Using Teflon on Hidden Tang

[scott kozub]

I've now made a few hidden tang knives now for the kitchen. I used difference pieces of wood with spacers and a wooden dowel insert method. I like to shape the handles off the blade in case I mess up or so that the owner can see the product before final epoxying.

This week on FIF I saw the idea of wrapping the tang in teflon tape so the handle can be glued up with the blade, and then the blade removed for shaping leaving a solid epoxy hole for the tang for consistent indexing later. Seems brilliant if it works.

I want to try this but am concerned about not getting the blade back out after. Has anyone had success with this? Also, my slot is very tight fitting so doesn't the the teflon bunch up while trying to insert the blade?

I don't see any courses offered by You Tube University on this.

 

[Natlek]

You can use wax on tang . . . can t be simple than that ?
PS . Teflon can t be glued with any glue out there . . . .

 

[scott kozub]

Never thought about wax. I also already cut notches in tang the so I'm likely sol till the next batch.

 

[Natlek]

Never thought about wax. I also already cut notches in tang the so I'm likely sol till the next batch.

You can fill notches in tang with wax

Don t forget to clean wax from tang and hole in handle before final assembly ... google for wax solvent .

 

[Honest Knife Co]

Very late reply to open this discussion back up. I use this same dowel method for handle contruction and find it works really well. Also looking for a solution to be able remove the knife after the epoxy sets (instead of timing it and hoping I don't wait too long).

One thought is to make a "dummy tang" out of an epoxy resistant material like teflon or UHMW and use this for glue up so that it could (somewhat) easily removed after the epoxy has set.

Also thought of using wax or some kind of release agent but a bit concerned about removing all the residue when it come time for final glue up.

Has anyone experimented with this?

 

[Taz]

Maybe a spray on release agent? I've use Hornady One Shot as a release agent when bedding rifle stocks with epoxy. Haven't tried it on a handle. Not sure if you need to scuff up the glue on the inside of the handle so the next layer of glue would bond properly? I don't know if the release agent leaves any residue on the epoxy inside of the tang that would be problematic when gluing in the tang for final assembly?

For dowel tenon handles, I make the dowel shorter than the hole into the rear portion of the handle. Glue up the handle pieces. Ferrule already has a thru hole drilled in it centered on the dowel (I drill a 1/8" or 3/16" hole through the ferrule completely, then drill most of the way through the backside into the ferrule for the dowel, so I am only slotting around 1/4" to 1/2" of the ferrule material, and the softer dowel). Once the handle is epoxied together, I drill thru the ferrule hole all the way through the dowel into the hollow cavity. After the handle is fully shaped, then use needle rasps and broaches to rasp out the remainder of the ferrule and the dowel for the tang. I usually use JB Kwik Weld to attach the handle to the dowel, fill any gaps and seal around the blade. It's a permanent install; Jb Kwik Weld does not let go in boiling water! One trick I saw was to file a shoulder all around the tang so that the tang portion in the handle is smaller than the exposed ricasso area, which will help cover any gap between the ferrule slot and the blade itself.

 

[D Bloch]

I don't use dowels for hidden tangs but paste wax (for cars in this case) works very well for me to get the tang out after gluing a multi piece handle together

 

[Ricky-O]

One thought is to make a "dummy tang" out of an epoxy resistant material like teflon or UHMW and use this for glue up so that it could (somewhat) easily removed after the epoxy has set.

At times I've thought of this also, and have some HDPE I'm thinking of using.

I've read about people using wax, but have always worried about the residue. I'd never thought about wax remover; do most who use wax use a was remover or do they just not worry about residue? Until now I just keep pulling the knife out and putting it back in the handle, as the glue drives (5 min epoxy). That works, but I'd like a method that doesn't require me to do that.

 

[lukusamongus]

I've made a couple sheaths where I made a mold and pressed layers of epoxy filled carbon fiber and linen around a blade. It makes a very thin, very rigid and tight fitting sheath. I put a layer of clear packing tape on the blade first, epoxy won't stick to the tape. Getting the hardened sheath off isn't exactly easy, I clamp the tang in a vise and then whack the hell out of the sheath with a piece of pine 1x2. Once I take the tape off the blade, it fits pretty snugly back into the sheath.

This is a blade that's finished but before I put a handle on it. I cut the carbon fiber and linen pieces larger than final so the cured rough edges can be cut and ground to shape once the handle is finished. I put it under pretty high pressure to cure, so there can't be any notches or catches on the blade. I use packing tape because wax seems more ify and I don't want to have to clean any leftover wax out of the sheath.