Construction paper micarta liners/spacers?

L

Leon Husock

Joined
Jul 17, 2019
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I was thinking of making a full tang with liners between the scales and tang made of construction paper liberally brushed with epoxy to make a micarta-esque material, which would conform to any small imperfections in the tang and fill in the space. Would this work? Or would the epoxy not effectively waterproof the paper and it would get wet and rust the tang? I feel like I read about this technique somewhere but I’ve been unable to find it.
 
Ive used it because I needed a flexible liner,it does work and forms a good seal but it can come out uneven and it's hard to spot until your grinding it when it's dry
And it's very very messy
 
John mc c said:
Ive used it because I needed a flexible liner,it does work and forms a good seal but it can come out uneven and it's hard to spot until your grinding it when it's dry
And it's very very messy
Click to expand...

Any good alternatives you can recommend? I don't have a disc grinder with a tool rest so I have a hard time getting my full tangs really truly flat, so a liner like this would be handy (plus I like the look).
 
I have used it as well for a really thin accent stripe
My best results were from thin G10 from Alpha Knife supply or like Mr Bill says regular old spacer material
Cheap and many colors
 
Instead of epoxy I would use super glue to seal the edges. More apt to completely soak the paper to keep it good.
 
Vulcanized fiber spacer is pretty much what you want to make. It is dirt cheap and comes in many colors. It looks like stiff construction paper. I think pretty much every long time user has used it as a liner material to get a color stripe. You can stack pieces to get greater thickness or a red/black/red stripe.

Just two of many sources:
https://usaknifemaker.com/spacer-br...ial.html?SID=42eb17ae997f0f5b90177cea5e0f47f9
https://www.texasknife.com/vcom/adv...sid=d61deede01cb7e30dc5a9f371c8dce06&x=12&y=7
 
Leon Husock said:
Any good alternatives you can recommend? I don't have a disc grinder with a tool rest so I have a hard time getting my full tangs really truly flat, so a liner like this would be handy (plus I like the look).
Click to expand...
Yes! I’ve used Kydex like some make shealths out of, for over 15 years & It waterproof on its own, Comes in many colors & thickness, I’ve bought mine from Amazon but I’m sure there’s plenty of other places.., G10 turns into little fish hooks when you Grind it and if any gets in your lungs the only way out is after you assume room temp!:eek: ..One side is textured, put that side down on the Tang... I use Gflex Epoxy and never had a issue...:thumbsup:
 
Thanks, guys! This is all super helpful. I think I'm going to go with Stacy's advice and get some vulcanized fiber. Those G10 safety hazards sound like they're no joke.
 
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