Spacer questions

etp777

etp777

Joined
Aug 12, 2002
Messages
2,259
OK, couple of questions on spacers here. Have two or three knives all that will have spacers, and I ahve no idea waht I'm doing. :)

The first two knives I'm thinking of redoing were two blemish khukuri's from himalayan Imports. I want to alternate layers of wood(thinking either rosewood or purple heart and then ebony or that other dark wood that has been mentioned here). I was thinking that brass or stainless steel spacers between each layer of wood would be nice, but I'm not sure what thickness of sheet I should get. Would be getting brass, 410 or 304 stainless sheet. I know you guys have said before that the 300 series are a pain to work with, but I wondered if that effect would show up as much with a thinner sheet used just as a spacer.

Secondly, there are the vulcanized and high tech plastic spacers that Texas knife has. I seem to remember som epeople here having problems with the vulcanized spacer, but I cant' remember for sure. If you guys have, I want to avoid it. But has anyone used the palstic spacer? Don't remember seeing any comments on this here.

If it matters, the wood parts of handles will be getting either a super glue or oil finish(haven't decided yet).

If there's anything else I should know before my first attempt at doing spacers, please let me know. I am well aware that I may not know enough to ask the right questions.
 
Bubba for what it is worth
1- thickness -.032 or .040
2- stainless - 410
3- some has had problems with
vulcanized spacer an will not
use it. Myself so far so good
But I use super glue alot for
a finish,but it Will chip.
another finish I like is thinned
epoxy ... i used that alot on
gunstocks.

this is just may .02..
 
I tend to use alot of spacers and have switched over to the plastic ones from Texas Knifemaker's Supp. They can be a little brittle so I cut them with a razor but, they work well and don't move . They are a little expensive but, if you like using spacer material then they're well worth it.
 
Joel some of the layered spacers can be a pain in the a$$, but if you leave enough hanging over and grind them down they all pretty much work..
I use spacers mostly to make up for lack of thickness of a givin handle material.
I have some thin CF I have been using as spacer material lately... Looks pretty good I think, and works very well...

Edited to say... J Neilson thats a very cool knife you have there!:cool:
 
I have completely sworn off volconized spacers and gave all my stock away. Doesn't bond and swells like a sponge. I learned my leason well with them on three kitchen paring knives. No more for this boy.

RL
 
Whatever you do - when you work with spacers, use JB Weld - not epoxy. Especially if you plan on gluing up before shaping. The steel and brass will heat up and your joint will fail.

Also, have all your holes (for the tang) drilled ahead of time. ;)

The different materials are all going to work down at different speeds. The SS will be the slowest, then the brass then the wood, lastly vulc. spacer (stuff seems to evaporate just at the sight of belt grinder).

A nice touch is instead of just going from wood to metal and back, put thin spacers (fiber or metal) around them. It trims it up nicely. Here's a good example of a nicely stacked handle:

attachment.php
 
Thanks for the tips all.

Dan, that's almost exactly what I was planning on doing, though with only two kinds of wood, not the three plus corian that that looks like.

That one you did yourself?
 
Here's a khukuri with a stacked handle:


attachment.php
 
And an absolutely gorgeous Red, White and Blue Puukko by Gary Harjus. I just love this one.

attachment.php
 
Originally posted by etp777
...two kinds of wood, not the three plus corian that that looks like. That one you did yourself?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it's antler, not corian, and the knife is by Randy Lee (see maker's mark)... ;)

My feeble attempt at a stacked handle is due to arrive at your step in a few weeks...:rolleyes:
 
Dan I think that's the nicest puukko I've ever seen. Part of your collection?

I don't know why, but I've never had any of these problems with the vulcanized spacer. I love the stuff, and use it a lot... I've used the newer plastic stuff too, and it's nice but just doesn't have the mellow colors the vulcanized does.

Dave
 
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