Adam, before we could help you identify the difference we would need to know your process first. Are you using a vacuum chamber, etc... 

Yes, I'm using a vacuum chamber...running to full vacuum until bubbles stop.  The cactus juice does a good job, just not like I get from some of the blocks I get.

Hi Adam; I started to do some stabilizing here recently. The most important part of stabilizing is the soak. The soak should be at least twice as long it took to remove all the air from the wood. Some wood could require a longer soak time D/T to density of the wood. I have read that some wood must be soaked a long time (2 weeks or longer).

My order of stabilizing is as follows

1. Dry until no moisture left in wood at 225F degrees. I weigh my wood several times until weight doesn't change (grams). Place in sealed plastic bag until cool.

2. Place in stabilizing chamber until bubbles are gone. Then soak for twice as long as it took to in stabilizing chamber. Longer the soak the better. This the most crucial part.

3. Then I dry at 200F degrees until cured in toaster oven. If Temp is too high won't cure inside of the wood. If temp too low won't cure at all. 

4. I weigh all my stabilized wood. The dry weight, then stabilized weight  when completely done. Most will weigh at least double the dry weight or more. I also don't wrap wood in aluminum foil. I use a drip tray.

I haven't seen professional stabilized wood yet. The only other thing professional could be doing is using a pressure pot after stabilizing . I read somewhere it really doesn't make that much difference.

Check out TurnTex he has some great info on stabilizing.

Michael, thanks for the feedback.  There are a few things you mentioned that I'm not doing, so I will give it another shot...thank again!

At the risk of sounding like a naysayer, and as someone who has had extensive experience in "home" stabilizing, let me give you a warning, and some advice....... unless you have/are using industrial grade equipment, and are using the stabilizing agents that the "professionals" do, then you would be way ahead in every way, if you just send your materials to the professionals, or buy from them. 

  I spent years and untold amounts of $$$$ doing it myself, and can tell you from experience, that ALL/ANY of the popular consumer level "stabilizing agents" that most use, will cause you nothing but heartache and grief down the road/over the long term. I tried them all, and have seen all of them fail in one way or another.  Suffice to say that along with industrial grade equipment, and unless you can source, and are forking out the three figures+ per 5 gallon bucket for your stablizing agent used by the professionals, you're just rollin gthe dice with your handle materials, and will come up with "snake eyes" sooner or later.   

Folks can do what they want, I'm just offering some friendly adivce that can help you avoid the regret and heartache that I experienced with "home" stabilized materials. 

Ed,

     I hear ya.  I do have an industrial vacuum pump and stabilizing chamber, and I have only used Cactus juice.  I don't give up easily trying to figure this stuff out though.  That's part of why I love knife making so much...trying to figure out how to do things better and make them my own.  However, I will be buying blocks from this guy in the mean time. 

For reference, here is a knife I just completed using the “other guy’s” wood block.  Wood finishes very smooth just going to 400 grit then putting it on a polishing wheel.