Handle sliding fix?

M

Maya_steel

Joined
Jun 28, 2014
Messages
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Was out doing some more chopping today with my new villager balance and I encountered the same problem with the handles sliding out of place. The problem seems to be getting worse as the tang is sliding father apart from the handles now.

I did try to wrap them in paracord, but I couldn't get a tight wrap that wouldn't slide off the front of the bolster during use. I've heard some superglue their wraps in place, but I'd rather avoid something that permanent.

To be honest I'd rather not cover up the handles at all, I love the satisal wood! I wanted to ask if anyone knows a particularly effective brand of epoxy for handle repair? My plan is to carefully apply epoxy to the exposed part of the tang when the handles are misaligned and then realign them and remove any excess glue. Is there a better way of going about this? Advice or input is greatly appreciated, thanks!
 
I have never actually had to repair my knives but , I know that there are several people here that are very skilled at refurbishing, ronin of ronin grips could hopefully chime in, or ndog/ jw -- but I want to say , I think an epoxy is your only good bet-- your idea is probably the best advice you will get on it, just carefully approach , prepare and be methodical and you will succeed huzzah.
 
You might want to first try carefully hitting the handle rivets (each side of each rivet) with the ball end of a ball-peen hammer, to flatten/expand them somewhat. You could obviously damage the wood if you miss-strike or if the bottom of the rivet is not well supported during the hammering.

This might fix the problem without having to glue or redo the handle mounting.
 
Steve's idea is a good one, but there's something else you might try first.

Obviously the laha holding the scales to the tang has lost its grip, or never had a good grip. If the laha were gripping, there's no way the scales could slide. What you might try is to wrap the handle in plastic to protect the wood and exposed tang, then put it in hot water for a while so the laha can melt and regrip the tang and scales. After everything has cooled down you can apply Steve's method to the rivets.

In the interests of fair disclosure, I've never had to actually do this, but the idea comes from numerous threads on the subject. What I don't know is how hot the water should be and how long to leave the handle immersed. Maybe someone else can add that critical bit of information.

When you hammer the rivets, maybe you can tape some protective material like foam around them to protect the wood. Pharmacies carry these little foam thingies with holes in the middle that people use when they have corns on their feet. Or you can make your own.
 
Good ideas guys.
I would try the boiling first. If you have one of those "boil in a bag" things they work best.
I have used a heavy duty freezer bag to do this also. You just want to be careful about melting the bag.
Normally when I'm doing this, it's to take the handle off to entirely replace it, so I don't usually worry about it.
Horn isn't usually affected much, but boiling a wood handle will tend to raise the grain.

The water needs to be a rolling boil, on my gas stove, I usually run it full flame.
Immerse the handle in the water for about 10 minutes.
Might be a good idea to clamp the slabs a little and let cool.

If the boiling doesn't work, the fix is going to need epoxy and it's going to be trickier.


We will get Maya_steel fixed up here. Replacement if necessary.
 
Hey guys, yes boiling water can be used to soften and remove the laha. How long it takes depends on how thick everything is. Figure at least 15 to 30 minutes.

In the case of something with rivets, you really have to drill out the rivets and remove them. The laha/glue is both serving as an adhesive and also a sealant to keep water and moisture from getting behind the slabs.

So, remove the rivets first and then boil. While everything is hot use a razor blade to remove his much of the laha as you can.

For glue, you are going to want to use a really good epoxy. In general the longer an epoxy cures the better grip it will have. If you read the actual studies, not all Epoxies are created equal. Some are far better suited for withstanding the shock that knife handles undergo than others.

I strongly recommend Brownells Acra glass liquid. It is an aerospace epoxy that is used to bed rifles. It is very well suited to withstand temperature and shocks. They sell a little two rifle bedding kit that is perfect for somebody who wants repair one or just a few knives. They also sell bigger volumes for people who use a lot of it.

I hope this helps some. Sorry I didn't catch the thread earlier but I have been buried at my day job.
 
System 3 epoxy is also an option-it's very strong. As a fix w/o removing the handles, Karda's advice plus clamping it until it cools, then very gently peening the rivets is what I would try before complete dissassembly.
 
If you have problem with handle repair work simply send it back to HI for replacement, we want our customer and friend to be completely happy with HI Knife
 
Just sent it in to Karda, he's going to tighten up those handles. Thanks Karda and Yangdu for excellent customer service, as is standard here at HI :)
 
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