Fix it or do it over? How to tackle mistakes

LucyCustomKnives said:
I would steer clear of gorilla glue. Its fine for around the home, but a good two part slow cure epoxy is worlds better, easier to work with, and stronger.

The seeming favorite and what I have been using for about a year is West Systems. G-flex from them is great and not very pricey. You can get pump heads for their larger quantities, 105 resin and whichever hardener you prefer, which is very nice to use if you do a lot of epoxy gluing.
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Thanks for the tip . I'll definitely have to check that stuff out. Does it dry clear?
 
G-flex is amber/yellow. Can be colored with epoxy dye.

105 resin system has different hardeners that change cure time, color, strength. There is an application chart on their website. 105/209 is ultra clear for example.

Edit: Rock beat me to it... Didnt mean to repeat...
 
Brownell's Acraglas dries clear. It's what I always use. A little hard to come by but basically indestructible.
 
tryppyr said:
Brownell's Acraglas dries clear. It's what I always use. A little hard to come by but basically indestructible.
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That stuff looks awesome. It says that it shrinks 1/10 of the amount applied when it's cured. Does this result in any problems? Or does it just help with a stronger adhesion? I like the fact that it dries clear

Edit: I noticed you said it's hard to come by? How so? I typed it in Google and it popped up on a couple sites. I just searched brownells acraglas
 
Think of it this way: If you went to the local kitchen store and bought a Heinckels for your wife, and upon close inspection found that the handle had been chipped and superglued together, you'd probably be pretty unhappy, and likely take it back for a refund.
Handmade knives are no different, from my point of view- it's a product, and needs to be "all there" when it changes hands.
If you're 99% confident that the repair will never be seen and last the life of the knife, no problem.
 
elementfe said:
Think of it this way: If you went to the local kitchen store and bought a Heinckels for your wife, and upon close inspection found that the handle had been chipped and superglued together, you'd probably be pretty unhappy, and likely take it back for a refund.
Handmade knives are no different, from my point of view- it's a product, and needs to be "all there" when it changes hands.
If you're 99% confident that the repair will never be seen and last the life of the knife, no problem.
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Very well said. I agree with you. And although it's a good skill to know how to fix things and correct mistakes it's equally as important to deliver the knife to the customer with 0 flaws or corrections. Some people pay good money for some custom knives and a repair on a blade before it's delivered is unacceptable in my opinion. Now if the customer bought one and broke it and sent it back or it was sold as a blemish and stated blatantly in the sale and agreed upon then I can see that being acceptable and fair.

Well needless to say I pulled the scales off and touched up some file work ditched the g-10 liners and replaced the camo micarta with 2 three color camo g-10 scales. Instead of gorilla glue I'm using double bubble epoxy and ordered some acraglas. Already looks a million times better
 
Bfusmc03117 said:
That stuff looks awesome. It says that it shrinks 1/10 of the amount applied when it's cured. Does this result in any problems? Or does it just help with a stronger adhesion? I like the fact that it dries clear

Edit: I noticed you said it's hard to come by? How so? I typed it in Google and it popped up on a couple sites. I just searched brownells acraglas
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Yeah, I should have mentioned that there are two kinds... the red box and the green box. Red box is standard epoxy intended for bedding guns, and that's what you want. Green box is the gel, and that's more brittle and prone to failure than the red box stuff. I think more places sell the green box than the red, hence my comment it's a little hard to come by. But yeah, on the Internet anything is accessible.

As for the shrinkage, I think you misread it. It should have said it shrinks 1/10th of 1%... negligible shrinkage. For all intents and purposes, it does not shrink.

-Greg
 
tryppyr said:
Yeah, I should have mentioned that there are two kinds... the red box and the green box. Red box is standard epoxy intended for bedding guns, and that's what you want. Green box is the gel, and that's more brittle and prone to failure than the red box stuff. I think more places sell the green box than the red, hence my comment it's a little hard to come by. But yeah, on the Internet anything is accessible.

As for the shrinkage, I think you misread it. It should have said it shrinks 1/10th of 1%... negligible shrinkage. For all intents and purposes, it does not shrink.

-Greg
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Roger that. Thanks for clarifying that. Yea I guess I did read it wrong thanks for clearing that up. I think I'm going to give it a shot. How long does one kit usually last you for your average knife with say about a 5" handle 1.5 " wide?
 
How long it lasts will depend on how sparingly you mix it. I can usually complete several knives with on kit ... say 8 to 10. I waste very little.. Your mileage may vary.
 
tryppyr said:
How long it lasts will depend on how sparingly you mix it. I can usually complete several knives with on kit ... say 8 to 10. I waste very little.. Your mileage may vary.
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Thank you very much for the insight, help, and recommendation. I appreciate it and will definitely be trying this product out!:)
 
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