Getting rid of excess epoxy on ricasso

Denatured alcohol and old tooth brushes are the best duo to remove epoxy before it dries. The bristles will ride along the seam and remove all traces of epoxy.

Do not put tape on the ricasso; use alcohol in a small spray bottle along with the tooth brushes and small pieces of cloth that have been soaked in alcohol.
Successfully epoxying the handle to a knife works out best if all your clean up gear is layed out and ready.

Fred
 
When I glue up a guard or handle, I use a q-tip or the corner of a rag to apply a little bit of WD 40 to the areas like the ricasso, etc. where the stuff might seep and I don't want it to stick.
 
Acetone dissolves epoxy resins. It comes off immediately when wet.....in a few wipes when sticky....and with a good bit of rubbing and plenty of acetone when cured. It also dissolves most other resins, so excessive rubbing with acetone can dull the surface of stabilized wood by removing the surface resin. A quick buff will usually restore this, so don't worry too much if the front end of your handle looks a bit dull after removing the excess epoxy at the ricasso.

Making a flat graver from a piece of brass (or better- bronze) rod and putting a wooden handle on it is the tool you want, though. It will shave off any blobs of epoxy squeeze out cleanly. Sharpen it each time you cut with it with a stroke or two from a file. File the end square ( or use square stock) into a chisel with a 45° edge angle. Phosphor bronze brazing rod makes super epoxy gravers. Don't be fooled, a bronze graver is SHARP. It will cut your fingers ...or shave a piece of wood off the handle if not used with care.
 
As a retired boatbuilder, I can almost guarantee you that once the epoxy has cured you will have to sand it off.
 
Acetone is way over-used in knifemaking circles. I'm flummoxed as to why it is so often recommended as the last step in cleaning a tang before epoxying it. It's a pretty good solvent, but leaves a greasy film. Wipe some on a clear piece of glass, let it dry, and tell me I'm wrong.

As for repeated applications of acetone to get cured epoxy off a ricasso... dang right it will take a while. Call me crazy but I'm thinking all that solvent is also seeping into/under the joint you worked so hard create and weakening it, too.

A small "chisel" made of brass works well for cleaning off excess epoxy, wet or cured, and when used with care will not scratch the blade or guard or the fronts of the scales.
 
Try buffing the area with green compound and a buffer. This will heat up the exposed epoxy which will soften it. Then use a brass chisel and it will remove it easy.
 
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