Why Can Moisture be so Destructive in Stabilised Wood

Moisture in wood isn’t just “dampness”, it’s an active chemical threat.

I don’t just see drying as prep, It’s the first reaction in a complex stabilisation process, and it’s where most failures begin. Wood at 12–18% moisture content may feel fine to the touch, but inside the vacuum chamber, it becomes a saboteur. Even wood dried out in the oven isn't quite good enough, you need high vacuum and heat coupled with excellent extraction, Something that only comes with the best equipment.

At full vacuum, water boils at just 15°C. One gram of residual moisture turns into 1.6 litres of expanding steam. That violent change rips through pit membranes in the wood, creates invisible fractures, and initiates microvoid nucleation throughout the resin matrix. The result?

Voids, up to 20% of your internal structure can be air. On top of that, the water interferes with the curing process itself. It breaks down methacrylate resins, leaving uncured monomers behind. Even at 5% MC, you get softer, rubbery zones and compromised structural integrity.

Then there’s capillary failure. Resin and water have vastly different surface tensions, resin sits at around 25 mN/m, water at 72. That means resin will actively pull away from water-filled lumens rather than penetrate. It’s why “looks dry” isn't enough. You're working against physics.

For knife makers, these moisture leftovers manifest in all kinds of ugly ways. Scales warp. Voids tear out on the grinder. Resin microcracks when exposed to heat. Even long after finishing, seasonal movement from hygroscopic fibres can warp your handle.

Our process is built around total moisture control. I dry every block in a vacuum oven to 0%MC, then cool the blocks in a Vacuum to prevent reabsorption from ambient humidity. The blocks are then transferred directly to the resin within 10 minutes, fast enough to preserve dry conditions before the vacuum.

Moisture is the most overlooked factor in stabilising. That’s why I treat it as the most important.