Help with handle issue

josh81

josh81

Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Messages
435
I guess I was bound to have issues at some point but I hoped to avoid it for as long as I could. I got these scales all the way to 600 grit before I noticed they were coming apart. Apparently the box elder de-laminated from the micarta liner. Any chance I could save it? I think I already know the answer but I thought it was worth a shot. Thank you for any help.
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you could fill the crack with ca glue. sometimes they curl if the scales are not dry. that has happened to me, so i bought a moisture meter to check the scales before i use them. 5-8% moisture would be considered dry.
 
In going to try CA glue before I get too crazy. Thanks guys

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Can it be pushed back together? If so try a dab of epoxy and clamp the hell out of it!
 
josh81 said:
In going to try CA glue before I get too crazy. Thanks guys

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You need a very water CA Bob Smiths "insta cure" will wick everywhere.

Then push down and spray it with "Insta Set" to lock it quickly.
 
AVigil said:
You need a very water CA Bob Smiths "insta cure" will wick everywhere.

Then push down and spray it with "Insta Set" to lock it quickly.
Click to expand...
The good CA I have is thick so I'll have to look into getting some. I probably should already know but where can it be purchased?

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josh81 said:
The good CA I have is thick so I'll have to look into getting some. I probably should already know but where can it be purchased?

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a good hobby store will have bob smith ca's. You can also order from trugrit
 
If I may offer my opinion? this happened to me also and I used a relatively fast cure 20 minute epoxy with some black dry pigment like the pigments sold at K&G knife supplies. Mix the epoxy and pigment very fast and thorough and push it into the crack with a piece of cardstock. Wipe it flush with a Q-tip moistened in acetone. Do this twice if you have to get a decent looking fill. If after drying it does not look perfect then drill out the pins and restock your blade. If you don't want to do either thing then relegate the knife to cutting sandpaper flush on your disc sander or throw the knife in your electrical box for cutting insulation but don't sell the knife with your name on it unless it looks good and solid. Just my opinion. Larry
 
LARRYZ10 said:
If I may offer my opinion? this happened to me also and I used a relatively fast cure 20 minute epoxy with some black dry pigment like the pigments sold at K&G knife supplies. Mix the epoxy and pigment very fast and thorough and push it into the crack with a piece of cardstock. Wipe it flush with a Q-tip moistened in acetone. Do this twice if you have to get a decent looking fill. If after drying it does not look perfect then drill out the pins and restock your blade. If you don't want to do either thing then relegate the knife to cutting sandpaper flush on your disc sander or throw the knife in your electrical box for cutting insulation but don't sell the knife with your name on it unless it looks good and solid. Just my opinion. Larry
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I appreciate the advice Larry. The knife is for a family member and technically not being sold. That being said if I'm not 100% sure it will hold up functionally and cosmetically I won't let it leave my shop. I honestly believe that it is solid otherwise and will attempt to save it. Thanks again and I really appreciate all the help.

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Fochops said:
Can it be pushed back together? If so try a dab of epoxy and clamp the hell out of it!
Click to expand...

This very thing ("clamp the hell out of it") MAY have been what caused the outcome. Keep in mind that if you "clamp the hell" out of it you may actually squeeze the epoxy out and starve the bond. Yes, clamp well but excessive force will squeeze the epoxy right out.
 
PaMtnBkr said:
This very thing ("clamp the hell out of it") MAY have been what caused the outcome. Keep in mind that if you "clamp the hell" out of it you may actually squeeze the epoxy out and starve the bond. Yes, clamp well but excessive force will squeeze the epoxy right out.
Click to expand...

Yep, it could be the material was not really clean and on top of that it was squeezed out in clamping
 
PaMtnBkr said:
This very thing ("clamp the hell out of it") MAY have been what caused the outcome. Keep in mind that if you "clamp the hell" out of it you may actually squeeze the epoxy out and starve the bond. Yes, clamp well but excessive force will squeeze the epoxy right out.
Click to expand...

Point taken, though I generally leave my contact surfaces rough and clamp tight. I haven't had issues with delamination. So that's why I said clamp the head out of it.
 
I would just fill it in with CA glue without clamping - I would guess that the delamination is due to changes in humidity effecting dimensional stability in the wood (will still move even if stabilized). Something that I found would prevent this from happening was to really rough up the gluing surfaces (36 grit) which worked well with tropical hardwood and micarta.

On the point about melting the epoxy - in my experience proper knife making epoxy such as west systems burns as opposed to melting - the glass point specified on technical specs is NOT a melting point - i.e. it'll only get rubbery and pliable as opposed to melting out.
 
A little trick we used in the gun industry in repairing cracked stocks is to use thin acraglas and spread the crack open if we could, then just card board to push some epoxy into the crack then use a rubber tip air nozzle and blow the epoxy down into the crack. Just keep using the cardboard and air nozzle and you will fill the crack. Then clamp and let cure and re sand and the crack is gone.
 
JTknives said:
A little trick we used in the gun industry in repairing cracked stocks is to use thin acraglas and spread the crack open if we could, then just card board to push some epoxy into the crack then use a rubber tip air nozzle and blow the epoxy down into the crack. Just keep using the cardboard and air nozzle and you will fill the crack. Then clamp and let cure and re sand and the crack is gone.
Click to expand...

Great tip :thumbup:
 
Thanks for all the help guys. I'm going to tackle it this weekend. I'll update with how it went.

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Wanted to say thanks again for all the advice. I ended up going the thin CA glue route. Got it fixed and everything is solid.
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