Epoxy and ca

B

bluerain

BANNED
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
170
When using stabile wood. Does it make any difference in the type of glue used? Can I use ca instead of epoxy with mosaic pins. If so why. Does anyone just use ca. What is the prefferd type of glue- the go to glue. with unstable wood you wooild need epoxys to get into the pores but with stabld wood I would think ca would work just as well.tyb
 
Ca isn't waterproof. I was told that it would be great for my first real batch of knives. Now- 4 years later only one of the blades still with handles fully attached. I am not convinced that it is for me as a handle treatment either. It does help the figure pop, but I've found it to wear off as well. I'm probably done using ca in my knives, although being a neophyte I may be doing something wrong with the handle treatment.

JB weld has not done well in testing that I've seen others post, I've never used it personally. The best luck I've had is G2, I've had a bad batch of acraglas and local vendors are having no luck getting the company to send more- however most here seem to use it with success. I've heard other epoxies are better, but will wait until I am done the G2 i have in stock before trying other varieties.
 
I use a combo of both...i use ca to glue up liners to scales of any sort, of course divoting and roughn up both surfaces and cleaning very well.
Now as far as the tang goes, epoxy no matter what, if anything for the work time. I was taught to scarf up around the outside of my mosaics and use epoxy to set em.
I have seen one of my knives i did in myrtle wood pull from the liners they were ca'd too but it was ran through the dishwasher, client left it out and wifey clened it for him!!
I'll post some pics of it next couple days.
 
We get different brands of epoxy from you over here - jb weld is available but hugely expensive. I mostly use the Pratley's products - I don't know if you get them over there? Anyway, as a general rule I use CA like Greg - for liners - as well as for handle treatment. I have found it to be very hard wearing if applied properly and dried well. For handle slabs and pins - epoxy all the time and mostly I prefer the ones that remain a little "plastic" - ie soft and flexible, after drying, to the ones that set rock hard. I know guys who use the hard setting stuff with great effect and so have I, but my testing indicates that the plastic stuff does better - it seems to absorb shock better.
 
When profiling a handle with mosaic pins or pins in general, does the heat from the pins effect the epoxy. I am receding to a knife that will see wet conditions. Will the heat make the areas around the pins susceptible to water damage when used
In wet conditions.tyb
 
bluerain said:
When profiling a handle with mosaic pins or pins in general, does the heat from the pins effect the epoxy. I am receding to a knife that will see wet conditions. Will the heat make the areas around the pins susceptible to water damage when used
In wet conditions.tyb
Click to expand...

You have to be cognizant of heat build up in pins when shaping the handle. The metal pins get hot very easily and this can definitely weaken the epoxy bond.
 
bluerain, like Adam sez - be very careful, they do get hot and quick - and some epoxies fail at quite low temps - like around 80C (about 175 F?). CA typically fails at about double that.
 
I have used CA to glue scales on handle folders and witnessed them come off with very little force or heat buildup. I put absolutely no faith in CA holding any scales on. Always use epoxy or at least a mechanical fastener such as corbys, loveless bolts, or peened pins.
 
Stabilized wood is not all that different from unstabilized when it comes to securing it. I still use a high grade epoxy. CA is basically a way to tack something in place or a low strength bond. It's advantage is speed and that you can get it in very low viscosity. Folks use it for sealing pores and cracks, creating a clear coat and I'm sure other stuff I can't think of. Obviously outside knife making it has many uses as well. I'm a real fan of the stuff and keep both gel and very low viscosity styles on hand.

My go to adhesive for speed is the Loctite speedbonder series, Depend 330 in particular. I still prefer Loctite E-120HP for most knife handles though. Stronger, more shock protection, more stable across a wide variety of temps... What's not to love?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top