Epoxy troubles..!!

G

gldiatr

Joined
Apr 19, 2016
Messages
17
Hello everyone, a new knife maker here, I'm working on my second knife, first knife I made a few days ago and turned out great, anyways this second knife is a smaller knife and the blade was finished all the handle material which is wood of 2 types and copper were extremely accurate and well fitted all that was left is to put the epoxy in, and it was a disaster. See, the only epoxy I could find here (Egypt) is a locally manufactured 2 part 4-min epoxy, and you can't just buy stuff online here (not even from a foreign store because getting things through customs is a hassle), you have to ask a dozen stores here and there in order to find it, and you can't just say "I want epoxy", you have to explain what epoxy is and maybe someone will understand, and this epoxy pretty much couldn't be used after 90 seconds of mixing because it hardens too fast, so I ended up ruining 24 hours of work and material, which got me really disappointed and frustrated.

So my question here, can I mix this epoxy in a different ratio in order to get more work time out of it (like using 2:1 resin to hardener ratio), or can I add something to it to make it stay runny for longer (like alcohol), do I heat it up a little?..

Any suggestions would be much appreciated
 
No, it doesn't work that way.

Forget the hardware stores. They will only have the quick set epoxy, which isn't what you want.
What you need to do is find a resin supplier. Egypt isn't in the dark ages. There are fiberglass boats and other things made with resins. Start by searching for a supplier or dealer in West System Epoxies. If that doesn't turn up anything, search for boat repair supplies, or Fiberglass supplies. You want a standard slow cure resin like West System G-flex. Any structural epoxy that has a 4 hour to 24 hour cure time is good.

A quick search shows up several possible suppliers:
http://westsystem.com/ss/where-to-buy/

http://www.epotec.info/distributor_locator.php?id=63

http://www.alibaba.com/countrysearch/EG/epoxy.html
 
You can probably salvage your project with gentle heat and denatured alchohol to clean it up, as well.
 
I had a similar problem. The only way I know is to chill the 2 parts first, along with the parts to be assembled, then mix them & use it quickly. It worked for me.
 
Thanks for all the help folks.
@Stacy E. Apelt, It's more in the dark ages than you think, specially if you don't live in the capital (Cairo), but I will try what you suggested thanks for the help.

@J W Bensinger, thanks for the salvaging tip, will definitely try that. Sadly though the blade is destroyed, while the epoxy was setting quickly I was frantically hammering the blade into the handle, and it's folded upon itself, I guess the handle can be salvaged though..

@noseoil, seems interesting I will definitely try that first, on test parts of course.
 
If you cool the epoxy it will set up slower. You probably don't want it too cold before mixing or it might not mix up properly, but around 60F should be okay. Also, you can sit the cup on ice instead of a warm work bench. This can easily double your working time if you're in a warm environment.
 
I feel the pain of a knifemaker in Egypt. I hope you can find a supplier of epoxy that has a curing time in excess of 5 minutes.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
If you cool the epoxy it will set up slower. You probably don't want it too cold before mixing or it might not mix up properly, but around 60F should be okay. Also, you can sit the cup on ice instead of a warm work bench. This can easily double your working time if you're in a warm environment.
Click to expand...
That is a great idea Nathan.
 
True, putting the cup in ice thing is quite smart.

I've been testing with different ratios though, 5:1 resin to hardener is actually not that bad, it gives a few extra minutes and reaches decent hardness in about 24 hours.

I've also tried mixing super glue (Cyanoacrylate) with the resin itself without the hardener, and I had an interesting result, still doing more testing with this.
 
The ratio is not something that should be messed with, It greatly affects permanence and hardness, as well as bond strength.
 
Stacy is absolutely right. You must keep the required ratio of hardener to resin or you will not get a full cure. Epoxy resin is not like polyester resin, where you can vary the catalyst amount, within reason, to affect the kick time and the cure time.
 
Even in the U.S. when we can't find something locally we place an order, either on-line, by snail mail or by phone. If you can't find a company who ships to Egypt is there anyone in Cairo you could call who will ship to you?
 
Taking another tack, have you looked at other adhesives, or even non-adhesive construction? Epoxy is the overall champ for putting knives together, but a heck of a lot of knives have been made in the past without it, and a lot are still made all over the world without the benefit of epoxy. In modern adhesives there are things like the polyurethane wood glues, like Gorilla Glue, which can form a strong bond with metal (although they have other down-sides) and I would be surprised if there weren't other "structural" adhesives that could work. Such strong glues are needed when glue is the thing that is holding everything together, but if the knife is held together mechanically, the glue becomes more of a gap filler and sealer rather than adhesive.

I have seen examples of hidden tang knives being assembled with everything from tree resin to melted Bic lighter body being used between tang and handle. Have a look at Neo Tribal knife making. Even in outer Egypt there must be fillers and sealants that will adhere to metal and handle materials to create a moisture seal.

Do they have car body shops that repair rust and dents? Over here they use polyester or epoxy resin with glass fiber matting, followed by a two part "body filler" that sticks well to both metal and wood. The filler is hard and has no flex, so not a good sealant, but could be used to help fit a tang tight into an oversized hole which could then be sealed with something else.

Best of luck!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top