to fix it.
Any help is much appreciated.
Justin
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Which are you not sure of? Is it really stabilized? You should be able to tell that pretty easy from working it. It does look like a spalted wood.... looks like the pin holes "might" possibly be a tad oversize, hard to tell. What grit sanding are you using?

Sure is good looking wood for the handle.

Ken H>
 
If the pores of the wood are open and clogging with metal dust it is not stabilized. If you are machine sanding, stop that and hand sand the handle, being especially cautious around the pin area. Later take the pins down flush with the wood with a very fine, thin, flexible hand file. Periodically blowing out the pores of the wood with some clean and dry compressed air helps to keep things clean as well.
 
I went back to 180 on the belt sand which cleaned it up. The bad news is in the spot that were all dirty I can push my fingernail into and it feels spongy. I don't know.....
 
Spalted wood will have a lot of soft spots. Stabilized it should be pretty firm. If it is stabilized, maybe it didn't get stabilized all the way through. If it is not stabilized then it is not going to make a good handle.
 
Can a handle like this be stablized on the knife? If your vacuum chamber is big enough, put the whole knife in? The 200 degree cure temp would probably mess up the epoxy under the scales though.
 
There is a WIP around somewhere by Bruce Bump that shows how to do a CA (super glue) finish on a wood handle. I had similar issues with a piece of Spalted Maple and the CA finish made for a rock hard durable finish. The only downside, other than needing to be patient enough to see the process through, lol, was it made a handle that may be a bit more slippery when wet during use. I actually subdued the final finish with 00 steel wool and applied a good coat of paste wax and that seemed to help it 'stick' in the hand.
 
Justin,
If you determine that it's not stabilized or just partially, open a quart can of satin polyurethane and give the handle a swimming session for a couple or three hours then let dry for a day or so in a warm place. This will aid in sealing it and makes sanding so much easier. I do this to most natural wood handles if I have to use untreated wood. Repeat if neccessary. As far as the darkening of the wood while sanding...If you're using silicon carbide paper on light untreated wood, that's most likely the cause. I found out the hard way too.

Rudy
 
Light woods will always present this issue somewhat, stabilized or not. As I get closer to finished grits, I try to do my pins first then do the wood around it as carefully as possible.

I want to sidebar for a minute if I may- stabilizing is not a magic elixir. In fact, I think on a lot of woods it's highly over rated. A few woods benefit greatly from it. That said, it's hard to sell a block or a knife with a wood handle unless it's stabilized. It seems the age of the internet has struck again. :) The point is open pores don't necessarily mean it's not stabilized. It all depends on the wood and how it was cut.

If you take a large block of wood with somewhat open grain that's been stabilized, the pores will be filled on the outside. Cut that block in half and look and you will likely see those pores more open. Stabilizing, even from the pros, doesn't go into most wood as deep as they would have you believe.

Anyway, back to topic, if those pins are brass, it seems brass for some reason leaves more of the 'black' dust than other materials.
 
I have to agree with John on the over rated part.
I never liked the extra weight it gives to the material. But yeah, try and sell a knife without it now. I've even gotten to the point where I have misgivings about letting an untreated knife out the door. Some of us remember the days before stabilization and it worked out fine too.


Rudy
 
Thanks for all the help guys. The picture is not the best the pins are nickel silver.
This one is for the same customer and it is beautiful and now I feel like I have to make this one just as good and I think im fighting an up hill battle.
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Tru-Oil would certainly be an option. Lots of folks use it, I've not used Tru-Oil in a good while, but am thinking of using it on next handle.

BTW, I totally agree with John 'n Rudy about stabilization - some woods, like open pore spalted woods really do need stabilization, but a good hard wood like Rosewood, Bacote, Snakewood - not at all. Even the old fashioned American Black Walnut makes a nice handle without any stabilization..... and will last a LONG time.

An easy test - does the wood float? If so, how high in water? If sinks, I don't stabilization would do anything for a natural wood that sinks.

Ken H>
 
It's your call Justin but I don't think any type of surface finish is the answer to a soft punky grain. Several coats of rubbed in Tru-oil will give a durable surface finish though.

Rudy
 
I'm going to talk to the customer he is super easy to get along with and has bought one other knife off me and is buying these two as well.
I just worked on it some more and it has these spots that just don't feel right and soft.
I would prefer as much as it pains me to just smash it off and put different handle on it.
Thanks everyone for the advice and guidance. You all don't know how much I appreciate you helping a rookie part timer like me.
Thanks
Justin
 
Justin, I'm curious if you know where the wood came from and who did the stabilizing? The look of the wood looks eerily familiar and I may have some personal experience to share if it came from where I think it may have.

You can send me a PM if you'd rather. The wood itself is really nice looking.

Jon Kelly's suggestion of using an air hose to clean off the handles is a great one. I do that all the time. It's very important to do that prior to putting some kind of hardener or sealer on a handle so you don't seal that stuff in.

Tru Oil is a good way to go for a nice finish. The key is PATIENCE. You have to let coats dry completely before you apply another.

Edited to add that I agree with Rudy about soft punky grain. There is no good fix for that. And if you have reservations as well, that's all you need for your decision. Don't give the customer a choice here. Not belligerently but politely tell him it's going to just cause issues down the road and you're not at all confident in the structural integrity of the handle.
 
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