Re-attaching Cleaver Handle

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lanman16

Joined
Sep 16, 2012
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I recently bought an old cleaver at an auction and wanted to clean it up. This is where I am so far. I was wondering what the best way to re-attach the handle would be. Epoxy?

The handle is not pictured all cleaned up, it is in the basement drying. The blade was soaked in vinegar and cleaned with a wire brush if anyone was wondering.

Thanks for the input!



 
Epoxy will work. This thread will probably get moved to MT&E subforum. Just be sure the transition from tang to blade is smooth and rounded to eliminate stress risers.
 
I have epoxied a couple back together i will also grind notches in the tang for extra retention in the epoxy. shallow notches no need to go crazy.
 
It was a through-tang, right? If so, you can heat up the end of the tang with a torch and tap it out a little longer so you have enough length to peen back over.
 
hamhands said:
I have epoxied a couple back together i will also grind notches in the tang for extra retention in the epoxy. shallow notches no need to go crazy.
Click to expand...

I was wondering about that as well and was planning on roughening it up.


FortyTwoBlades said:
It was a through-tang, right? If so, you can heat up the end of the tang with a torch and tap it out a little longer so you have enough length to peen back over.
Click to expand...

Yes, it was a through tang. You think that would hold up okay?
 
lanman16 said:
Yes, it was a through tang. You think that would hold up okay?
Click to expand...

Depending on the condition of the wood, yeah. If the original handle is loose then you can use a narrow probe of wood or flattened wire to apply a thin layer of epoxy to the interior of the grip before reinstallation, or you could make a new handle for it entirely, in which case you would bore the new handle out using multiple drill bits to different depths to get the shape as close to that of the tang as you reasonably can, then you would heat the tang up and burn it into the new grip for a perfect fit. Stop just a touch shy of burning it on 100% of the way (like 1/4" shy) so that you don't over-char the wood and actually cause a gap. That why when you drive the new handle on it's got a touch of compression, but not so much to split the wood. Peen the end of the tang over into a nice little rivet head and it'll be golden. If the old handle fits snugly still, just forge the tang end a little longer and re-peen it.
 
Just shorten the handle a little, so that the tang sticks out further.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Just shorten the handle a little, so that the tang sticks out further.
Click to expand...

That would either mess up the fit to the tang (if taken from the top) or would mess up the shape of the butt end, and so might look odd. It would work, but forging the end of the tang out a little can be done easily on an improvised anvil surface, doesn't take long, and preserves the original handle shape.
 
It only takes about 1/16" to be able to peen the tang.
If you forge it out at the tip, the tip will be smaller diameter.
He could forge out the middle of the tang.
 
The tip being smaller isn't really problematic in my experience. I've done this with multiple through-tang billhooks and it always turns out very solid. Forge out the middle of the tang and it'll affect the fit once again.
 
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