Trustone feedback

[J-T-K]

Has anyone been using Trustone? I see Brisa carries it as an easier way to add "genstone" looks into handles and J was wondering whether it was worth getting, how easy it is to work with, and how well does it glue and sand.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I have used it for making fancy fountain pens and some jewelry. It is sort of OK for that, but has its issues. For knife handles, in my opinion it is worthless for anything buy a shelf queen. It cracks easily, is pretty soft, and makes a lot of dust when grinding/sanding. It is also fairly heavy.

 

[J-T-K]

Thanks, Stacy! Not thinking of a bushcraft knife but as a spacer on a small kitchen or utility knife. Good to know it's heavy, as that's another negative for larger uses. I wonder if it would survive peening the tang...

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

No, it does not survive shock well at all. As a spacer it may chip out or fail and then you have a gap.

 

[J-T-K]

Thanks a lot, Stacy!

Is there a good thread comparing more decorative materials for spacers? Also, regarding metals, anything good regarding use and suitability for bolsters, ferrules and pommels of brass, stainless, copper, silver nickel, bronze, etc? Or should I drop a thread on that?

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Synthetics, acrylics, and "reconstituted" materials are poor.

I find the best material for spaces is micarta. Strong and has a neat edge pattern that shows all the way around. Comes in many colors, too.
Other good materials are hard woods and stabilized burls. Antler and ivory are nice but have their issues.

The metals used mostly for hardware are the ones you listed. Brass and nickel silver are easy to machine.

 

[A.McPherson]

Be careful when using ca to temporarily attach horn to horn! I used thin CA and what I thought was a small amount... Apparently it wasn't a small amount and it wasn't temporary!