One of the biggest dangers with wooden handles is shrinkage factor. If you attach a handle to a piece of wood with residual moisture, the wood is apt to crack as the moisture evaporates. This is because of the fact that the wood shrinks as the moisture is removed. The best way to avoid this kind of a situation is to completely dry the wooden handle before attaching the knife blade. It is better to leave the handle in a dry place or even put it in the oven set at the lowest possible temperature for a few hours. This will ensure that the wood is completely dry and does not crack later. Antlers are pretty stable when it comes to handling moisture and they don't need such a treatment.