# Videos > Instructional Videos >  How to stabilize scales, the easy way.

## Camp10

This is an easy method anyone can use to make pretty good knife scales.  A word of warning..the hardener I use is explosive and the fumes can be dangerous..please use in a well ventilated area!  
Thanks for watching!

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## crashdive123

Pretty cool.  I've never seen it done that way.  Learned something new.

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## oldtrap59

I have never used this product but assume that once you use it this way it isn't usable again?

Oldtrap

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## Camp10

> I have never used this product but assume that once you use it this way it isn't usable again?
> 
> Oldtrap


I dont know why it wouldnt be OT.  I keep the left overs in the mason jars with the lids sealed and will use it for dozens of knife scales, I just add more as needed.

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## randyt

awesome video. I need to give it a try.

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## Camp10

I didnt bring it up in the video because I didnt think of it at the time but someone is probably going to ask..I dont worry so much with wood about getting it hot enough to "cook".  With wood this will likely just open the grain up a little more and allow the hardener to get into it a little better.  I have never let the hardener get hotter then I can handle bare handed and I've never ruined antler, bone or wood with heat.

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## COWBOYSURVIVAL

Thanks for sharing that Camp. I have only used boiled linseed oil. I'll have to give it a try.

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## oldtrap59

Guess I just figured that the heating process would change the chemical makeup of the hardener. Maybe the lack of a real high temp causes that not to happen. Anyway thanks for the answer Camp and all the info in the vid. I may use this on knife scales at some point but for the first try I'll be working on some grips for an old revolver I have. Again. Thankyou.

Oldtrap

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## JPGreco

what is the hardener that you used and where do you get it?  Is it a home depot type of product?

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## Camp10

> what is the hardener that you used and where do you get it?  Is it a home depot type of product?


Minwax wood hardener.  I've seen it at Home Depot but I get it through the True Value hardware store.  They will sell it to me by the case and mark it down to about $7 a pint.

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## JPGreco

Thanks
I guess you buy a decent amount regularly to get that discount huh?  I see you harden it before shaping too.  Is that because the hardening process distorts the shape a little or just because thats how you do it?  I may not get around to hardening the wood before shaping, thats why I ask.  I can always sand it down a bit after the fact, but just curious.

All the stuff I'm learning to make a knife is starting to have massive practical applications in a lot of areas as well.

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## Camp10

> Thanks
> I guess you buy a decent amount regularly to get that discount huh?  I see you harden it before shaping too.  Is that because the hardening process distorts the shape a little or just because thats how you do it?  I may not get around to hardening the wood before shaping, thats why I ask.  I can always sand it down a bit after the fact, but just curious.
> 
> All the stuff I'm learning to make a knife is starting to have massive practical applications in a lot of areas as well.


It would probably be better to shape it somewhat first before hardening if you know what knife it is going on.  I dont have a knife selected yet for these scales so I keep them generic until I match them to a blade.  This method doesnt get as deep through the wood as the regular vacuum/pressure/vacuum method I normally use unless you leave it in the hardener for a while...these scales are still in the hardener and will be for at least another week.  If your scales are preshaped you might be able to get them stabilized in half the time as it takes me.

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## JPGreco

Makes sense.

As a novice to this, I don't have all the equipment or stuff I would need on hand, so I just wanted to make sure I could shape the knife, make the scales, and then harden them down the road.  As a novice, the odds of stuff turning out right the first time is small, so I didn't want to spend time hardening something I might end up tossing.  On the same token, if it comes out nice, I want to be able to stabalize them after the fact.

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## JPGreco

One more question:

Does your hardening agent discolor the wood in any way?  Assuming its clear to begin with (in your video it looks tinted), after its applied, does it change the color of the wood at all?

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## Camp10

> One more question:
> 
> Does your hardening agent discolor the wood in any way?  Assuming its clear to begin with (in your video it looks tinted), after its applied, does it change the color of the wood at all?


It will leave a light colored wood slightly darkened.  No more then the tung oil that I use on the finished handle.

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