Capt. Chris,

Thanks for the reply. That is good news. I don't have a dog in this hunt but I think that is a valuable piece of info for those that have been affected now and in the future.

AND.... it must be a catastrophic failure not merely a small crack or slight shrinkage.

Let me extend a helping hand and offer to take this off your hands so you don't have to worry about it shrinking anymore. Just box it up and send it to me in Kalifornia. I'll even send you pictures of it from time to time so you can see if the handle has shrunk anymore On a serious note, that's too bad, musk ox handles on Randalls look great.

Dan Snyder
RKS #5537
SHAG #010

I have seen this shrunk on buffalo horn knives to. Not Randalls but other knives. :-)

The shop rehandled a 25 for me and did a fantastic job.

I've had both my 25-5 and 27 N25 both shrink and took them back to the shop, (i have an in), filled both with superglue and now they both have shrunk again...oh well...

---DW---

Folks,
I was out of touch for a day, however thanks for all the kind words, and advice.
I don't think it's the end of the world, however was kind of asking, just to know. People who look at it do not notice.
I bought two blocks from Mark. The other is now where I store my knives, and will remain there for a while. It's coated, and I'm thinking that I may sand of the coating to allow it do what ever it is going to do, and just see what happens.
:-)R

There are some things with this Musk Ox issue that just don't add up.

If the stuff has been through the stabilization process it shouldn't need to be coated for storage because the stabilization process is supposed to take care of the drying out issues, it's also supposed to prevent shrinkage. I have a feeling the folks that are stabilizing this stuff are learning as they go because if you read some of the technical aspects of the stabilization process, the process should totally prevent shrinkage. Bottom Line: It all doesn't add up.

Tom,
I think your right....learn as you go.
Mark was fairly discriptive of some of the problems, however there may be more, as time goes on.
Still a great looking handle
:-)Rocky

Rocky,

I think it accurate to say that the vast majority of experience with the stabilization process has been with wood, and unexpected problems still crop up with wood. Musk Ox has been around for such a short amount of time, a year maybe two is probably the most experience anyone has. My intuition tells me that a material like Musk Ox should be left to dry naturally before it is stabilized, just like wood.

It is a magnificent looking material