Resin for Japanese Cord Wrapping

Joined
Sep 7, 2004
Messages
197
Does anyone know of any resin products for impregnating japanese cord wrapped handles?

Thanks,
Brian
 
Like Dave said, most people use epoxy. A much smaller % uses pine pitch or cutlers reson made from said pitch. If you decide to use the pitch, try to get pinon pine, it's concidered the best.
 
Wally Hayes in his video uses the West epoxy product---slow cure, and paints it on with a brush over nylon cord. He uses both skate cord and silk wrap. Hope that helps.
 
I made and (as usual for me...) I've soaked it with super glue! I buy'em in the 5 packs at Home Depot. It goes into the parachute cord like water and dries rock hard.... I only use the outer sheath of para-cord and it works like a charm.

mitch
 
If you plan on doing a bunch, go with the West System -- It has a very low viscosity, so it soaks in like Superglue, but keeps the wrap secure like epoxy. The superglue treatment works, but if you have too much, it can turn white on you. Also, superglue is water soluble and will break down in time.
 
Super glue would definitely produce a rock hard handle, but i've found that it leaves a dull, whitish haze on the handle. I've tried normal expoxy, but found the coating it leaves is too thick (for my tastes). I discovered an epoxy from Industrial Formulators called S1. This is the same company that makes Cold Cure. S1 is a wood hardening epoxy. It's viscosity is similar to mineral oil. It is very easy to apply and totally soaks the handle material without leaving a haze. Another thing that I like about it is that it is easy to control the finish. Basically the more you put on, the shinier it gets. I apply it with a disposable paint brush. You can find S1 or other wood-hardeners at specialty wood working or lumber supply houses. If you do get it, make sure you don't place it on a counter top until the smell goes away. The off-gasing will leave a faint, dull copy of the wrap on the counter. Good thing she hasn't noticed it yet ;) .

3/16th's
 
If you use the liquid super glue, not the gel it will soak into the cord and harden without a white haze.

If you warm up your epoxy with a hair dryer it will thin it out and it will soak into the cord better. Maksu sure you use a stiff brush to work it in and don't use too much.
 
I've found the viscosity of the crazy glue doesn't matter with respects to the white haze. The stuff I used to use is like water. I did find though that the white haze started forming when you really started to soak the lace. At times, and under very heavy soaking, a faint white smoke would start coming from the handle. I made the mistake once of holding the handle underneath my nose when this was happening. I did that once.

Bruce, the Japanese artisans who performed the handle-wrapping had no need of glue. They used a stand in the shape of the tang to place the handle on. The stand and other techniques allowed them to make the wrap super tight/permanent. It was said that they could make it so tight that the handle would compress under the pressure of the wrap. It would go back on the tang only with great difficulty. Handle-wrapping in one of the traditional Japanese styles was truly a fascinating art.

3/16th's
 
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