old wood working trick from fishermen

G

grumpy_grinder

Joined
Oct 2, 2015
Messages
481
hey guys , living in the province of the fishing capital pf the world (yes they still talk about the fisheries over the radio daily) one of friends fathers is an old time fisherman. I told him I was having a hard time with my hidden tang knife , the handle is always splitting on me. I get it where it's a snug fit and a light tap with a hammer and it's gone. It's birch by the way. Anyways where my friend's father comes in is he makes wooden boats by hand. He told me hard woods splits easily and what he does when working and bending the planks is he soaks it in a 50/50 bleach and hot water mix. I guess it makes it more workable. I'll be giving it a try tomorrow. Maybe i'm going about handles the wrong way ... but i've used up quite a bit of wood due to splitting. Hopefully this will work for me , it's getting frustrating.
 
That's also going to make the wood very... wet? Maybe they're just too tight if it's splitting the wood every time.
 
i'm going to be honnest i don't really know what i'm doing. A fool just experimenting trying to figure out what works for me.
Nice to see a fellow new-brunswicker. Sure it will make the wood wet but if I can force tap it on the tang then take the block off after it will retain the tang form.
 
It sounds like the fit is too close. Build some clearance into the fit and fill any voids with a quality epoxy like g-flex. A pin or threaded butt cap should fasten the handle to the hidden tang, not a press fit.

Mike L.
 
I'm afraid that after it dries out and shrinks, (it will swell when it becomes wet), you'll be right back where you started.
Drill a bigger hole.
 
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ok thanks guys , I just wanted to get the tightest closest Fit I could get. I guess there isn't really a subsitute for the "labour of love and taking time hand fitting"
 
Ok guys ive keept this secret long enough. buy some release agent for gun bedding from Brownells,brush on about 3 coats onto your tang allowing each coat to dry in between, size the tang hole slightly oversize,put your epoxy of choice in put your tang in and clamp overnight.
the next day lock your blade into a vise with soft jaws and gently tap the handle off. drill your cross pin and you are pretty much done(except making sure pin is correct). this "Trick" works 95% of the time,you can do most of the work on the handle ,like shaping etc after the parts are glued up because you know it is as close to perfect as you could ever hope for.http://www.brownells.com/search/index.htm?k=Release+agent&ksubmit=y
enjoy.
 
Pinoy Knife said:
Ok guys ive keept this secret long enough. buy some release agent for gun bedding from Brownells,brush on about 3 coats onto your tang allowing each coat to dry in between, size the tang hole slightly oversize,put your epoxy of choice in put your tang in and clamp overnight.
the next day lock your blade into a vise with soft jaws and gently tap the handle off. drill your cross pin and you are pretty much done(except making sure pin is correct). this "Trick" works 95% of the time,you can do most of the work on the handle ,like shaping etc after the parts are glued up because you know it is as close to perfect as you could ever hope for.http://www.brownells.com/search/index.htm?k=Release+agent&ksubmit=y
enjoy.
Click to expand...

I have to give this a try!!! Thank you!
 
Pinoy Knife said:
Ok guys ive keept this secret long enough. buy some release agent for gun bedding from Brownells,brush on about 3 coats onto your tang allowing each coat to dry in between, size the tang hole slightly oversize,put your epoxy of choice in put your tang in and clamp overnight.
the next day lock your blade into a vise with soft jaws and gently tap the handle off. drill your cross pin and you are pretty much done(except making sure pin is correct). this "Trick" works 95% of the time,you can do most of the work on the handle ,like shaping etc after the parts are glued up because you know it is as close to perfect as you could ever hope for.http://www.brownells.com/search/index.htm?k=Release+agent&ksubmit=y
enjoy.
Click to expand...

Nick Wheeler showed how to do this in one of his WIP. I do it to most of mine. One coat of Johnson Paste wax has worked every time for me. I just watched a YouTube video on glass beding a rifle and one coat of Johnsons is all he used too.
 
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