Recommendation? Desiccants and wood scales?

[David Mary]

Question about desiccants, and natural wood scales. I remember a couple years ago, I had left a knife with wood handles in a bag with a desiccant pack, and after a while (can't remember how long) I looked at it, and found the wood scales had all but peeled right off the tang. The knife that I have coming back to me for refinishing is the one I made as a thank you to Empire Outfitters, and its handle is composed of 26 individual pieces of wood that I arranged together. It is SUPER important that I don't cause the scales to tear themselves apart. If I toss a dessicant pack into the box with it, do I run the risk of causing a rapid change in moisture that makes it warp, shift, or peel?

 

[Greenberg Woods]

How are the pieces of wood oriented?

With so many pieces, It would be dependent on the grain orientation and positionining.

The absolute humidity is not what causes wood movement. Wood moves due to changes in humidity, and more over gradient across the wood, i.e one side dries our faster than the other.

Do you have a photo?

 

[Grasshopperglock]

Look up Boveda humidity packs. Unlike a dessicant pack removing all the moisture. Drying the wood out, jacking it up. The Boveda packs maintain a level of humidity.

They have a variety. Some are 58% and others are 62%.

Think cigar humidor.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I would not suggest desiccants to store any wood handled knife. The wood needs to find its own stability in the environment it lives in and stay there.

As a second comment - Handles that are made from a mosaic of woods should be mounted on a backing strip of micarta or G-10 to prevent delamination.
Once you start to get more than 3 or 4 pieces to each scale the risk multiplies greatly because there are no long glue joints. Once you get to high numbers it is wise to have a frame (preferably metal) that holds the assembly inside.

 

[Way-Barney]

Assemble the wood then have it stabilized, no issues.

 

[Grasshopperglock]

Another way to make sure wood doesn't dry out. Seal it with oil or wax.

Musical instruments, gun stocks. Knives are no different with natural wood.

And if you think you're not sealing the wood with the oil coming off your hands. I want you to stick a favorite chunk of wood in a jar with DampRid. Open the DampRid container and scoop it out with a spoon. Put in a jar with the wood. Get it down to 0 humidity and watch.

Wood has to maintain a level of moisture or it'll crack. Dry rot.

 

[Cushing H.]

What Stacy said. Any *change* in humidity will cause wood to expand or shrink. Different woods will have slightly different rates of expansion. laminated Structures will be especially very “weak” at the glue joints with regard to that lateral stress. Dessicants will *really* draw the wood moisture down causing a lot of stress ( a bad thing). Constant near unchanging humidity is what you need … otherwise you are pretty much asking for delamination