Handle glue..what's most recommended.

M

MCoughlin

Joined
Feb 1, 2005
Messages
471
Hi guys I'm sure this has been discussed at some point but what glues would you recommend for exotic wood handles? If anyone knows any previous threads about this please let me know. I currently use 2 ton epoxy (devcon) but can't help but think there's got to be something better out there.

Mike Coughlin
 
Read the thread "glue wars".It was posted about 3-4 weeks ago on this forum.If I remember ,Believe it or not, I want to say that J B Weld came out on top.But like I said read the post its probably only 3-4 pages back from this page.Darren Ellis recommended Loctite 324 but I havent been able to find it locally,(I think it was Darren).Back to Glue Wars, it is an interesting post with some suprising results.See you later,Wez
 
I lied, I just checked all the available pages and glue wars must now be in the archives.Do a search though it is worthwhile reading.
 
The glue wars thread here just kind of died off for lack of interest. It continues on the other big knife forum and has taken on a life of it's own there. It was too difficult to keep up with threads in both places.
 
Well I just read through all the glue wars posts and from what I could gather the best glue available locally is Loctite Xtreme. There were some comercial epoxies that held up just as well but I think I like the idea of being able to pick some up at home depot. Might want to try this link and seeing if the search works for you. I read on here that under advanced search if you click on 'search titles only' it works a lot better which I have found to be true.
 
Sorry Mikxx1,didnt mean to mislead you.At one time I thought for sure that JB was on top in the battle.So its loctite xtreme eh ? Thanks for the info mtnbkr , I'll have to give it a try.
 
A glue note from some testing I did.Some epoxies soften just like hot melt glue when warmed up (like durring polishing),and others stay hard until the heat gets high enough to destroy them.Locktite Extra Time will soften with very little heat,Locktite Quickset won't.The knife makers epoxy from K&G stays hard,too.
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
Well I just read through all the glue wars posts and from what I could gather the best glue available locally is Loctite Xtreme. ....
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Nope, its definately NOT Loctite Xtreme. We are getting close to finishing the testing up but I can tell you at this point, for all around use, you can't go wrong with K&G Epoxy, Acraglass, Golfsmith Golf Shafting epoxy and Loctite E120-hp. I would use Golfshafting for hidden tangs and K&G for full tang. Steve would use E120-hp because he really likes that little gun that squirts it out. Testing showed each of these pretty much even in performance.

Terry:We will post the end results here. It will be a lengthy message or two and a spreadsheet with ratings for various aspects of each adhesive tested.
 
Mike, I still use Conap after all these years. I started using it when I read the Loveless/Barney book many years ago. I have never had a knife fail with Conap, full or hidden tang.

Tracy, I have not followed the CKD thread for quite awhile. Did you guys ever test Conap?
 
Fox said:
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Tracy, I have not followed the CKD thread for quite awhile. Did you guys ever test Conap?
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No, I haven't seen it anywhere in some time. I remember my dad using it to build RC model airplanes a long time ago.
 
Sheffield always carries it and since I get a lot of other supplies from them, I just include some boxes of Conap any time I place an order.
 
I agree with tmickley's recommendations,I use K&G for anything but joints I want to disassemble.A real good trick with the Locktite Extreme is to glue up a bolt that has been ground flat (so it goes into the tang hole and through the spacers) into a handle or piece of stag (only use a little bit of glue - you just need to make the bolt hold securely).Slide on the spacers,tighten a washer and nut down and grind and polish to a perfect fit.Test fit the guard and trim the end of the spacers to get a perfect fit.After you are done, draw a light mark across the assembly (to align them later),unbolt the spacers/guard,heat up the bolt with a torch (it doesn't take much),and pull out the bolt.Drill out the remaining glue (after it re-hardens) with a slow bit in the drill press.Re-glue with good epoxy when doing the final assembly.Perfect fit and finish - right up to the guard. ( you can also use this technique to glue up and shape stacked handle sections - a la Scagel)
Stacy
 
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