any raw materials useful from home depot?

R

rupsty

Joined
Mar 14, 2013
Messages
42
home depot is a few miles away and not really a big deal to drive to but does anyone know if they have any materials that might be useful for scales or even raw metal bars? i guess while i'm at it, what's a good basic adhesive for gluing the scales to the knife?

thanks,
rusty
 
In my experience, the only things they have are a waste of money and time. Good handle material can be had on some auctions sites for a great price. If you choose to go a cheaper route, you can try bellforestproducts.com and find some naturally stable hardwoods that do not require much beyond letting them dry right, and finishing them to a high enough grit. As for adhesives, try G-Flex, AcraGlass, Devcon or Gorilla Glue (Poly).
 
What carbonsteel928 said; but if you have a flooring place in your vicinity you might check with them and see if they have some shorts or blemishes, I got a nice piece of tiger wood at a place near me for free.
 
thanks for the input. sounds like they don't have any good woods. but what about synthetics? i'm actually interested in doing non-wood handles that may or may not be suitable but i'd like to try. i'm thinking plastics or other composites. i know there's stuff i can buy online but was hoping to get it locally. i'm in los angeles and it's possible there's local sources for these things and i'm hoping someone in this forum is in the area and can recommend.

as for the adhesives, thank you for the recommendations carbon!
 
I have used the Red Oak out of the hobby wood section.It does OK,just dont look all that great.And you will get bored with it quick.Coreon works good,if you know somebody that installs counter tops.Ask for the scrap.
Eddie
 
Look in their metal section for pin material. Ours has a lousy selection but the Ace Hardware has nearly everything I need in metal pins....for a price. It's one reason I started ordering all my metal pin material from OnlineMetals.com. But if you run short, try HD or Ace.
 
Since your in L.A. Look up tru-grit in Onterio.They are a knife supplier and can help with several of your needs.

Stan
 
tru-grit - thanks i'll check them out. they're about 45 minutes away but still closer than most.
 
I once used Home Depot handle material on a petty blade I got from Delbert Ealy. A bit unconventional, but it came out ok.

8627748282_c68d3c57c5_b.jpg


-Doug
 
ha!! that's an awesome idea! that's the kind of thing i'm into - unconventional designs. to me that's a beautiful knife.
 
The "weldable" steel stock they sell is useable for fittings and fixtures that don't require hardening, but it's mostly A36 structural, which is not the best even for these purposes. The price isn't really that great either. I much prefer 1018. About the only things I buy there that are knife-related are Scotch-Brite type pads and super glue for temporary fixturing.
 
If you want to go the non wood route, I've used Lexan for scales once. This is a type of Plexiglas.
When you Finnish grinding cutting and sanding, you'll have a frosted look. If you want it all glasslike, you just use a blowtorch and burn the surface, then it turn all seethrough again....
Your local glass/window man should have some leftovers...
 
The only really useable stuff I've found at Home Depot would be the cheap spring clamps they sell. The steel they sell can't be hardened to anywhere near useable, the sandpaper is all 3M AO, the wood is not stabilized, the respirators are overpriced, the files are new Nicholsons (not as good as the old ones), the drill bits are run of the mill, and the pin stock is pricey. Does this mean I don't enjoy poking around and playing with the tools there? Of course not ;)
 
I concur with most of the guys - I don't rely on HD or Lowes for many knife-making essentials. I get my scale materials from a variety of sources, but haven't used anything from HD. I get my epoxy from West Marine (West Systems is the best stuff). Steel from the Steel Baron and other sources. Sandpaper and belts from Klingspor and Tru-grit. Clamps and stuff from my local Woodcraft shop. Bolts, pins, fasteners, drill bits, reamers, counterbores, and other tooling from the interwebs.

TedP
 
I've played with the compressed bamboo flooring tile samples. They are free at home depot, 25 cents at lowes for the same stuff. They have some that is light colored and some that is dark, ignore the surface finish. It makes a useable and reasonably attractive handle. The downside is it has some voids in it so you'll never get the surface perfect and a lot of the guys here demand perfect. On the up side, its grippy. Mind you, the knife I made with it hasn't been used a whole lot yet. I just carry it around in the woods and open boxes with it. I don't know how it will hold up to the test of time.

I made this one with the darker colored stuff, also hit it with butcher block stain.
ta3dhc.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top