Bending Polypropylene fruit knife handle

[Jim malone]

I have been fidling around with the whole tactical fruit knife concept. I was wondering if you could curve the Polypropylene handle by heating it with a heatgun and bending it in a curvature? Because Polypropylene is a thermoplast this might be possible. I don't know how far the tang goes into the PP handle but i wonder if it's possible and how. Anyone tried it before?

 

[USMCPOP]

I'd be more inclined to pop it in an oven and bake it until the handle is evenly heated and somewhat flexible. Actual melting point can be 266, 320 or 340 F depending on the exact form, but 320 is common. So start low (225 F ?) and turn up the heat gradually until it's pliable. We flattened some PVC pipe this way to make a couple machete sheaths.

 

[Jim malone]

Ok will try, wanted to use the heat gun out of fear of forcing the tang out when evenly heated. But i'll try it.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

To really bend it well you'd need soak time for the heat to penetrate to the core of the material. Heat moves slowly through polypropylene so you'll need heat it a while at the desired temperature for it to soften internally. 340 to 360°F or 170 to 185°C is considered the typical thermoforming temperature range. Bear in mind that you likely will end up leaving impressions or surface deformations in the surface of the plastic, so you'll probably need to sand it smooth afterward. To restore a glossy surface you can lightly fan the sanded surface with a gas torch and allow to cool.