Please talk to me about cord wrapped handles (specifically yarn and epoxy)

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Laredian

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May 27, 2013
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I am working on some small kwaikens right now on which I wand to do a cord wrapped handle. I'm going to add some thin micarta scales and then wrap the handles. I just want to do a simple wrap around and then to a turks knot at the front of the handle right up to the ricasso. I know how to do that with paracord, but I'ven ever used yarn before.

My question is basically this: which yarn do you use (I have 2mm jute yarn, which frays badly and is a pain to work with, especially when making a turks knot) and do you treat it in some way before wrapping it. And secondly, which kind of epoxy do you use to seal the wrapped handle in and do I have to watch out for anything when applying the epoxy onto the wrapped handle or do I just slap it on there?

Thanks in advance.
 
I have used Jute/burlap to make my own micarta and it frays a lot. When pressing the material, if I press too much, it forces the epoxy out of the fabric and you end up with voids/air bubbles. I had to use a lot less pressure to make a solid block and not have as many air voids compared to regular canvas or linen fabric. I have used it pulled apart into individual strands (like a yarn) and also as a stacked fabric layer, same results. I have used cotton yarn and added it between layers of other fabrics to get streaks in layers, but this is with putting in a press and using thin boat building epoxy and letting it cure into a block.

I think if you wrap the handle and then epoxy it, you will have a lot of frays to deal with, which will be hard to clean up after it's on the scales. Also, due to the amount of tiny air pockets, it will be difficult for the epoxy to fully soak in and displace all of the air, so I think you will end up with tiny air bubbles, which will mean it's not soaked through and will fray more. Super Glue may work, but I think it's not going to come out like you want it too. Paracord works so much better for this application!

If you are doing a straight yarn wrap (not criss cross), it may be a bit easier than doing a criss cross. Wrap, soak in epoxy/super glue/spar urethane finish, let cure and build up the layers slowly. The epoxy will need to be extremely thin to soak into the yarn fully, so the spar urethane or super glue would probably be thinner and soak in better. Epoxies tend to drip/sag, so you may need to figure out a way to rotate or spin it to avoid this if using a slower curing epoxy.

There is cord that is used to wrap fishing gaffs with that we usually coat with spar urethane and it holds up well. More texture than paracord, smaller diameter as well? http://acidrod.com/cord.html
 
There's a pricey, very thin epoxy called Opticon Fracture Sealer. It's used to seal fractures in lapidary work. Seals wrapped handles and penetrates well.
 
Thanks for all the advice, helps a lot. As for wrapping the handle, I intend to just do a straight wrap no criss-cross, the only "fancy" thing is going to be the turks knot.

I'm just not sure on whether I need to use a different kind of yarn and whether there is some simple trick to keep it from fraying when I wrap it.

Edit: I know that just using paracord would be easier, but I want to try a more natural or tribal looking handle wrap.
 
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Wrap the handle and when done play a small flame across the wrapping to burn off any loose fibers. Brush it off and then apply a VERY LIGHT coating of Clear Coat epoxy I use the System Three type. It comes in small bottles and is very thin. I just barely dab it on the wrap. It should soak in immediately and look like there is nothing on it. After covering all the surface, take an old cotton tee-shirt ( no lint) and wrap it around the handle. Squeeze hard, take the cloth off. and let the handle cure in a horizontal position. I turn the blade every 15 minutes until the work pot is completely gelled. When cured, it should look like plain wrapping, but be rock solid.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Wrap the handle and when done play a small flame across the wrapping to burn off any loose fibers. Brush it off and then apply a VERY LIGHT coating of Clear Coat epoxy I use the System Three type. It comes in small bottles and is very thin. I just barely dab it on the wrap. It should soak in immediately and look like there is nothing on it. After covering all the surface, take an old cotton tee-shirt ( no lint) and wrap it around the handle. Squeeze hard, take the cloth off. and let the handle cure in a horizontal position. I turn the blade every 15 minutes until the work pot is completely gelled. When cured, it should look like plain wrapping, but be rock solid.
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Thank you, that helps a lot.

I'll post my result.
 
So here's the prototype. Used black hemp cord. I'm happy with the wrap though the lanyard hole at the back of the handle is not as even as I'd like, any tips there?

I am very happy with the blade though.

XU2OYV.jpg


sLIyP1.jpg


Edit: no epoxy applied yet, just finished the handle wrap.
 
Looks good.

One thing in cord wrapped handles to avoid is making the tang the final width. Many folks forget to take the cord thickness into account and have an oversized wrapped handle that extends beyond the spine and ricasso. Yours looks fine, but remember to narrow the tang where the cord goes, especially on wrapped handles with thicker cord.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Looks good.

One thing in cord wrapped handles to avoid is making the tang the final width. Many folks forget to take the cord thickness into account and have an oversized wrapped handle that extends beyond the spine and ricasso. Yours looks fine, but remember to narrow the tang where the cord goes, especially on wrapped handles with thicker cord.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice. I tried to take this into account. Had to play around a bit with the turks knot so that it's a bit wider....for a lack of a better word, on the underside of the handle than on the spine.
You never stop learing, initially I was under the misconception that cord wrapped handles are easy....or easier than other handle constructions. They are not, well at least if you want to do them well that is.

Btw for anyone interested: the cord is not directly wrapped onto the steel. I put on some thin paper micarta scales first and shaped them so the handle has a thin, oval cross section. This way the the handle has a more comfortable shape after wrapping it with the cord in my opinion.
So essentially this is a full tang knife with handle scales that was then wrapped to thicken the handle up a little bit and make it look cool :D
 
So here they are, Epoxy applied all finished. Worked very well actually, found the right epoxy and followed the advice. Thanks again gentlemen.

Crappy pictures for now, I still need to get them properly photographed but you get the idea:

ZcyfKR.jpg


pUsy0s.jpg


Edit: only thing I found was that the epoxy, while being colorless, kinda darkens the yarn. The turks knot on the top piece was tied using a mild brown hemp cord. I wanted to give that one some contrast. And if you look veeery closely you can see some slight difference, but it looks almost the same as the other pieces where I only used black cord. Is that a normal occurence or did I mess something up?
 
It could be your epoxy. The clear coat/mirror coat/bar top type is both thinner and water clear.
 
The epoxy, even when clear, will darken most materials when the epoxy wets them out. I deal with this in fabric for home made micarta. Thin material and light colors like orange, yellow, white, light blue, etc goes a bit translucent usually and darker than the dry color. Even thicker material like denim, canvas and burlap will darken once it is wet, regardless of how clear your epoxy is. I tell people to wet out a corner of the material with water and that is pretty close to the color it will look when epoxy is on it. Thicker material keeps its original color better, so if I want to use white, I go for white canvas or denim typically. When you are doing different colors together, unless it's thick, the white gets lost and can look muddy since the other colors will show through it. Some epoxies are more yellow/amber in color, or will turn amber over time, too, which will also darken the material.
 
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