stabilized wood

[James Oertel]

will somebody please explain what this means

[kbaknife]

Did you do a search on it?
  http://www.stabilizedwood.com/main.shtml

 http://www.stabilizedwood.com/info.shtml

[Steve Nuckels]

James, I'm sure you will get a much better explanation than this, basicly you start with a piece of seasoned wood and it is chemicaly treated so the wood will not expand or contract when exposed to heat,cold & moisture!

Steve
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ABS Apprentice
Potomac Forge
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IN GOD WE TRUST

[Lamey]

Im in the minority here im sure, but i do not and will not use stabilized wood.  

My thoughts are that if a wood is not suitable for a handle,  stabilizing it doesnt really work any magic to change that fact.
Ive had bad luck with stabilized wood being to "brittle".  

Yes it may not "shrink" but it sure will crack or chip under hard use.

[Lin Rhea]

Matt,
      I also find fully stabilized woods brittle and limit my use of it too. I will use it on pieces that dont require the peining of pins. It has very little forgiveness, but it works great for integrals and drilled blocks. Let's just say, I'm careful about when to use it. Some of the stabilized woods I see at the shows have a lot of natural occlusions. I wont touch these. Karl has the right idea by choosing his wood and having it stabilized.
       I like having the option, but frankly, I like the look of the heavy, dense woods that are naturally stable. Lin

[James Oertel]

i look into it thanks alot . is this something i can do or does it have to be sent somewhere ?       MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERBODY  

[Ray Hammond]

On the other hand, there are some woods that while very stable, can be uninteresting as handle material, especially on smaller knives.

The stabilization process can be used to integrate colors as well as hardening, and thereby make some woods of more interest to me as a knifemaker.

I've got a piece of maple right now I purchased at the last Blade Show that has been rendered absolutely beautiful by the addition of three colors- but I'd have not looked at it a second time if it had been plain- yes- it would have made a solid handle...but not an interesting one.

I would use it, but only if the wood is already stable to begin with, and we are using the stabilization to add beauty and interest to the material.

[kbaknife]

Originally posted by James Oertel:
i look into it thanks alot . is this something i can do or does it have to be sent somewhere ?       MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERBODY      

Send it to the link I posted above or Knife and Gun Finishing Supplies.

[Lin Rhea]

The stabilization process can be used to integrate colors as well as hardening, and thereby make some woods of more interest to me as a knifemaker.
 

That's a good point Ray. Color is a very important part of the final look of the knife. A stabilized piece will look better than a dry piece.
 
By the way, if you can successfully pein pins in satbilized woods, it will stay with you. Lin

[mater]

Has anbody tried soaking wood in wood hardener? I once used it on wood arrows and found it worked great for toughening up the point end. I have misplaced the hardener or I would have already tried it for knife handles.
 I think its made by minuwax but not sure.                  Mark

[Don Stokes]

I did some experimenting with stabilizing and hardening wood while researching arrow shaft manufacturing, trying to produce something along the line of the Sweetland forgewoods. The university where I was working had an ongoing project that I tapped into. Eventually I pressure treated yellow poplar with an experimental waterproofing formulation using a polymer and additives that cross-linked in situ when they reacted with natural chemicals in the wood, and then compressed the wood to half its original volume in a heated press. The product would hold up to a 24 hour soak. One of the researchers who provided guidance on the project applied for a patent based on my work, but it was never commercialized. I made some arrow shafts from the wood that were very heavy and strong. It was just too expensive to make, and we decided that yellow poplar in its natural form was just fine. Hard to improve on Mother Nature!

[prarieboy]

This link is to a home stabilizing project. I have not tried this some here in another post a while back said that they did not get satisfactory penetration of the wood with this process .
 I have used the wood hardener without the vacuum process of canning and not had satisfactory penetration and it does make the wood more brittle as mentioned above.
 Read somewhere that the pro's use vacuum, heat and pressure  at different intervals to accomplish what they do gettin penetratration to a molecular level.
Just thinkin out loud and that,s a very dangerous habit for me! C-Yall Bob
Here,s da link
 http://www.northcoastknives.com/northcoast_knives_tutorials_hints_tips3.htm
Merry CHRISTMAS to ALL here at the gang

[Lin Rhea]

I sometimes use the Minwax Wood Hardener, but I wait till my handle is nearly completely shaped. It will go in the wood only so deep when not under pressure. This seals the outside and offers a little better protection from dents, etc. I then do the final sanding which dont eat through the layer of hardener. Lin

[kbaknife]

Good thinkin', Lin!
I like that idea.

[Don Stokes]

The only really good way to get penetration into wood in general is vacuum followed by pressure. Next best is vacuum alone.

However, if the goal is just to stabilize the wood and keep it from splitting, green wood can be soaked in polyethylene glycol-1000 (PEG). The PEG will displace and replace the water in the wood and keep the wood from shrinking when it dries, which is what causes cracks and splits. It's used by hobbyists and some furniture makers. Those tables you see that are made from a round or oval section of tree trunk often have been treated with PEG.

Here's a "how-to" link:

 http://owic.oregonstate.edu/pubs/peg.pdf

[Lamey]

ive never seen a piece of wood that I couldnt coax a nice color out of,  but I do  understand the point about stabilization being another route to introduce color.... just a costly and complex one.

[Ray Hammond]

You are certainly making beautiful knives Lamey

I guess perspective is everything

I paid  8  bucks for thatstabilized piece of maple which if unstabilized I wouldn't have put on a kitchen knife

on the other hand 40 dollars isn't extraordinary for exhibition walnut ironwood or many other fine pieces of exotics

I'm not certain but 8 bucks doesn't seem too awfully expensive