I have a handle on a stick tang knife that I'm just about ready to assemble. I have a brass guard, a 1" piece of light colored weathered antler, and a 4" brown antler crown. They're all fitted to the tang and fit up pretty tight. I wasn't planning on pins, just epoxy. Should I glue one piece at a time, or stack them all and glue at once? I will have to finish profiling the pieces of antler to the guard and to each other. I assume there's no way to do this without first gluing it all together? Never done a multi piece handle before.
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Multi piece handles?
- Thread starter Jason Fry
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- Mar 28, 2007
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Pin them to each other.
To each other, huh... I guess the pins wouldn't have to be too long, or too big. Guard's only 1/4" thick, but I might could get some kind of pin in there without going too far. The other two would be pretty easy. Then when I pin them together and get them all shaped, I can just glue it all at once?
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- Jun 16, 2008
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in the past i would glue it all together and then profile but i also always try to use a end nuy to secure the tang. What i do is cut the tang and silver braze a threaded rod. Then i cut a piece of brass off my 1/2 wide brass rod and tap it to fit the threaded rod--then i glue it all and profile. thanks mark
TekSec
Böse Messer
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- Dec 8, 2006
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Depending on how well you are at contouring and getting into all the nooks, you can epoxy then shape and profile. Do the finishing on ricasso side of the guard first before you assemble. This will keep you from possibly mucking up the blade. Go slow after assembled. It's a b***h to take it all apart if you have to redo it. Should this happen, remember, expoxy release at 175 degrees. Plop it in boiling water for a few minutes and it well all come back apart. Rusts the crap out of carbon steel though. If you have to ask how I know this.... 
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Something small like 3/32 ss or brass (cheaper) welding rod works in a pinch. you dont have to go in far like 1/8" in the guard and what ever makes you happy in the other I usualy go about 3/16. just super glue them in on one side to shape them so you can take them apart if you need to. Then glue both when your done and epoxy.
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- Mar 28, 2007
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You can use boiling Oil (Wesson or Crisco) as well. especialy if your using Stag or antler of some kind. Yeah it will cost you a couple of bucks for the Oil but NO Rust.