Ok, got back to work on this one over the last two days.
Unfortunately I forgot to take pics of my etching process, but I use a personalizer with stencils from Ernie and Tracy Mickley's solution from USA Knife Maker.
First order of business was to get handles drilled for tubes and profiled.
Next I drill some good sized divots on the back side of the scales for epoxy to collect in when attaching the handle to the tang. Coupled with the holes in the tang it allows a lot of epoxy into the area to create a good thick, strong bond. I figure the more contact the materials have with the epoxy the better. I'm careful to keep the divots away from the edges of the handle though to avoid exposing these epoxy pockets during handle shaping.
Once I have the profiles roughed out and the back side drilled, I shape the fronts of the scales and get them finished up since I can't do it once the handles are epoxied to the tang.
I finished the fronts to 600 grit but I had some voids in the carbon fiber, so I had to do a little filling. I use a good, thin super glue to fill the tiny holes then go back a couple of grits and bring it back to 600.
Setting up for handle glue up. First I rough up both the tang and the back sides of the handles really good with 50 grit SC paper, then clean them all thoroughly with first acetone and then rubbing alcohol. I do the same to the pins. Make sure everything is completely dry before continuing.
I prefer to use West Systems G-flex slow cure epoxy for my knives. I've tested it pretty hard and it holds up extremely well.
After mixing up the epoxy, I first apply a little bit to the ends of my tubes and insert them in one side of the handle. Next I coat the handle slab really well making sure all of my divots are full. I wear latex gloves for this not just to keep epoxy off my hands but also to keep oils from my hands from getting on any parts. I want everything to be very clean for the best possible bond. Next I coat the tang with epoxy and slide it over the pins, then coat the top side of the tang, again making sure I fill up all of the holes with adhesive.
Then I coat the second slab and lower it onto the knife. I like my pins to fit really snugly (my buddy Coty Handley taught me that very early on), so it is usually necessary to use a rubber mallet to tap the top slab down onto the tang. I don't hit it very hard but pretty firmly. If my laminated handles can't take a little bit of abuse, then what good are they!
Once the knife is all together, it's time to slowly compress the slabs to the tang for a good fit with minimal or no gap. This is when the fun begins and I go through about 87 Q-Tips wiping away all the excess epoxy that slowly oozes out the sides as I compress the slabs. This is also the most tedious part because my fingers get extremely numb and cramped after pinching the blade to hold the knife while I do the epoxy wiping process. It's a pain in the butt, but better than setting the knife down and having to deal with pubbles of epoxy all over the work bench.
When I'm all done clamping and wiping away epoxy it looks like this. These 1.5" Kant Twist clamps are my favorites! You have tons of control over how hard you clamp them down and they are small but get the job done really well. No shop should be without a dozen or so at least. Also, if I'm not mistaken they're still made in the USA.
Now the knife will sit like this for at least twenty four hours and we'll move on from there.
Thanks for looking!
I originally checked it out because I was curious about the finish on the flats. I saw it on your FB page and was wondering whether it was acid or blasted. I think I need to pick up a small blasting setup, it is too nice a finish to not be able to do.