need a critic

[Darrin clause]

I finished this one last week then gave it away.This forced me to learn more about this camra program I think I got the pixal size corect this time!
epoxy squeez'd out the front so I removed it with a wood chizal after set up.
yep I marked the ricaso. Iam afraid to mask the area off ,the epoxy breakes off clean now but if I mask it the epoxy may glue the masking down also.
It may not be so easy to remove without the aid of my trusty ricaso scratcher! Tell me what you think?

 

[jhiggins]

I would say you are in the right ballpark, Darrin. When you epoxy, try wearing some disposable rubber gloves and use acetone and a rag to wipe up all the extra epoxy. Just use the acetone liberally and wipe it all down nice and clean. Try not to use the 5-minute epoxy... its too fast and not strong enough for knives. Use at least the 2-ton, and look for a 15-minute or better setup time. This will give you plenty of time to work, cleanup, and make adjustments. :thumbup:

 

[Darrin clause]

I didn't think to remove or cleen it before the epoxy set up. thanks
I just let the epoxy drip every whare then sanded, I wanted to fill some file work at the top of the scales. thanks I will use the acetone on the next one.

 

[Ilovetoolsteel]

I would say you are in the right ballpark, Darrin. When you epoxy, try wearing some disposable rubber gloves and use acetone and a rag to wipe up all the extra epoxy. Just use the acetone liberally and wipe it all down nice and clean. Try not to use the 5-minute epoxy... its too fast and not strong enough for knives. Use at least the 2-ton, and look for a 15-minute or better setup time. This will give you plenty of time to work, cleanup, and make adjustments. :thumbup:

Dude, you don't need such a volatile solvent for epoxy. regular old alcohol will work just fine and it cleans up epoxy better leaving less sticky residue. Less fumes no brain damage and way safer from a fire safety standpoint. I don't even use denatured alcohol, I use plain old 70% "two bottles for a buck" rubbing alcohol from the drugstore.

 

[Will52100]

Cool little knife, nice shape and looks like it would be handy.

Yep, first and formost wear some rubber gloves when handling epoxy, and dampen a rag with aceton and wipe it off the ricasso before it sets up. You can also clamp your scales on and coat the front of the scales and blade with wax, but Every time I've tried that I get a little wax under the front of the scales and I would rather have epoxy there than a place for moister to set.

 

[SKIVIE]

I do like the others mentioned but also sometimes take a Popcicle stick and grind it to look like a chisel then wrap the chisel end in the towel that has the Acetone on it and clean the ricaso up. Allows you to get in there nice and tight especially if your scales are all clamped up.

Shane

 

[Jason Cutter]

What SKIVIE said. When the handle slabs are clamped right down, I quickly wipe away all excess epoxy from the front of the bolsters / handles and wipe down with acetone. I have too much lying around to not use it... but yes, it is noxious stuff. Ventilate well.

I usually still need to clean up some more after the epoxy has cured. There'll be a few small beads of epoxy left, and I very very carefully cut into the line where the bolster meets the blade tang with a Stanley knife (Xacto knife) and as SKIVIE said, use a sharpened popscicle stick to "rub" the epoxy off. The soft stick won't mar the steel. Slean some more with acetone. Some find that WD40 works also, if there isn't too much epoxy left behind.

 

[jhiggins]

I buy my popsicle sticks by the bag at a craft store. They are wonderful for a whole lot of things. I even glue sandpaper to them, then shape them on the grinder to get into tight spots.

Yeah I use acetone. It seems to work just about as good as anything I've used thus far.

 

[Darrin clause]

A wile back I read a thread call'd glue wars prior to this I used JB weld
and cleaned up the ricaso with a diagonaly cut popsicle stick and WD40.
Now after reading the thread I use INDUSTRIAL FORMULATORS G1 epoxy.
I didnt think WD would still work for cleaning.
These are great tips guys thanks. darrin

 

[Reg ELLERY]

I agree with the others about the clean up. However I like to clamp my knives with the blade down so that any air pockets will be at the back of the tang not the guard end of the handle. sometime a small bead will pop out when using the long set epoxy.

Instead of using a steel blade I was shown that brass blades are safer. use a piece of brasf sheet1 to 1.5 mm thick belt the corner with a hammer to thin it then put a cutting edge. I have also used brass rod and made a blade on the end. Your note going to dress out a buffelow befor it goes blunt but you will get thet bead out of the was with out the steel blade cuts of other options.

Lash out and put a handle on the brass then you will not loose it in the bottom of the tool box.

EDIT: sorry forgot , nice knives

 

[Nathan House]

WD40 works wonders

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Reg has the right trick.Make a brass graver (1/4" chisel) and scrape the glue off if any squeeze-out dries .Also I make hardwood chisels to clean up sometimes.Won't mar any hardened steel.Any hardened residue can be cleaned off with acetone.