Knife handle question

J

Jay Mulcahy

Joined
Jun 13, 2004
Messages
164
I jsut got some canvas micarta to try and was wondering the best method of finishing it to kep it rough and "grippy" as I have seen kniife handles done this way . Also, I got some spacer material. How is the best way to put this on a full tang knife without a bolster? Was not sure if I should trim to match the slabs and then epoxy it on with the scales, or if there was a better way to do it. I think it would look good on a damascus blade I'm working on. Thanks for the help!
 
hey J. for the canvas you should take it to either 120 or 220 grit.
hold the blade in a vise and wrap the paper over the top pulling it back and forth to smooth out your design and lightly finish it. it'll stay nice and grippy that way.

i've seen people just epoxy the spacer material to the handle material.... then once its cured you can cut it out and drill it etc. make sure you scratch it up poretty good with some 220 so the epoxy has something to grip to when you glue the two materials together.

bring it by IG's this weekend so we can see how it looks!
 
I build knives for the local butcher and use canvas Micarta. If you go to 220 grit you will end up with a smother handle in time. What I do is rough the handle in with a sharp 36 grit belt then finish it off with a sharp 60 grit belt and then STOP. This will give a nice rough surface that the butchers like as it don't get slick when wet when cutting meat with wet hands. I have used 120 grit which will work but 60 grit works better. Gib
 
Something I discovered at the local hardware store is a new LOCTITE plastic epoxy.It worked great on canvas macarta with phenolic spacers.Less than $3 for a double syringe tube.I only sand to 60 grit and then buff.Let me know how the bead blasting goes.
 
Thanks for the replies, I appreciate the input. It's always good to get pointed in the right direction before I get too far off track!
 
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