diff --git a/src/wieldmesh.cpp b/src/wieldmesh.cpp
index 7414701b7..7791a5a92 100644
--- a/src/wieldmesh.cpp
+++ b/src/wieldmesh.cpp
@@ -501,12 +501,8 @@ void getItemMesh(Client *client, const ItemStack &item, ItemMesh *result)
 	const ContentFeatures &f = ndef->get(def.name);
 	content_t id = ndef->getId(def.name);
 
-	if (!g_extrusion_mesh_cache) {
-		g_extrusion_mesh_cache = new ExtrusionMeshCache();
-	} else {
-		g_extrusion_mesh_cache->grab();
-	}
-
+	FATAL_ERROR_IF(!g_extrusion_mesh_cache, "Extrusion mesh cache is not yet initialized");
+	
 	scene::SMesh *mesh = nullptr;
 
 	// Shading is on by default