Need helppleace

v-6

v-6

Joined
Nov 24, 2007
Messages
952
a friend came over to make a knife and was doing a good job. he wanted me to make one but it was for his dad on dad's day, so i told him i would watch and try to tell him what i know which is not to much.
anyway he put his knife together and while in the vice the knife slipped and left a gap on one side and so i don't know how to fix it for him :confused:, it a spot about 1/2" long by 3/32" high. i need the pro's help on this so here i am.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c264/vern-vicki/brain.jpg
thanks vern
 
Vern,
I'm assuming that the handle slipped and there is a gap at the guard. You have two choices.
One is to fill the gap with some glue. You could make the glue a filler by mixing something powdered that matches the handle in the glue.
Two is to take the handle off and re-attach it.
If the glue is an epoxy, do this: Put the handle in a vise or clamp and slowly heat the blade up. Don't get it too hot, just to about 300-400F.Heat from the spine (at the ricasso and guard area) and watch for any color. If the blade starts to show some straw color at the spine stop and let it sit for a minute or two, then re-apply the heat. After the blade has had time for the heat to start soaking back up the handle ( it will break down the glue), grab the blade with a cotton rag and pull/twist. If it moves a little, keep on heating until it finally pulls out. Clean out all the old glue and glue it up again.

BTW: This is where one of those cheap laser thermometers comes in handy. Check the blade temp often and apply a little heat at a time to keep the blade at the desired temperature area.

You have learned a valuable lesson about clamping up handles. Make sure they stay where you clamp them, and check again before the glue sets up.

Stacy
 
Vern: It's impossible to see what you're talking about in the photo, as there is so much glare from the polish. I never know when I'm going to learn a bit more on this site, almost at every turn.

Stacy: Thanks for posting your problem solving tips. The heating and removing the blade tip will be remembered for some future occasion that will surely come up.

Vern: If you try to fill the gap you might want to consider making it even all the way around, perhaps with a jeweler's or coping saw. Then the fill could be just about anything you liked and would look like it was intended as another spacer.

Good luck with you problem solving. Let us know how it goes. Thanks, Phil
 
You could top the whole guard with a colored epoxy or other decoratively colored solid fill material. Once it dries, carefully sand it down so it looks like a spacer set on top of the guard. It's unorthodox, but if you pick the color right, it could work out to look really nice. A turquois blue with flakes in it to match the spacer you have wouldn't look too bad, or a black.

Alternatively, if you're good with an exacto knife, a really buisy piece of veneer - thin burl wood could be used by cutting a slot with a razor, and re-fitting the back of the slot with the matching bit that you cut out. If you're really good at that sort of thing, the gap can be made invisible. The right peice of wood would likely match the stag nicely.

If you use either of the two above ideas, contouring the whole guard so it looks like you meant to do that all along would be pretty critical.

You could probably fill the gap with solder and once sanded down and polished, it would probably be pretty hard to see the difference.
 
thanks guy for your help because i did'nt know what to do. the boy that was doing the knife was real sad.
well i took and used Stacy's way to fix it. the boy did not know what to think, when i cut the spacer out. now we got it back together he happy again.
thanks to you all .
it's great to have guys like you all to help when you need it.
thanks guys
vern and brain :D
 
I would like to see a pic of the knife He puts together when you are done. I started making knives the exact same way at Bruce's Shop.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top