some controversy: clamping when gluing cracks

L

Lt. Dan

Joined
Aug 6, 2000
Messages
539
I would like to ask for forgiveness in advance for stirring the forum pot. No disrespect is meant, and there are some really ingenious ideas out there like using hose clamps. But would y'all mind if I conduct a poll of how many folks out there fix khukuri handle cracks by clamping them when using glue? And would you also mention the reasons why?

You might even convince me that the method I use is wrong....Dan
 
Lt. Dan,

First, allow me to make an observation. Every now and then you gotta stir the pot and see what floats to the top. Good soup and good forums need to be stirred frequently to give them balance.

As for using clamps when gluing handle cracks, I wouldn't. My reasoning is that cracks are a result of stress. Whether it be climatic conditions, impact, torque or flexing, it's all stress and the resultant cracks will most likely appear at the weakest part of the horn or wood grain. When clamping the surfaces together you're using the glue as a bonding agent only and this will likely result in a recurrence of the same crack (or a new crack) when the handle is again subjected to additional stress. Without the clamps you're using the glue as both a bonding agent and a filler, which adds strength to the original material while holding it together.

Clamping is fine when you have 2 or more seperate pieces to bond and there are no internal forces at work trying to seperate them.

Just my opinion.
 
Sounds like good logic to me.
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I've done it both ways;

"Slight" clamp ("snug" but not tight) with super glue on wood handles.
No clamp with epoxy on horn handles.

The super glue was for very fine cracks.
The epoxy was used for deep, fairly wide cracks & was used more as a "filler".

Note: I had to go back a year later on one of the horn handles and epoxy again. That one's handle really wanted to "bust loose"
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. The rest held fine.

Just my experience(s), your mileage may vary. I'm sure others, more knowledgeable, can provide information on the "dynamics" of repairing wood & horn handles.

 
You guys are waaay too sly to take the bait here. Even tho' I was spoilin' for a brisk discussion, my position is like yours of NOT clamping, as it's counterproductive. Still, I see folks posting on the forums about clever clamping methods, and I'm disposed to the notion that if it actually works longterm it's in SPITE of it and NOT because of it, and I rejoice in their good fortune if it works out anyway.
 
I am very embarrassed to admit that I have NEVER fixed a crack. I've always parceled the cracked handles out as blems for very resonable prices. My reasoning is that if I try to sell a khukuri with a "fixed" handle, then the end user might not trust the khukuri as much as if he had fixed it himself.

------------------
Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
 
Craig, we're in asituation where you must be accused of good business ethics.
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My hat's off to you for selling the cracked handled khukuris for what they are: blems.

A little off topic, have you ever considered putting a coat of hooflex on horn handles and wrapping with a plastic wrap to prevent cracking on long trips to customers in foreign countries or in winter time? Or don't handles ever crack in shipping?
 
I don't want to crash in on this thread, 'cause it's doing fine without my meddling, but I felt I also want to accuse Craig of good business practices, and subscribe the maximum penalty for selling some khuks for what they are: blems. (Max. penalty being immediate removal of said blems from accused's possession through quick sales.)Just think, the only inspiration I will ever have of fiddling around with khuks, is if there's something to fix. I would never ever dream of puttering around with a perfect khuk. Heaven forbid. Too expensive; too high in my esteem. But a blem - ah! That's different. I owe my current experience in working with khuks to the fact that some that I have obtained were less than perfect.

I inspected a khuk belonging to the Smithfield museum, and found it had THREE long cracks in the wooden handle, one being at least 1/8th of a inch wide, and two-thirds the length of the handle. Must have been extreme conditions of dryness (and of course of neglect) to have caused these cracks. South Africa is known for it's dessicating summer heat in places. In the Sunday's River Valley, for instance, a maximum summer temp. of 50 degrees Celcius was attained in 1921.

It's unthinkable, to my mind, to glue and clamp a handle such as the one I described. And if there's reason not to clamp a big crack, there's reason not too clamp a small crack, either. I'm for filling in all cracks. (But like Lt. Dan, I don't argue with success.)

Old Nepalese saying: ".....And remember, I bet the sparrow looks at the parrot and thinks, Yes, you can talk, but LISTEN to yourself!"
:D
 
My thread is your thread, Johan (and everybody else). So I do hope you'll feel free to cash in at will. Yes, I'm pretty convinced that the musical instrument repair folks have got the clamping principle figured out. But I'm wondering about the oldies, and if one type of handle material cracks more often than another. Yes, I also prefer to work on blems. In fact, I just can't bring myself to use those excellent horn khukuris and will find good homes for them someday, and then convert solely to wood.

I enjoyed the sparrow's words of wisdom.

Dan
 
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