Scale clean up?

D

DannyDiablo

Joined
Mar 18, 2008
Messages
176
Hey guys..Just had a few questions I'm hoping someone might answer. After you get your scales glued up how do you clean up the top of the scales near the blade? I'm done with trying to clean it up with sandpaper! I guess cleaning it up with alcohol or acetone would be the answer. What is best to clean it with? do you have to wait for the epoxy to set up a little first? and can you inadvertently ruin the adhesion at that spot by using too much? Thanks in advance Dan
 
Are you talking about the epoxy? If so you can scrape it off with a brass scraper without worrying about scratching your blade.
 
I have gone that route and it always seems to leave a rough look to the scales/spacers where they meet the blade...and then I get ocd about it and start trying to clean it up with sandpaper...A Vicious cycle!!!!
 
DannyDiablo said:
I have gone that route and it always seems to leave a rough look to the scales/spacers where they meet the blade...and then I get ocd about it and start trying to clean it
up with sandpaper...A Vicious cycle!!!!
Click to expand...

Ok, some acetone applied with a q-tip right after it is applied should get rid of most of it. Hope that helps :)
 
I don't prefit my scales that closely top and bottom, so I'm using the grinder anyway. I generally remove at least a tiny bit of metal along the way and continue on through the grits to whatever finish I want on the spine of the knife and around the tang. For cleanup in the FRONT I use a paper towel with acetone after clamping. I just carefully wipe any and all excess adhesive. I don't use enough acetone on it to saturate the material or anything. Nice and gentle, under good light. Wipe, check, wipe some more....
 
A worst case situation would to have a lot of epoxy over-run after it has already cured. If that is the case, then use the combination of a q-tip saturated with acetone to soften the epoxy and a sharpened brass rod to scrape the excess epoxy away from the choil.

Get your choil fully finished before applying the scales. Use acetone to remove any oozing epoxy immediately after the scales are fastened, and then you have a minimal amount of work to do the next day. If anything, you may need to scrape a little bit more bonded epoxy from the choil using the sharpened brass rod. If the brass discolors the surface, use something like "Semichrome Polish" and a cloth or rotary buffing tool (i.e. dremel cotton polishing/buffing tool) to get rid of the residual brass marks.

Mike L.

Mike L.
LoGiudice Custom Knives
 
Mask it off with painters tape. That's what I do and it works great. Just mask the first 1.5 in or so of the scale then trim the tape so that there isn't any on the glue side. I also mask off the blade and trim the tape to the scale shape. I can glue up a knife and it doesn't matter if glue goes everywhere, the tape with the glue will peel right off. Just don't get any tape stuck between the scale and blade :rolleyes:
 
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