Need someadvice on cord wrapped handles

[Crayola]

Hello! I am currently on knife #4 (Santa brought a 2X42 belt/8"wheel craftsman grinder for X-Mass! I can give my filing muscles a break!)and on this knive I am doing a handle wrap thing with some "magic Knots" my girlfriend makes (I'll post a pic when it is done- I don't know how else to explain them!!) Anyways, I read elsewhere that when some people wrap handles with paracord they epoxy the cord. Is the whole cord coated in epoxy and then wrapped on the handle, or is the epoxy applied after? Do you put a thin coat and then buff to get a finish on it? The procedure for epoxied paracord handles will work for my magic knot idea, but I need someone to clue me in on how it is done!! Thanks.

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"Come What May..."

 

[Normark]

Crayola...

The person to talk to about this is Dr.Lathe here on BF..

He's mastered the art of wrapping and does some pretty sweet work..
Drop him a note I'm sure he'll know what to do..

Eric...

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Eric E. Noeldechen
On/Scene Tactical
http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel
Custom made, High Quality
Concealex Sheaths and Tool Holsters
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[Dr.Lathe]

Thanks Eric!
I'm still experimenting with different materials. These are done with nylon material I bought at our local flea market.I keep going back because they promised me some blue and red material also. I can't find it anywhere else.

Finding material that's the right size for the knife is important. The knives above are small, regular nylon shoe lace was too wide and covered the anodized Ti.
The epoxy is applied after the wrap is complete. The nylon absorbs the epoxy right in and it's easy to apply. The Silk that I have been using doesn't absorb the epoxy and is harder to do. The silk looks nice and works well if the wrap is done VERY tight not coated. This leaves it exposed and easy to get dirty so I've only done it on my larger fancy Tantos.
I would be glad to exchange further information with you...... I want to know how to do Magic Knots! I think I know what you mean.

Please Email me,
Neil

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[Redleg]

I use nylon and traditional silk Tsuka-ito. I use a proprietary aerospace aerosol-based conformal coat/sealant which the silk does absorb and it really hardens up with a nice "cat's tongue" feel. Epoxy was just to messy/gummy/slippery for my likes. You can see a pic of my wraps over on the Gurkha House forum in the design competition thread.
Happy new year!!
Keep your powder dry.
-Redleg out.

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"Blessed is the Lord my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle..." excerpted from Psalms 144.

 

[Ivan Campos]

I have done quite a lot of experiences on wrapping to get to the following: after you wrap the handle (I use cotton flat cord), apply epoxy on the tang around the handle and in the knot with your finger. Make sure the flat cord is touching itself in every wrap and apply only enough epoxy, so that it doesn´t shine when it dries. I have tried to let the wrap unglued (it "dances" on the tang) and to soak int in glue (it gets very hard, but it looses that smooth feel of the cord wrap, besides the ray skin gets darker) and found this method to be the best compromise. It´s very solid and you almost can´t tell it has been glued.
Best regards.

Ivan Campos

 

[Ivan Campos]

You can also ask Gary Graley about this. When I was starting my research, he was very helpful. Don Fogg was very nice answering my dumb questions, too.

Ivan Campos
retired custom knife dealer - but still have lots of them to get rid of!