Loose guard fix?

[knife_nut73]

I took a few khuks out to a small island off Maine to do some cutting and burning. I took a CAK and one of the 20inch sirupti. I will say definatly one of the smartest buys of my little knife collection. Both worked amazing and the dry wood left over from storms stood no chance aganst either. Even chopped a try that was too long for the burning pile, that was partially on fire, and tossed it on the pile all in one blow. Not that I'm surprised but always impressive the more I use them. The only issue I had was a slightly loose guard on the sirupti. I looked up on the faqs on how to fix its but didn't see anything. It help up great though. Didn't dull or scratch, and imagine my surprise when I took the first swing and it went right through like nothing was there. Also remembered the advice on here about stopping when he get tired as it will still be there, so I followed that as well. By the end of the day everything was fine on both blades except for the loose guard. Was wondering how to go about that.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

Sometimes a loose bolster is just the laha epoxy not bonding fully. If you have a heat gun, try carefully warming the brass with it. You might even see a little of the laha bubbling up around the bolster and blade. Let it cool, and see if that fixes your issues

The experts should be along shortly for any other fixing ideas

 

[Karda]

I've also heard of heating the bolster over a candle or with a lighter and submerging it in boiling water(which usually works best on loose buttcaps and isnt too good to do with a wood handle) You could also try to get some epoxy up in there with an old syringe.

 

[KabarNV]

I'm cleaning up a Camillus Pilots knife. The guard and the metal washer next to it were loose. I was about to mix up some epoxy, but instead I got about a foot of dental floss and wrapped it around the tang just under the metal washer about five turns. I pulled it tight and made a knot and snipped off the ends. I was amazed to find the guard was very tight!! I'm wondering now if I should try to force some glue into the tiny crack to hold the floss in place???

 

[iliam]

Wow, a dentist could do it...

 

[iliam]

The bolster will be healed with epoxy for sure. The only challenge is getting it there. The syringe should work, I think, however all the surfaces should be clean for epoxy to get a hold onto. I had to once disassemble a kukuri handle completely (not HI made), but that was in order to fix the scales, so I also poured epoxy inside the bolster. I did have to use sandpaper, as it was all rust mixed with laha inside. But, since your blade is brand new it shouldn't be an issue. Hope that helps.

 

[ndoghouse]

Ive wanted to do a how to with photos on this subject but here goes anyway. To get epoxy where you want it (cracked handles, bolsters,etc.): get syringe from you local grocery store pharmacy. Tell them you need allergy syringes or you need them for HIKV imunotherapy injection treatment Anyway if it has removable needle then remove it. If needle is molded into syringe as one piece then cut it off. Too hard to get epoxy through a tiny needle. For bolster or but-cap wrap clear cellophane, box tape or whatever clear tape you have around the area completely sealing it. Poke holes in the tape half inch or inch or so apart for the epoxy to exit. If it is a crack you want to repair then tape full length of the crack leaving the ends of the crack open. The farther away the holes are the better. The idea is that you can poke a hole in the tape every half inch or so and inject the epoxy into the hole and the only place it can go is through the crack until it gets to an exit hole at the other end of the tape. I use clear tape so you can see the epoxy as it travels through the crack. This is a good method to get thick epoxy deep into the affected area with little to no mess on the surrounding area and when it cures the tape can be removed and lightly sanded without major material removal. You have to work fast to get the stuff into the syringe and injected before it begins to set so don't try to use 90 second stuff. 5 min. is what I use. Oh BTW get more than one syringe. Pack of ten is only a few dollars. This method forces the epoxy to radiate in a radius from the injection point. In other words if you inject it and it exits an inch away then you got the tang wet! Thats what you want. No need for cyanoacrylate (superglu) to get in tight places! I will try my best to photo document this method when I repair my new Gelbu Special handle and my skin grows back