Small gap filler?

DavidZ

DavidZ

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Joined
Oct 30, 2004
Messages
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One of my favorite Barry Wood Knives has a small gap between the handle scale and the bolster, about .300" long and the thickness of a fingernail. It was that way when I bought it, so it is just not shrinkage, that will swell back up. The handle is a medium brown wood, and is one of my favorites. Does anyone have an idea as to what I might fill this gap with? I thought about epoxy, but I want to make it less noticable, not more. It is a real keeper, and I do not want to do a big refinishing of the handle, just hide the gap. Any ideas / tricks of the trade??:) :)
 
Thick CA is a pretty common fix for such things. You'll have a little finishing to smooth things out.
 
JCaswell - Thanks - Like your website, and knives. But to a non-knifemaker, what is CA? Sorry for my not knowing.
Dave.
 
Sorry about that.:o

It's cyanoacrylate---superglue.

You can get it in different viscosities for different things. A good hobby shop has all that. A reasonably small gap in dark material should fill easily with the thick stuff. It will be a little bumpy, though, and you may have to do a couple runs at it. You can block it down with 400 or so and then try to match the original finish--whether it's matte or high polish.

Some of the neatest mammoth ivory bark scales you see out there, for instance, have a lot of gaps zapped with CA.

Good luck and thanks for the kind words concerning my stuff!
 
David,
I personally haven't used CA, but in any small filling situation like this, I try to mask off the area as best I can. Cut the tape into narrow strips so that it bends well.

Then find something to push the filler into the gap like a putty knife, business card, etc. It also helps to poke it with a toothpick to release air pockets that can form.

Be patient. Get set up well first. If taped off well, the mess will stay local.

Good luck,
Richard
 
Richard - Thanks for the masking tip. But if you haven't used CA, what would you use?
Dave.
 
The old woodworkers solution is to take sawdust from sanding the same wood and mix it with a colorless epoxy .At least you match the color.
 
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