Effect of the knife-incising pretreatment on the surface checks occurrence of red pine heavy timber after drying

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the knife-incising pretreatment on the surface checks occurrence of red pine heavy timber after drying. The effect of knife-incising was evaluated by comparison with surface checks which occurred in the control and kerfed material. The results revealed that the knife-incising treatment was effective compared with control in the prevention of surface checks, and the effect is similar to that of the kerfing treatment. In addition, the combination of incising and kerfing was most effective in preventing surface checks.