guard atachment jb-weld vs silver solder?

Joe Calton

Joe Calton

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Jul 8, 2008
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hey guys, I was soldering a guard the other day, and just when the solder started to flow, the blade just ahead of the guard started discoloring from the heat so I had to refinish the blade afterwards with the guard on.

in one of the threads below, there is a guy who just uses jb-weld. does jb weld seal up the guard so moisture dosent penetrate it? does it last like solder will?

anyone ever had problems with using jb-weld for that?

Joe
 
I have been using JB weld on my antler knives for close to 15 years, no problems

-Page
 
If your guard is a pretty tight fit to begin with, JB Weld works great. It acts more as a sealant than for strength, however, once it sets, you would have to almost ruin your guard trying to get it loose.

Nice thing is that the excess is easily cleaned up with WD 40 and a soft cotton cloth (before it sets up). The WD 40 does not affect the curing process in the least.

Robert
 
As far as just a seal both will work fine. But when it comes to appearance the JB sticks out like a sore thumb, especially on slab handles where there is a lot of joint exposure. The point of the solder is not just a seal but to make the guard, ricasso and tang (on slab handled knives) look like a solid unit. On stick tangs the joint is still visible at the guard/ricasso area. Take a look at some work by Robert Loveless, Steve Johnson and George Heron. That's the way it's done.
 
If you fit the guard right, you can't see any JB Weld. You only see it if you have gaps. I use JB Weld to put the guard on, then epoxy for everything else. I stopped using Silver Solder becaue of the mess that it causes.
Jason
 
When soldered correctly there is very little clean-up, and if there is any discoloring from heat( don't go above your temper temp) it comes off during final polish. A lot of folks use way too much solder or the fit isn't right and they have too much to fill in, this causes big gobs that have to be chiseled away. I have seen a few makers who do a solderless guard, and you can't see a gap. Think about this, if the fit is so tight you can't see a hairline gap then your probably pushing some of the JB away, this will leave a fractile for moisture to enter.
 
It depends. I used JB Weld for a bolster on a Helle Viking blade. The grey from the JB Weld blends in with the unfinished surface of the blade. I practiced pinning and soldering single guards on several Green River boning blades and having a silver solder line (between the guard and blade) from the front of the guard along the guard/spine area looks a lot better than JB Weld would.
 
Silver solder has an extremely high melting temperature, it is used allot for brazing. are you talking about regular tin/led solder
 
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Nebulae said:
Silver solder has an extremely high melting temperature, it is used allot for brazing. are you talking about regular tin/led solder
Click to expand...

I'm talking about tin/silver solder 96% Sn/4% Ag. Stay-Brite. Flows @ 433 degrees fahrenheit. I'm guessing that the OP is using something similar.
 
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Correct me if I missed something. Did the OP say anything about soldering "Bolsters" on? I "ASS-UMED" he was speaking of a guard on a stick tang. If done correctly, JB Weld does NOT stick out like a sore thumb, however, a poor solder job jumps out at ya.

I guess it all boils down to personal preference and how well you prepared your guard and mating ricasso area.

Robert
 
I solder all my guards on. Done right, there should be very little cleanup. I have soldered and brazed thousands of piping joints in my job so I guess that soldering the guards on was the way for me to go. Plus I like the way it looks.
 
Robert Dark said:
Correct me if I missed something. Did the OP say anything about soldering "Bolsters" on? I "ASS-UMED" he was speaking of a guard on a stick tang. If done correctly, JB Weld does NOT stick out like a sore thumb, however, a poor solder job jumps out at ya.

I guess it all boils down to personal preference and how well you prepared your guard and mating ricasso area.

Robert
Click to expand...

I agree. But to clarify I used a single bolster on my Helle Viking blade with JB Weld and it turned out well. I don't believe any moisture will penetrate to the tang. I have not reached the point where I have the skill to fit a bolster or guard well enough to keep the JB Weld from showing. I find the silver solder to be more visually appealing in some cases.
 
I use JB on almost all my guards. I haven't managed to get a tight enough fit for it on the loveless style slotted guard yet and still solder them. The biggest challenge with the JB guard is getting the fit nearly perfect, with solder you can have a tiny gap and dress it up. A silver line looks OK, a gray line not so much. Basically I go for a press fit and use the JB to fill any imperfections and as a moister seal.
 
Two things -

Silver solder in knife making is usually refering to silver bearing solder. Some has around 3% silver in it to make the joint stay brighter. Some is just tin and copper. Most current low temp solders have no lead.

The term bolster is applied to a guard like fitting with little or no finger protective projections. It is one piece and just forms a collar at the blade/handle junction. The assembly and jointing of such a fitting is the same for a guard or a bolster.
The term bolsters is used when two pieces of metal (or other hard material) are placed on each side of the tang to form a bolster like area. These are usually pinned into place and either resin or solder is used to seal and conceal the joint.
 
I was just talking about regular plumbers solder, the stuff that flows at 430, and guards on stick tangs. i put some scales on a paring knife with jb the other day, and kept the paper as a witness, put the paper next to the last etched 52100 blade I made, and the color was really close. if nobody has had problems with it, I'll try it on the next couple.
 
A while back, someone mentioned that if you don't like the look of JB Weld, you can try regular clear epoxy with some stainless steel powdered added as a filler.
 
jdm61 said:
A while back, someone mentioned that if you don't like the look of JB Weld, you can try regular clear epoxy with some stainless steel powdered added as a filler.
Click to expand...

Joe, I had a maker tell me he mixed powdered stainless with the JB also. Haven't tried it yet, but he said it works very well.
 
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