Cracked The Second Handle Yesterday

I cracked the second walnut handle yesterday.  The black walnut was too thin, even though it was twice as thick as the first!  I am at the 11th hour on this project with feathers to make ASAP.  My third attempt looks more promising.  I will be using brass rod instead of cutler's rivets, as I know how brass rod behaves.  I do not know how cutler's rivets behave, but it was not the rivets that were the problem yesterday.  It was the tang (knife handle under the wood) that cracked the piece.  Today, when I return from Columbus, I will begin shaping the handle on the belt sander and making a spacer for the pommel.  It was lucky for me that a librarian friend scored more black walnut for me right after my eBay purchase.  Had he not, I would be up the proverbial shit creek without a paddle.