Scale shrinkage on ZKramer

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I took advantage of the Sur La Table sale on a ZKramer chef's knife in 52100. I ended up ordering from a non-local store, so wasn't able to inspect the knife before buying it. I probably would have still bought it, and am not inclined to return it, but the scales have shrunk, and the tang sticks out on the top and bottom of the handle. I've been soaking it in mineral oil, but that doesn't seem to help much.

So, now I'm thinking of sanding or grinding down the tang on the top and bottom of the handle. Any suggestions about how to do this? Should I do it by hand or use a power tool? I want to make sure my efforts remove metal, not wood.

FWIW, the good news is that the protruding tang doesn't really bother me while I'm holding the knife to cut. It bugs me when I first pick it up, and I don't have to get it perfect, but I'd like the shrunken scales to be less noticeable. I think even some basic rounding of the corners of the tang would help quite a bit.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
 
I took advantage of the Sur La Table sale on a ZKramer chef's knife in 52100. I ended up ordering from a non-local store, so wasn't able to inspect the knife before buying it. I probably would have still bought it, and am not inclined to return it, but the scales have shrunk, and the tang sticks out on the top and bottom of the handle. I've been soaking it in mineral oil, but that doesn't seem to help much.

So, now I'm thinking of sanding or grinding down the tang on the top and bottom of the handle. Any suggestions about how to do this? Should I do it by hand or use a power tool? I want to make sure my efforts remove metal, not wood.

FWIW, the good news is that the protruding tang doesn't really bother me while I'm holding the knife to cut. It bugs me when I first pick it up, and I don't have to get it perfect, but I'd like the shrunken scales to be less noticeable. I think even some basic rounding of the corners of the tang would help quite a bit.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

congrats on yr new toy...

1. I try at least try "inflate" the scale by soaking it in mineral oil. Pour some mineral oil into a thin bottle, place the knife handle in and por in oil till teh appropriate level and leave for a few hours and hope that it works as I do believe when it is new.. it was a good fit.

2. If it fails then if you choose the route to remove metal.. power tools are fast metal removers and u cant put back metal once it is shaved. If the tang is not hardened as the blade then.. by hand you will get there eventually.. bit by bit.

3. ON a belt grinder I wld use fine sand belts.. and very near the wheels .. unless it is a flat grind.

Good luck and have fun..

rgds
d
 
A re-handle would get my vote too many things that could go awry trying to remove metal and as mentioned above there's no going back once Ya start
 
Thanks for the suggestions.

I did try an overnight soak in mineral oil--didn't notice an appreciable difference. I then heated the oil in the microwave and continued soaking for several more hours, which didn't seem to help much either.
 
Todd, I bought the same knife and my scales have shrunk big time too. I was going to send it to Dave Martel to fix the handle, thin and flatten the edge a bit. Its a very strange shaped blade too. Cuts nice, not great though. Kinda on the fence about the whole purchase.
 
I got in on the deal myself and same issue with the scales. I spoke to the Kramer sales rep who was stocking/demonstrating the Essential line when I was at the store and the scale shrinkage was one of the main reason for getting them out of the stores, along with the fact that stores with smaller knife cases couldn't fit all the Kramer lines. Despite the shrinkage which doesn't really bother me and isn't uncomfortable, I think for $150 its a solid pickup though it wont be in my main rotation. Blade sharpens up nicely and the handle/shape is a nice change of pace from the standard. I wouldnt put any large sum of money to alter/re-handle the knife, kinda negates deal that was had.
 
All natural woods move by humidity change, and on a full tang knife it gets more noticeable than on a hidden tang. There is not much to be done about it, short of replacing your wood scales with stabilized wood or synthetic handle material).

M
 
Well, I tend to agree that rehandling would wipe out a good part of the savings, and a large reason why I bought it.

On a more positive note, I did get a response back from Zwilling Henckels and the rep said there shouldn't be scale shrinkage on a new knife. (Though I have heard of other issues with this line.) He said I should send it to them, so I hope they can do something with it. Will keep you posted on what happens, but they said it would take 4-6 weeks.
 
In the past, I have found their customer service to be outstanding. Hope it all works out.
 
Same problem here love the knife the handle pins are noticeable, but then I am looking at as extra grip of the handle when it's wet or slick.....I plan on getting it re-handled when it really bugs too much....still a great value.
 
Why not just send it back and get a new one?? They have lifetime guarentees ...

Warranty doesn't include wood. From their website: "Wood products (including wood handle knives) are not covered by the warranty as wood is a natural element and thus cannot be guaranteed." But my sense is that they may not always strictly follow that (hopefully).
 
Interesting, I didn't know they didn't cover the handle if it was defective and major shrinking would seem to be that. I have to say, I love how they cut - it won't replace my Devin ITK or Shig but it's high up on the list of knives I reach for...
 
I have been using the 8" ZKramer for a week since I got it and overall I am impressed with the knife. The handle has a slight amount of shrinkage but hardly noticeable. Don't forget these were display samples and they sat in a display case for who know how long without the handles being oiled. Not surprised that some of the handles have had shrinkage. The 52100 steel sharpens real easy and takes a wicked edge. It is a tall blade with a great distal taper and a thin sharp tip . It has a decent flat rear section and not as much belly as I expected. For what I paid for the knife with the discount I think it's a pretty good deal!
 
Had that with a Hiromoto As Gyuto. Soaked it first no luck. It belonged to a girl with small hands so I put it on my table belt sander, dropped the heel some, other slight modification of the tang making handle little smaller & more comfortable for her.
 
Had that with a Hiromoto As Gyuto. Soaked it first no luck. It belonged to a girl with small hands so I put it on my table belt sander, dropped the heel some, other slight modification of the tang making handle little smaller & more comfortable for her.
 
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