Great chatting with you, Heidi.. I'm looking forward to many more chats with you!! Welcome to the club of poor collectors. LOL

Hey there, Heidi! Welcome to iKnife! Come on in, kick back and check things out. There's some handy tips on our front page to help you find your way around, and some fantastic people in the Chat room if you have any questions or want to shoot the breeze. Site rules are also on the main page, and if you get creative, you can customise your My Page to suit your own style! Hope you enjoy your stay with us! Great to have you on board!

Heidi,  while soaking the scales in water may temporarily swell them, once they dried out again, it's more than possible that the shrinkage would be worse than it is.   My first choice would still be using boiled linseed oil, as it will soak in to the wood.  

Ask 10 people about wood care you're likely to get 10 answers, but linseed oil has been used for a very long time to protect and waterproof wooden tool handles.

Welcome to iKC!

Welcome to iKC Heidi!