So I am reshaping an Old Hickory, and have a question

B

bivensb

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Nov 20, 2014
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Hello all, I know this isn't "knifemaking", but I am reprofiling the blade on an Old Hickory, and reshaping the handle. I am going to put Oak handle slabs and secure them with epoxy and oak pins. My question is, what kins of materials can you epoxy between the steel and the oak?

I was planning on using thin green cutting board that I have, sandwiched between the materials, but am interested in your thoughts.

Thanks for any input!


B
 
Test some of the cutting board to make sure the epoxy binds to it. Clean and rough everything, use a slow set epoxy. Wet both surfaces to avoid a dry joint. And let us know how it turns out.
 
Wetting the surface is a phrase meaning to put a thin, uniform layer of epoxy on both surfaces. I use a piece of thin plastic to press the epoxy into every little nook and cranny on the surface. This helps to assure that the epoxy is sticking across the entire surface. The surface should be clean and dry before applying the epoxy.
 
Any time you glue of paint a smooth surface you must rough up the surface to provide some "tooth" which I learned many years ago !
 
Ok, so I have made three knives for Christmas presents (still working through a Tung oil finish on them). I am sure everyone here is well aware of the process so I will spare the details...

Here is the slabs and plastic before epoxy:
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And here are the three knives as they are this morning:


 
Next time, curly maple handles, boiled apple cider vinegar patina and thicker spacer material.
 
I think you will get a nicer finish on the front of the handles if you sand and buff them down before gluing them in place. The little bit I see looks a little rough. It took me a lot longer to clean them up on the knife. It takes a couple of minutes on a slack belt off of the knife. Overall they look good and will make great camp knives.
 
For thickness I was thinking of using .03 or .06 Kydex or something similar... These were just experimental and very thin...

Yes, the blade blank was a little rough on that one... I cleaned it up a bit after I posted that with my dremel, because I didn't see it until I posted it...

How do you finish the handles first, then epoxy? It's such a mess when I epoxy the handles onto the knife!
 
I forgot to mention, that the pins are aluminum, and make such a mess of my hands while shaping... I got enough of the aluminum to make four knives for a buck, but will be using nickel for my next knife, along with curly maple. I am also going to use a very dark patina on the blade.
 
You're just finishing the fronts of the scales first so you don't have to deal with finishing them against the blade.

You only have to remember to make sure that you use the right solvent to completely remove the squeeze out at that joint after assembly.
 
Also just another thing you might try,I recently rehandled an old highly patina'd forgecraft hi-carbon butcher and chose to blue the shiny freshly ground tang before my tung oil finish. once your oil dries the exposed tang will not patina with the rest of the blade and you would end up with a shiny tang and a dark blade. if thats not what you want try to darken it before the tung oil.
 
This is all great! I really appreciate it guys thank you.

What solvent do you use to remove the epoxy before it hardens?
 
I use a high percentage isopropyl alcohol, taking care not to push any under the handle.
 
You mention using Kydex for a spacer - have you checked to see how well epoxy will stick to Kydex?
 
Not yet, I am just experimenting with different things. I figure it will take a dozen knives and that many catastrophic mistakes to iron everything out.

I still don't know how well the green material I used will adhere, but I do know that it's too thins, so regardless of how well it works I am going to move in a different direction.

What spacing material can you recommend?
 
bivensb said:
Not yet, I am just experimenting with different things. I figure it will take a dozen knives and that many catastrophic mistakes to iron everything out.

I still don't know how well the green material I used will adhere, but I do know that it's too thins, so regardless of how well it works I am going to move in a different direction.

What spacing material can you recommend?
Click to expand...

I've seen g10 be popular, comes in lots of colours etc
 
IMHO, it's important to have the proper solvent for any adhesive. It can range from alcohol solvent to lacquer thinner or acetone. West systems actually lists all three as acceptable.

It's best to clean parts with that solvent before assembly.

One reason I use Acra-Glass is that it comes with it's own solvent, so it's basically a primer too. You can also thin the epoxy to use as a high penetration, durable finish.
 
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